University of Washington News - SciTechDaily

HuGE AI Breakthrough: Using Crowdsourced Feedback in Robot Training

Adam Zewe, Massachusetts Institute of Technology — Mon, 27 Nov 2023 10:42:52 +0000

Human Guided Exploration (HuGE) enables AI agents to learn quickly with some help from humans, even if the humans make mistakes. To teach an AI...

Breaking the Born-Oppenheimer Approximation – Experiments Unveil Long-Theorized Quantum Phenomenon

Argonne National Laboratory — Tue, 03 Oct 2023 21:16:22 +0000

Ultrafast lasers and X-rays have revealed the coupling between electronic and nuclear dynamics in molecules. Nearly a century ago, physicists Max Born and J. Robert...

Robotic Acoustic Swarms: Shape-Changing Smart Speaker for Ultimate Audio Control in Any Room

University of Washington — Thu, 21 Sep 2023 09:00:48 +0000

Introducing a smart speaker system that uses robotic ‘acoustic swarms’ to pinpoint and manage sounds, promising both enhanced audio control and privacy in busy settings....

New Research Reveals That Long COVID Is Not a Single Condition

University of Washington School of Medicine — Tue, 12 Sep 2023 00:42:06 +0000

The study revealed that symptoms evolve over time, with numerous patients experiencing headaches and fatigue. New data from a nationwide study recently published in the...

Unlocking the Secrets of Microbial Dark Matter: The Enigmatic World of Patescibacteria

University of Washington School of Medicine — Sun, 10 Sep 2023 05:19:58 +0000

Scientists uncover the genes essential for the unusual lifestyle of minuscule bacteria that live on the surface of larger bacteria. Patescibacteria are a mysterious group...

Why Omicron Is Different – New Study Helps Explain SARS-CoV-2 Variants’ Rapid Spread

University of Washington School of Medicine — Fri, 01 Sep 2023 10:18:18 +0000

Omicron variants, which spread rapidly worldwide, attach to cells more effectively and elude antibodies with greater efficiency compared to earlier variants. The omicron variants of...

No More Cavities? Organoids Pave the Way for Enamel Regeneration

University of Washington School of Medicine — Wed, 16 Aug 2023 20:29:54 +0000

This advance is viewed as a pivotal initial step toward innovative therapies for the repair and regeneration of teeth. Stem cells have been used to...

Global Genomes: Scientists Rewrite the Story of Human Genetics

University of Washington School of Medicine — Mon, 07 Aug 2023 17:14:51 +0000

University of Washington School of Medicine researchers played key roles in several aspects of a new genomic reference collection representing greater human population diversity. UW...

Near-Earth “Potentially Hazardous” Asteroid Discovered: First Triumph for HelioLinc3D Algorithm

University of Washington — Wed, 02 Aug 2023 02:29:48 +0000

HelioLinc3D, a next-generation asteroid discovery algorithm developed for the Vera C. Rubin Observatory’s upcoming sky survey, has identified its first “potentially hazardous” asteroid, 2022 SF289....

Gateway to 3D Material Revolution: Researchers Put a Graphene Twist on Graphite

University of Washington — Wed, 19 Jul 2023 15:00:27 +0000

A breakthrough study by the University of Washington has shown that graphite, a 3D material, can be manipulated to possess properties of its 2D counterpart,...

A Major Quantum Computing Leap With a Magnetic Twist – “A New Paradigm”

University of Washington — Wed, 28 Jun 2023 12:06:13 +0000

A University of Washington-led team has made a key quantum computing breakthrough by detecting fractional quantum anomalous Hall states in semiconductor material flakes, which could...

The Great Odyssey: Where Does Beach Sand Come From?

David R. Montgomery, University of Washington — Mon, 26 Jun 2023 17:51:00 +0000

Where Does Beach Sand Come From? The seemingly simple beach sand is actually the result of an epic natural process of mountain erosion and river...

First Direct Evidence of Phosphorus – a Key Building Block of Life – on an Extraterrestrial Ocean World

University of Washington — Tue, 20 Jun 2023 03:25:16 +0000

Saturn’s moon Enceladus contains phosphates, a key building block of life, at levels significantly higher than Earth’s oceans, suggesting potential habitability, according to a study...

Atomic “Breathing” – A New Building Block for Quantum Technology

University of Washington — Mon, 19 Jun 2023 21:54:29 +0000

Scientists at the University of Washington have found a way to detect atomic “breathing,” the mechanical oscillation between two atomic layers, by watching the specific...

Humans vs. Monkeys – Do We See Colors the Same Way?

University of Washington School of Medicine — Thu, 04 May 2023 14:06:29 +0000

Research indicates that certain neural cell circuits responsible for color vision are exclusive to humans. Research in the field of color vision has uncovered new...

Scientists Discover Mysterious Warm Liquid Spewing From Oregon Seafloor

University of Washington — Mon, 17 Apr 2023 21:08:34 +0000

The field of plate tectonics is relatively new, and researchers are still uncovering the intricacies of geologic faults that cause earthquakes. One such fault, the...

Protein Power Play: SpyLigation Flips the Switch With a Flash of Light

Ian Haydon, University of Washington School of Medicine — Mon, 17 Apr 2023 15:00:59 +0000

This light-activation technology has potential applications in tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, and understanding how the body works. Scientists have developed light-activated SpyLigation, a method using...

Scientists Have Overcome the “Biggest Roadblock” to Regenerating the Human Heart

University of Washington School of Medicine/UW Medicine — Mon, 10 Apr 2023 03:16:39 +0000

Engineered stem cells do not provoke dangerous heart rhythms, a challenge that has prevented the progress of stem cell transplants for damaged hearts. Researchers at...

Climate Change: A “Win-Win” Between Farmers and an Apex Predator

Cornell University — Sat, 25 Mar 2023 17:58:09 +0000

A recent study shows that bald eagles in northwestern Washington state have adapted to climate change-induced changes in their traditional diet of salmon carcasses by...

Climate Change Is Increasing Human-Wildlife Conflicts Globally

University of Washington — Sat, 25 Mar 2023 07:46:39 +0000

Traditionally, research on the effects of climate change has treated its impacts on people and ecosystems as separate entities. However, a recent study has demonstrated...

The Seven-Year Photobomb: Astronomers Discover Source of Distant Star’s Unusual Dimming

University of Washington — Sun, 12 Feb 2023 21:41:58 +0000

By their own admission, Anastasios “Andy” Tzanidakis and James Davenport are interested in unusual stars. The University of Washington astronomers were searching for “stars behaving...

New Research Shows That Something Strange Is Going On in the Butterfly Nebula

University of Washington — Sat, 11 Feb 2023 21:33:14 +0000

Planetary nebulae are formed when red giant stars reach the end of their helium fuel supply and eject their outer layers, becoming hot and dense...

Bad News: Warming Oceans Have Decimated Marine Parasites

University of Washington — Mon, 06 Feb 2023 23:29:14 +0000

Over 100 years of preserved fish specimens provide a unique look at parasite population trends over time. A study from the University of Washington reveals...

A Nationwide Issue – The Surprising Link Between Warm Days and Gun Violence in America

Boston University School of Public Health — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 07:15:44 +0000

A new study is the first to establish a connection between higher temperatures and an elevated risk of shootings in the 100 largest cities in...