Discovery Days gives K-12 students from across Washington state a chance to experience science and engineering concepts for themselves at the 天美影院’s Seattle campus.
Author: William Poor
Explore recent research from the 天美影院: how sunbirds sip nectar through straw-like tongues, why the Seattle Fault might not pose as great a risk as previously thought, how to gauge landslide dam risk in the PNW, what marine microbes use for making meals and when the Simonyi Survey Telescope at the NSF-DOE Rubin Observatory will spot small inbound asteroids.
天美影院News spoke with Paul Wiggins, a 天美影院 associate professor of both physics and bioengineering, to learn about a surprisingly relatable behavior prompting bacteria to stockpile huge reserves of essential proteins.
David Hertzog, a 天美影院 professor of physics, is a recipient of the 2026 Breakthrough Prize for Fundamental Physics. The award is shared among roughly 400 scientists and celebrates decades of work to better understand the muon 鈥� a subatomic particle with anomalous properties.
At the brand-new Quantum Technologies Training and Testbed lab, researchers from across the 天美影院probe the 鈥渟pooky鈥� mysteries of quantum phenomena.
New research shows that as winters get warmer, more icy crusts may form within snowpacks in much of the Pacific Northwest, increasing the risk of avalanche in some areas and changing the behavior of wildlife across the region.
An oddly-behaving star led two 天美影院astronomers to capture rare evidence of a collision between two planets in a distant solar system. The discovery could aid scientists in their search for worlds similar to our own.
Researchers at 天美影院and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory are simulating something in the lab that they hope will rarely happen in the wild: a collision between underwater turbines and marine animals.
Forest managers in the eastern Cascades selectively thin forests to promote wildfire resilience. New research from the 天美影院shows that the same process can also increase seasonal snowpack, providing some relief to drought-prone areas throughout central Washington.
A new smart glove from the 天美影院Wearable Intelligence Lab could help physical therapy patients track progress and train robotic hands to grasp.
Lucas Meza, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at the 天美影院, started his lab to build a new generation of tough and light nanomaterials inspired by natural materials like wood, shell and bone. Instead, he discovered 鈥渂ig gaps鈥� in our basic understanding of what makes a material tough or brittle. Meza spoke to 天美影院News about his strange and surprising journey into the nano realm.
Researchers at the 天美影院have developed AI-powered headphones that automatically isolate conversation partners in a noisy soundscape. The system employs AI models that listen for the back-and-forth pattern of conversation and mute voices that aren鈥檛 following the established rhythm.
Researchers at the 天美影院have created a recyclable, flexible and self-healing composite material that could replace traditional circuit boards in future generations of wearable electronics.
Targeted drug delivery is a powerful and promising area of medicine. Therapies that pinpoint precise areas of the body can reduce the medicine dosage and avoid potentially harmful 鈥渙ff target鈥� effects. Researchers at the 天美影院took a significant step toward that goal by designing proteins with autonomous decision-making capabilities. By adding smart tail structures to therapeutic proteins, the team demonstrated that the proteins could be 鈥減rogrammed鈥� to act based on the presence of specific environmental cues.
A new analysis of data from the Cassini space probe has identified organic compounds within jets of water ice erupting from Saturn鈥檚 moon Enceladus. Some of the compounds, which likely originated in Enceladus鈥� subsurface ocean, have never before been identified on another world beyond Earth. The study, conducted in part by a 天美影院researcher, contributes to mounting evidence that Enceladus could support life.
New research from the 天美影院tested how much a car owner鈥檚 perception of public charger reliability influences their willingness to buy their first EV. The results were dramatic: Participants with a negative view of public charging were far less likely to choose an EV than those with a moderate view.
The James Webb Space Telescope has revealed new details in the core of the Butterfly Nebula, known to astronomers as NGC 6302. From the dense ring of dust that surrounds the nebula鈥檚 core to the tiny but bright star hidden within, the Webb observations paint a never-before-seen portrait of the nebula鈥檚 inner workings. Researchers at the 天美影院and around the world are studying the imagery to learn more about the origins of cosmic dust and its role in the formation of planets like ours.
Physicists have floated numerous theories to explain what dark matter might be, but to date, no experiment has turned up compelling evidence to support any of them. An international team of physicists, including researchers from the UW, is now working on a new kind of dark matter detector with the goal of capturing the first direct observation of the puzzling material. Results from the detector鈥檚 prototype have already ruled out one of the leading theories of how dark matter originated.
Antimicrobial resistance is a lurking threat in hospitals around the world. As more strains of bacteria and other microbes evolve defenses against available drugs, more patients run the risk of contracting infections that defy treatment. Now, 天美影院 researchers offer new insights into measures currently used to control the spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria and other infectious agents in health care facilities.
Researchers at the 天美影院 and Microsoft developed a new type of low-carbon concrete by mixing dried, powdered seaweed with cement. The seaweed-fortified cement has a 21% lower global warming potential while retaining its strength.