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January 12, 2023

How did the Butterfly Nebula get its wings? It鈥檚 complicated

Something is amiss in the Butterfly Nebula. When a team led by astronomers at the 91探花 compared two exposures of this planetary nebula that had been taken by the Hubble Space Telescope in 2009 and 2020, they saw dramatic changes in the material within its “wings.” As the team will report on Jan. 12 at the 241st meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Seattle, powerful winds are apparently driving complex alterations of material within the Butterfly Nebula, behavior not seen in planetary nebulae to date. The researchers want to understand how such activity is possible from what should be a 鈥渟puttering, largely moribund star with no remaining fuel.鈥�

January 11, 2023

Old and new stars paint very different pictures of the Triangulum galaxy

On Jan. 11 at the 241st meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Seattle, a team led by scientists at the 91探花 and the Center for Computational Astrophysics reported something unexpected about the distinct populations of stars that make up the Triangulum galaxy: In this satellite galaxy, a close companion of the much larger Andromeda galaxy, old and new stars occur in separate parts of the galaxy’s structure, something not seen in galaxies like our own and so far not reporter for other satellite galaxies.

January 10, 2023

The seven-year photobomb: Distant star鈥檚 dimming was likely a 鈥榙usty鈥� companion getting in the way, astronomers say

91探花 astronomers were on the lookout for 鈥渟tars behaving strangely鈥� when an automated alert from pointed them to Gaia17bpp, a star that had gradually brightened over a 2 1/2-year period. But follow-up analyses indicated that Gaia17bpp wasn鈥檛 changing. Instead, the star is likely part of a rare type of binary system. Its apparent brightening was the end of a years-long eclipse by an unusual, “dusty” stellar companion.

January 9, 2023

Climate 鈥榩resses鈥� and 鈥榩ulses鈥� impact Magellanic penguins 鈥� a marine predator 鈥� with guidance for conservationists

Climate change will reshape ecosystems through two types of events: short-term, extreme events 鈥� or 鈥減ulses鈥� 鈥� and long-term changes, or 鈥減resses.鈥� Understanding the effects of presses and pulses is essential as conservationists and policymakers try to preserve ecosystems and safeguard biodiversity. Researchers at the 91探花 have discovered how different presses and pulses impacted Magellanic penguins 鈥� a migratory marine predator 鈥� over nearly four decades and found that, though individual presses and pulses impacted penguins in a variety of ways, both were equally important for the future survival of the penguin population. They also found that these types of climate changes, taken together, are leading to an overall population decline at their historically largest breeding site.

Warming oceans have decimated marine parasites 鈥� but that鈥檚 not a good thing

jar with fish inside

Save the … parasites? Analyzing 140 years of parasite abundance in fish shows dramatic declines, especially in parasites that rely on three or more host species. The decline is linked to warming ocean temperatures. Parasitic species might be in real danger, researchers warn — and that means not just fewer worms, but losses for the entire ecosystem.

Trouble falling asleep at night? Chase that daytime light, study shows

A study measuring the sleep patterns of students at the 91探花 found that students fell asleep later in the evening and woke up later in the morning during winter, when daylight hours on the UW鈥檚 Seattle campus are limited and the skies are notoriously overcast. Researchers believe the students’ natural circadian clocks were being “pushed back” or delayed in winter because they were not getting enough exposure during the day to natural light, and that getting more daytime light exposure can help reverse this.

December 8, 2022

91探花brings field geology to students with 鈥榁irtual Field Geology鈥�

cartoon island, trees, and geology field tools

UW’s Virtual Field Geology project has many goals: to make geology field experiences accessible to more people; to document geological field sites that may be at risk from erosion or development; to offer virtual 鈥渄ry run鈥� experiences; and to allow scientific collaborators to do virtual visits to a field site together.聽While the pandemic brought new urgency to the project, its developers believe it’s part of a “new normal” for geology research and education.

