A new study doubles the evolutionary history of the weasel family. Researchers, including Chris Law, a 91探花principal research scientist in the biology department, have determined that a fossil that was discovered in Spain belongs to a new species dating back to around 6.5 million years ago. This new species was likely similar in size to the smallest living weasel species today, the least weasel.
Come curious. Leave inspired. The 91探花offers an exciting lineup of in-person and online events. From thought-provoking art and music to conversations on culture, history, and science, the 91探花community invites you to explore, learn, and connect across disciplines throughout the University. And you don’t have to wait until May: Take a look at everything still happening in April. Sign up to receive a monthly notice when the ArtSci Roundup has been published. ArtSci On Your Own Time: Video |…
The 91探花鈥檚 graduate and professional degree programs again were recognized as among the best in the nation, according to U.S. News & World Report鈥檚 2026 Best Graduate Schools released late Monday.
Briana Abrahms, associate professor of biology at the 91探花, studies how climate change affects human-wildlife interactions and increases conflict around the world. In January, she gave the keynote speech at the International Parliamentary Roundtable on Human-Wildlife Coexistence held in Botswana.
Explore recent research from the 91探花: the habits and habitats of Nautilus and Allonautilus, how green clay tennis courts remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, why temperature dynamics matter to mussels and what prompts bacteria to attack diatoms.
Plants, like people, have a circadian clock and they sense seasonal changes to light and temperature. Plants that bloom in the spring use the longer days and warmer temperatures as seasonal cues that it鈥檚 time to bloom.
Mosquitoes are increasingly becoming resistant to current insecticides, leading to a pressing need for new methods to prevent mosquito bites 鈥� and the potential transmission of disease. New research by an international team, including researchers at the UW, reveals that Aedes aegypti mosquitoes use a specific sensory receptor to detect and avoid borneol (pronounced “bor-nee-ohl”), an organic compound found in several aromatic plants, including camphor trees, rosemary and other aromatic herbs.
Affiliate professor of biology receives 2026 Kenneth S. Norris Lifetime Achievement Award聽 Sue Moore, a research scientist and affiliate professor in the Center for Ecosystem Sentinels in the Department of Biology at the 91探花, was honored with the 2026 Kenneth S. Norris Lifetime Achievement Award聽from the聽Society for Marine Mammalogy. The award recognizes exemplary lifetime contributions to science and society through research, teaching, and service in marine mammalogy.聽 Over a 40-year career, Moore鈥檚 research has focused on cetacean ecology,…
Jennifer Ruesink, 91探花 professor of biology, studies the relationship between the environment and marine organisms, including eelgrass, the primary species of seagrass that resides in the oceans surrounding Washington. In honor of World Seagrass Day, 91探花News asked Ruesink to explain what seagrass is and what makes the seagrasses in Washington unique.
The peer review process in scientific publishing has reached a critical point where there are too many manuscript submissions and not enough peer reviewers. 91探花News asked Carl Bergstrom, 91探花 professor of biology, and Kevin Gross, North Carolina State University professor of statistics, to describe this self-perpetuating cycle and potential interventions.
Last December was the warmest on record for Washington, according to the Washington State Climate Office. Now many plants in our gardens are beginning to bud, even though it’s only February. 91探花News asked Takato Imaizumi, 91探花professor of biology, to talk about the mechanisms behind blooming and how warmer winters might impact flowering plants.
A recent documentary about the breeding habits of antelopes in India includes the story of how engaging with artists and local communities can help researchers share the importance of their work. 91探花News asked Vivek Hari Sridhar, a 91探花assistant professor of biology and one of the leaders of the project, for details about the project and the documentary.
Five 91探花 faculty members have been awarded early-career fellowships from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
91探花News spoke with Lauren Buckley, 91探花 professor of biology, to learn about “functional resurvey” experiments and what they can tell us about how organisms change over time.
The 91探花 was awarded $2.5 million from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation to fund 16 postdoctoral fellows in a number of fields across the College of Arts & Sciences, the College of Engineering and the College of the Environment.
