Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

UW News @uwnews.uw.edu · 15h

Analysis of data from the Cassini space probe has identified organic compounds within jets of water ice erupting from Saturn’s moon Enceladus. Some of the compounds have never before been identified on another world beyond Earth.
More: www.washington.edu/news/2025/10...

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UW News @uwnews.uw.edu · 1d

Mary Brunkow, who won the Nobel Prize in Medicine yesterday, received her bachelor’s degree in molecular and cellular biology from the @uofwa.bsky.social in 1983.

Q&A: What to know about the UW biology degree that launched Nobel Prize laureate Mary Brunkow

The Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute on Monday awarded the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine jointly to Mary E. Brunkow — an alum of the University of Washington — along with...

www.washington.edu

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uofwa.bsky.social @uofwa.bsky.social · 2d

UW alum Mary Brunkow, ’83, won the Nobel Prize in Medicine this morning.
This photo was taken while she was on the phone with the Nobel Committee in Sweden. Mary said she initially missed the call because a strange number popped up on her phone — she thought it might be spam.
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UW News @uwnews.uw.edu · 5d

Quantum dots, which are 10,000 times smaller than the width of a human hair, are unique materials that generate very specific colors of light. Researchers, including @brandicossairt.bsky.social, hope that quantum dots can one day be useful for more than just illuminating TV screens.

Q&A: From TVs to the future of computing, UW professor explains what makes quantum dots shine

Quantum dots, which are 10,000 times smaller than the width of a human hair, are unique materials that generate very specific colors of light. Researchers, including Brandi Cossairt, UW professor of...

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UW News @uwnews.uw.edu · 6d

A new @uofwa.bsky.social study found that students in schools that offered free meals to all were less likely to have high blood pressure, suggesting that universal free meals might be a powerful tool for improving public health.

After schools instituted universal free meals, fewer students had high blood pressure, UW study finds

Students schools that offered free meals to all students were less likely to have high blood pressure, suggesting that universal free meals might be a powerful tool for improving public health.

www.washington.edu

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UW News @uwnews.uw.edu · 7d

Bee experts wouldn’t have previously expected to find the likes of Osmia cyaneonitens, Dufourea dilatipes and Stelis heronae in Washington. But this year, researchers added eight new bee species to a list of the state’s native pollinators.
More: www.washington.edu/news/2025/09...

Close-up of a bee specimen pinned for display.

A collection of pinned insect specimens.

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UW News @uwnews.uw.edu · 8d

@ischool.uw.edu -led study of X found that posts with Community Notes attached were less prone to going viral and got less engagement. @msaveski.bsky.social

Community Notes help reduce the virality of false information on X, study finds

A University of Washington-led study of X found that posts with Community Notes attached were less prone to going viral and got less engagement. After getting a Community Note, on average, reposts...

www.washington.edu

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UW News @uwnews.uw.edu · 9d

Long baleen whale mothers are more likely to have female calves than males, according to a new study led by the University of Washington. The findings contradict a popular evolutionary theory postulating that strong mammals benefit more from birthing males.
More: www.washington.edu/news/2025/09...

UW News @uwnews.uw.edu · 12d

@uwcse.bsky.social researchers @suinlee.bsky.social, @chanwoo-kim.bsky.social & @sohamgadgil.bsky.social argue that a key standard for deploying medical #AI is transparency — that is, using various methods to clarify how a medical AI system arrives at its diagnoses and outputs.

Q&A: Transparency in medical AI systems is vital, UW researchers say

In a recent paper, University of Washington researchers argue that a key standard for deploying medical AI is transparency — that is, using various methods to clarify how a medical AI system arrives...

www.washington.edu

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UW School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences @uwsafs.bsky.social · 13d

🐋📏Longer body size means more female calves for baleen whale moms, contradicting a popular evolutionary theory postulating that strong mammals benefit more from birthing males.

New research by UW QERM student Zoe Rand, @trevorabranch.bsky.social & Sarah Converse.

www.washington.edu/news/2025/09...

Longer body size means more female calves for baleen whale moms

University of Washington researchers found, in historical whaling data, that longer baleen whale mothers were more likely to birth female calves than males. These results run contrary to a leading...

www.washington.edu

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UW News @uwnews.uw.edu · 13d

From the dense ring of dust that surrounds the Butterfly Nebula’s core to the tiny but bright star hidden within, observations from the James Webb Space Telescope paint a never-before-seen portrait of the nebula’s inner workings.
More: www.washington.edu/news/2025/09...

A cosmic butterfly with red and blue wings

A vibrant, symmetrical space image from Hubble, resembling a butterfly.

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UW News @uwnews.uw.edu · 14d

Welcome back to class today, Huskies!