NASA鈥檚 James Webb Space Telescope shows how several stars 鈥榮tirred up鈥� the Southern Ring Nebula

In a study published Dec. 8 in Nature Astronomy, an international research team, led by Orsola De Marco of Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia, analyzed 10 highly detailed exposures taken by the JWST of the Southern Ring Nebula. Their calculations show the central star that ejected the expanding nebula gas was originally three times the mass of the sun, and that unseen companions shaped the nebula’s intricate features.

December 5, 2022

New blood test can detect 鈥榯oxic鈥� protein years before Alzheimer鈥檚 symptoms emerge, study shows

stylized image of the human brain

Researchers at the 91探花 have detected “toxic” small aggregates of a particular protein in the blood of individuals with Alzheimer’s disease, as well as in individuals who showed no signs of cognitive impairment at the time the blood sample was taken, but who developed it at a later date. This blood test picks up oligomers — or small, misfolded aggregates — of the amyloid beta protein, which scientists believe triggers the development of Alzheimer’s.

Permanent daylight saving time would reduce deer-vehicle collisions, study shows

91探花 researchers found that adopting permanent daylight saving time in the United States would reduce deer-vehicle collisions and likely prevent an estimated 36,550 deer deaths, 33 human deaths, 2,054 human injuries and $1.19 billion in costs each year. Deer-vehicle collisions would decrease under permanent DST because skies would be brighter later into the evening.

October 21, 2022

UW鈥檚 Dianne Xiao receives Packard Fellowship for research on new materials for sustainable chemical synthesis

Headshot of smiling woman

Dianne Xiao, a 91探花 assistant professor of chemistry, has been awarded a 2022 Packard Fellowship for Science and Engineering for her research on creating new materials to make chemical reactions that are compatible with renewable energy sources and raw materials.

October 12, 2022

Endangered fruit-eating animals play an outsized role in a tropical forest 鈥� losing them could have dire consequences

A new study by researchers at the 91探花 shows that losing a particular group of endangered animals 鈥� those that eat fruit and help disperse the seeds of trees and other plants 鈥� could severely disrupt seed-dispersal networks in the Atlantic Forest, a shrinking stretch of tropical forest and critical biodiversity hotspot on the coast of Brazil.

October 3, 2022

Study suggests La Ni帽a winters could keep on coming

snowy scene with bare trees

Forecasters are predicting a 鈥渢hree-peat La Ni帽a鈥� this year. This will be the third winter in a row that the Pacific Ocean has been in a La Ni帽a cycle, something that鈥檚 happened only twice before in records going back to 1950. A new study of temperature patterns in the tropical Pacific Ocean suggests that climate change is, in the short term, favoring La Ni帽as.

September 28, 2022

91探花expert on tropical storms discusses Hurricane Ian

portrait with green scarf

Shuyi Chen, a 91探花professor of atmospheric sciences, was traveling to a conference in Boston as Hurricane Ian approached the Gulf of Mexico. During breaks at the conference, she provided her thoughts on the closely watched catastrophic storm system that made landfall in Florida on Sept. 28. Q: What are your thoughts on Hurricane Ian? How does it compare to other storms? See also: “UW鈥檚 Shuyi Chen on hurricane science, forecasting and the 2017 hurricane season“ Shuyi Chen: Each hurricane…

September 26, 2022

Heat-related mortality risk is widespread across Washington state, study shows

W in sunshine

Heat-related deaths occur across Washington state, even in regions with typically milder climates. This is the most extensive study yet of heat-related mortality in Washington state, and the first to look beyond the major population to and include rural areas. Researchers used statistical methods to uncover 鈥渉idden鈥� deaths that may have listed something else, like illness or a chronic disease, as the primary cause.

91探花joins industry-academia alliance to accelerate research in neuroscience

An image of neurons under a microscope

The 91探花 has joined the Alliance for Therapies in Neuroscience (ATN), a long-term research partnership between academia and industry geared to transform the fight against brain diseases and disorders of the central nervous system. Launched in 2021 by the University of California, San Francisco, UC Berkeley, Genentech 鈥� a member of the Roche group 鈥� and Roche Holding AG, the ATN seeks to accelerate the development of new therapies for a broad range of brain and central nervous system conditions.