New research led by the 91探花 suggests that two different climate transitions millions of years ago fueled the diversification of carnivoran body plans.
The green hermit hummingbird, which lives primarily in mountain forests of Central and South America, fights to win a mate. New research found that these fights have shaped the species鈥� evolution, yielding significant differences in bill shape for male and female green hermits.
In the wake of One Ocean Week Seattle, participating 91探花 researchers share highlights, connecting the week鈥檚 events to ongoing efforts to understand and protect marine ecosystems and coastal communities.
The Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute on Monday awarded the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine jointly to Mary E. Brunkow 鈥� an alum of the 91探花 鈥� along with Frederick J. Ramsdell and Shimon Sakaguchi “for groundbreaking discoveries concerning peripheral immune tolerance that prevents the immune system from harming the body.” Brunkow received her bachelor’s degree in molecular and cellular biology from the 91探花in 1983. 91探花News spoke with Martha Bosma, professor and chair…
The Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute on Monday awarded the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine jointly to Mary E. Brunkow 鈥� an alum of the 91探花 鈥� along with Frederick J. Ramsdell and Shimon Sakaguchi “for groundbreaking discoveries concerning peripheral immune tolerance that prevents the immune system from harming the body.”
In a new study, a team of scientists determined the minimum natural habitat on agricultural land that will allow insect pollinators 鈥� including bumble bees, solitary bees, hoverflies and butterflies 鈥� to thrive. 91探花News reached out to co-author Berry Brosi, 91探花professor of biology, to learn more about these results and how habitat is important to two types of bees native to Washington.
Bee experts wouldn鈥檛 have previously expected to find the likes of Osmia cyaneonitens, Dufourea dilatipes and Stelis heronae in Washington. But this year, while collecting pollinators in Chelan County to study how climate and wildfires affect native bee populations, Autumn Maust, a 91探花 research scientist of biology, discovered eight bee species never recorded in Washington.
An international team of paleontologists, led by researchers at the 91探花 and the Field Museum of Natural History, is identifying the animals that thrived in southern Pangea 鈥� the planet鈥檚 single supercontinent at the time 鈥� just before the so-called 鈥淕reat Dying鈥� wiped out about 70% of terrestrial species, and an even larger fraction of marine ones.
Election recognizes the new member鈥檚 鈥渙utstanding record of scientific and technical achievement and willingness to assist the Academy in providing the best available scientific information and technical understanding to inform complex policy decisions in Washington.鈥澛�
From campus to wherever you call home, we welcome you to learn from and connect with the College of Arts & Sciences community through public events spanning the arts, humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences. We hope to see you this June. ArtSci on the Go Looking for more ways to get more out of Arts & Sciences? Check out these resources to take ArtSci wherever you go! Zev J. Handel, “Chinese Characters Across Asia: How the Chinese Script Came…
Trickery by female white-necked jacobin hummingbirds results in reduced aggression from other hummingbirds and increased access to nectar resources.聽
For Valentine’s Day, 91探花News asked 12 91探花 researchers to share their love stories: What made them decide to pursue their career paths?
Thousands of grasshopper specimens from mountains in Colorado show trends in how the insects changed in size over 65 years. With earlier emergence of spring greenery and earlier summer drought, grasshopper species that emerged early in the year grew larger, while grasshopper species that emerge later in the year grew smaller in size. The study, led by 91探花biologist Lauren Buckley, shows that changes in insect size can be predicted based on lifecycles and environmental conditions.
Hummingbird bills 鈥� their long, thin beaks 鈥� look a little like drinking straws. But new research shows just how little water, or nectar, that comparison holds. 91探花 scientists have discovered that the hummingbird bill is surprisingly flexible. While drinking, a hummingbird rapidly opens and shuts different parts of its bill simultaneously, engaging in an intricate and highly coordinated dance with its tongue to draw up nectar at lightning speeds.