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UW DEOHS @uwdeohs.bsky.social · 15d

Join us Oct. 16! Jordan Barab, former deputy assistant secretary for the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA), will deliver the Breysse Lecture on "Workplace Safety and Health in the Current Political Landscape.” Get a sneak peek on our blog:
deohs.washington.edu/hsm-blog/how...

How politics influence workplace health and safety

Jordan Barab, former deputy assistant secretary for US Occupational Safety and Health Administration, presents Breysse Lecture on October 16

deohs.washington.edu

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UW News @uwnews.uw.edu · 15d

Research from @donmackenzie.bsky.social found that people with a negative view of public charger reliability were far less likely to choose an EV than those with a moderate view.
www.washington.edu/news/2025/09...

Inconsistent charging stations hinder EV adoption

New research from the UW tested how much a car owner’s perception of public charger reliability influences their willingness to buy their first EV. The results were dramatic: Participants with a...

www.washington.edu

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Don MacKenzie @donmackenzie.bsky.social · 15d

Summary of our recent paper finding that poor charging reliability may become a real drag on the EV market: www.washington.edu/news/2025/09...

Inconsistent charging stations hinder EV adoption

New research from the UW tested how much a car owner’s perception of public charger reliability influences their willingness to buy their first EV. The results were dramatic: Participants with a...

www.washington.edu

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UW News @uwnews.uw.edu · 17d

Welcome, Huskies! Thousands of incoming @uofwa.bsky.social students gathered for an annual 'W' formation today after kicking off the school year with a convocation ceremony. #newhuskies2025 #uwdawgdaze
Media assets: drive.google.com/drive/folder...

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UW News @uwnews.uw.edu · 19d

Did you know UW dental students, faculty members and community volunteers provide free care to communities across Washington? In total they serve hundreds of patients each academic quarter.

UW School of Dentistry shows its commitment to service through free clinics across Washington state

UW dental students, faculty members and community volunteers provide free care to communities across Washington, serving hundreds of patients each academic quarter.

www.washington.edu

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UW News @uwnews.uw.edu · 20d

Dengue fever incidence could rise as much as 76% by 2050 in parts of the world, according to a new @uwdeohs.bsky.social study.
More: www.washington.edu/news/2025/09...

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UW News @uwnews.uw.edu · 21d

Sven Haakanson, a UW professor of anthropology, worked with three Coast Salish carvers to install a story pole on campus. Story poles are created to share and teach Coast Salish legends, histories and stories. A celebration will be held by the carvers on Thursday.
www.washington.edu/news/2025/09...

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UW News @uwnews.uw.edu · 22d

Welcome home, Huskies! Students living on campus are moving in beginning today. B-roll and soundbites are available for media: drive.google.com/drive/folder...

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UW DEOHS @uwdeohs.bsky.social · 23d

Dengue fever incidence could rise as much as 76% by 2050 in parts of the world, according to a new study in @pnas.org by DEOHS faculty member Marissa Childs and colleagues. Read more from @uwnews.uw.edu: deohs.washington.edu/hsm-blog/war... @uwsph.bsky.social

A worker performs anti-mosquito fogging. The worker is in shadow on a dark street with billows of smoke rising up in the air.

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UW News @uwnews.uw.edu · 23d

Prochlorococcus, the most abundant photosynthesizing organism in the ocean, might be more vulnerable to climate change than researchers thought. Population decline could weaken the foundation of subtropical and tropical ecosystems as ocean temperatures continue to rise.

Ocean warming puts vital marine microbe at risk

Prochlorococcus, the most abundant photosynthesizing organism in the ocean, might be more vulnerable to climate change than researchers thought. Population decline could weaken the foundation of...

www.washington.edu

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UW News @uwnews.uw.edu · 26d

This week, researchers at Friday Harbor Labs released 29 lab grown sunflower sea stars into an urchin hot spot near San Juan Island with the hope that they will help keep the urchin population in check.
@uwenvironment.bsky.social

More on the project: www.washington.edu/news/2024/02...

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UW College of the Environment @uwenvironment.bsky.social · 27d

Scientists long believed that Prochlorococcus, the smallest and most abundant phytoplankton on Earth, would thrive in a warmer world. But new research suggests the microscopic bacterium will decline sharply as oceans heat up. @uwnews.uw.edu

Read the @apnews.com story: https://bit.ly/46celQV

Warming seas threaten key phytoplankton species that fuels the food web, study finds

New research suggests that a tiny phytoplankton that is an essential part of the marine food web may decline sharply as oceans warm.

bit.ly

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UW News @uwnews.uw.edu · 28d

For years, researchers have hypothesized that westerly winds were ferrying warm water toward the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, accelerating ice melt. A new @uwess.bsky.social study flips the existing narrative on its head, pointing toward winds from the north instead.
www.washington.edu/news/2025/09...

Penguins walking across sea ice by a large iceberg

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