September 22, 2022

Deepest scientific ocean drilling effort sheds light on Japan鈥檚 next 鈥榖ig one鈥�

White ship seen from below

A 2018 expedition that drilled farther into the seafloor than ever before — almost 2 miles — sought to take measurements of stress as close as possible to a tectonic fault off the coast of Japan. Surprisingly, the researchers found little built-up tectonic stress. The findings could help to better understand earthquakes in subduction zones around the world.

September 7, 2022

These female hummingbirds evolved to look like males 鈥� apparently to evade aggression

1 in 5 adult female white-necked jacobin hummingbirds look like males. New research from the 91探花 shows that this is a rare case of “deceptive mimicry” within a species: Females with male-like plumage are trying to pass themselves off as males, and as a result receive a benefit in the form of reduced aggression from males.

August 25, 2022

鈥楧angerous鈥� and 鈥榚xtremely dangerous鈥� heat stress to become more common by 2100

maps of globe colored orange and red

A new study projects the number of days with “dangerous” and “extremely dangerous” mixtures of heat and humidity by the end of this century. Even if global warming is limited to 2 degrees Celsius, results show that deadly heat waves will become much more common in the mid-latitudes, and many tropical regions will experience “dangerous” heat for about half the year.

August 23, 2022

Beach trash accumulates in predictable patterns on Washington and Oregon shores

yellow twine displayed on sand

Volunteers spent thousands of hours recording trash on beaches in Washington and Oregon to show that certain beaches, and certain areas of a single beach, are 鈥渟ticky zones鈥� that accumulate litter. Finding patterns for where litter lands could help to better prevent and remove trash in the marine environment.

August 17, 2022

New 91探花Photonic Sensing Facility will use fiber-optic cables for seismic sensing, glaciology and more

jumble of yellow cables

A 91探花 pilot project is exploring the use of fiber-optic sensing for seismology, glaciology, and even urban monitoring. Funded in part with a $473,000 grant from the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust, a nonprofit based in Vancouver, Washington, the new 91探花Photonic Sensing Facility will use photons traveling through a fiber-optic cable to detect ground motions as small as 1 nanometer.

July 25, 2022

New study challenges old views on what鈥檚 鈥榩rimitive鈥� in mammalian reproduction

Which group of mammals has the more “primitive” reproductive strategy 鈥� marsupials, with their short gestation periods, or humans and other placental mammals, which have long gestation periods? For decades, biologists viewed marsupial reproduction as “more primitive.” But 91探花 scientists have discovered that a third group of mammals, the long-extinct multituberculates, had a long gestation period like placental mammals. Since multituberculates split off from the rest of the mammalian lineage before placentals and marsupials had even evolved, these findings question the view that marsupials were 鈥渓ess advanced鈥� than their placental cousins.

June 29, 2022

鈥楽afety in numbers鈥� tactic keeps Pacific salmon safe from predators

fish swim together in a fish tank

A new 91探花 study that leverages historical data has found unique support for a 鈥渟afety in numbers鈥� hypothesis by showing that Pacific salmon in larger groups have lower risk of being eaten by predators. But for some salmon species, schooling comes at the cost of competition for food, and those fish may trade safety for a meal.

June 27, 2022

Top predators could 鈥榯rap鈥� themselves trying to adapt to climate change, study shows

A study led by 91探花 researchers shows that over a 30-year period, African wild dogs shifted their average birthing dates later by 22 days, an adaptation that allowed them to match the birth of new litters with the coolest temperatures in early winter. But as a result of this significant shift, fewer pups survived their most vulnerable period because temperatures during their critical post-birth 鈥渄enning period鈥� increased over the same time period, threatening the population of this already endangered species. It is the first study to show that large mammalian carnivores are making major changes to their life history in response to a changing climate.