A new study led by the 91探花 has for the first time quantified the risk for whale-ship collisions worldwide for four geographically widespread ocean giants that are threatened by shipping: blue, fin, humpback and sperm whales. In a paper published online Nov. 21 in Science, researchers report that global shipping traffic overlaps with about 92% of these whale species鈥� ranges. Only about 7% of areas at highest risk for whale-ship collisions have any measures in place to protect whales from this threat. These measures include speed reductions, both mandatory and voluntary, for ships crossing waters that overlap with whale migration or feeding areas.
A team led by scientists at the 91探花 and the University of Aberdeen attached tiny 鈥渂ackpack鈥� trackers to hummingbirds in the Colombian Andes to learn more about their movements. As they report in a paper published Oct. 10 in the journal Ecology and Evolution, the tracking system will aid conservation efforts in this region by revealing the previously hidden movements of hummingbirds and other small animals.
As Earth faces unprecedented climate change, a look into the planet鈥檚 deep past may provide vital insights into what may lie ahead. But knowledge of the natural world millions of years ago is fragmented. A 15-year study of a site in Bolivia by a joint U.S.-Bolivia team has provided a comprehensive view of an ancient ecosystem when Earth was much warmer than it is today, and changed how we look at the Andes.
This week, head to Kane Hall for a Conversation on Race, Gender, & Democracy, attend the fall Ellison Lecture featuring the chief foreign-affairs correspondent of The Wall Street Journal, check out a faculty recital, and more. October 7, 12:00 – 1:00 pm | Biology Seminar | Bears in Bathtubs: How Behavior and Life History Shape Predator Responses to Global Change, Hitchcock Hall In this talk, biology professor Briana Abrahms will describe how an understanding of animal behavior and life history…
New research led by the 91探花 and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has revealed how underwater noise produced by humans may help explain why southern resident orca populations have not recovered from historic lows. In a paper published Sept. 10 in Global Change Biology, the team reports that underwater noise pollution 鈥� from both large and small vessels 鈥� forces northern and southern resident orcas to expend more time and energy hunting for fish. The din also lowers the overall success of their hunting efforts. Noise from ships likely has an outsized impact on southern resident orca pods, which spend more time in parts of the Salish Sea with high ship traffic.
An international team led by researchers at the 91探花 has uncovered surprising details about mosquito mating, which could lead to improved malaria control techniques and even help develop precision drone flight. In a paper published Aug. 30 in the journal Current Biology, the team revealed that when a male Anopheles coluzzii mosquito hears the sound of female-specific wingbeats, his eyes 鈥渁ctivate鈥� and he visually scans the immediate vicinity for a potential mate.
The overlap between humans and animals will increase substantially across much of the planet in less than 50 years due to human population growth and climate change, according to a collaborative study by scientists at the University of Michigan, the 91探花 and University College London. By 2070, the overlap between humans and more than 22,000 vertebrate species will rise across nearly 57% of Earth鈥檚 land, according to the team.
Research led by the 91探花 used computer models to pinpoint varieties of corn that will be best adapted to produce high yields in future U.S. climates. The study combined weather and climate projections across the U.S. for 2050 and 2100 with a plant model that simulates corn鈥檚 growth to find the mix of traits that will produce the highest, most reliable yield under future conditions across the country.
Jeffrey Riffell, a 91探花 professor of biology, wants to understand how female mosquitoes find find a host to bite for a bloody meal. His research has shown that hungry mosquitoes find us by following a trail of scent cues, including chemicals exuded by our skin and sweat, as well as the carbon dioxide gas we exhale with each breath. Mosquitoes also like colors, at least certain ones. His team is closing in on how the sense of smell and vision work together to help a mosquito zero in for the final strike and get her blood meal.
Two 91探花 researchers are among the newly elected members of the National Academy of Sciences. Qiang Fu, professor of atmospheric sciences, and Raymond Huey, professor emeritus of biology, are among those recognized with one of the highest honors a scientist can achieve.
Recent recognition for the 91探花 includes a Rising Star Award, honors for distinguished ornithological work and a Gold Medal Award for Impact in Psychology.