biology
May 29, 2023
Teachers of the year
From inspiration to impact, this year’s Distinguished Teaching Award recipients mentor and nurture students from all disciplines.
February 26, 2023
Plant power
Doctoral student Natalia Guayazán Palacios works to understand how plants and microorganisms coexist.
November 26, 2022
On the scene of change
In data and in the field, professor Briana Abrahms seeks ways for humans and wildlife to coexist as the climate changes.
December 4, 2021
Room to grow
The Biology plant collection settles into its new home, a state-of-the-art greenhouse.
December 1, 2019
A tern for the worse
Feeding the wrong food to chicks could spell disaster for several species of terns.
August 30, 2018
New biologies
Nature is an interconnected web of life. A new Life Sciences building takes that to heart.
July 2, 2018
Meet the beetles
Biology professor Jim Kenagy takes in the surprising beauty of ordinary life in wild places.
March 30, 2017
Busting BS
Inside the class that's training students to catch—and call out—fake news and falsehoods.
September 1, 2016
The batwoman
Forget the silly myths about vampires. Sharlene Santana discovered that the role of bats in the environment is underrated. And most don't want to bite you.
December 1, 2015
'Scarface' found
A team of scientists has identified a new species of “pre-mammal” based on fossils unearthed in Zambia’s Luangwa Basin in 2009. Its discoverers include Christian Sidor, UW professor of biology and curator of vertebrate paleontology at the Burke Museum.
September 1, 2014
Fighter flies
University of Washington researchers used an array of high-speed video cameras operating at 7,500 frames a second to capture the wing and body motion of flies after they encountered a looming image of an approaching predator.
June 1, 2014
Life guard
Art Levinson, the driving force behind several cancer-fighting drugs, is the 2014 Alumnus Summa Laude Dignatus, the highest award bestowed upon UW alumni.
June 1, 2011
Bee detective
Charles Wick, ’71, ’73, ’79, may not wear the trademark deerstalker hat and smoke a long-stemmed pipe but when it comes to bees, he’s an ace detective.
December 1, 2010
Penguin pad
Dee Boersma and her team spent the last three weeks of September in the Galápagos Islands, building 120 nests for the endangered Galápagos penguins.
Bay keeper
Half of the West Coast’s oyster supply and roughly one in 10 oysters harvested in the U.S. comes from Willapa Bay. Ensuring the bay will remain productive, without compromising its overall health, has become the mission of Jennifer Ruesink, ’96, an associate professor with UW Department of Biology.
June 1, 2010
Top-notch teachers
The seven recipients of the Distinguished Teaching Award and one recipient of the Marsha L. Landolt Distinguished Graduate Mentor Award share the ability to inspire students to incredible heights.
June 1, 2009
Orca's best friend
The best way to gauge a whale’s health is to study its scat, and that requires a little Lab work.
December 1, 2008
Pepper protection
In a recent study of wild chili plants in Bolivia, researchers discovered that spice levels increase in peppers growing in areas threatened by fungus-carrying insects.
Clean and green
If, in 15 years, you’re driving a car powered by pond scum, you’ll probably have Rose Ann Cattolico to thank. The UW biology professor thinks algae is the most promising source of alternative energy out there.
September 1, 2008
Teachers of the year, 2008
The seven winners of the UW’s Distinguished Teaching Award talk about what happens in their celebrated classrooms.
Fish armor up
When Washingtonians initiated a lake cleanup and visibility jumped from about 30 inches to 25 feet, the stickleback had a challenge: Evolve or die. The fish’s solution? Revert to an earlier design.
September 1, 2007
Running the show
Kim Bottomly is bringing that same passion for hands-on learning to Wellesley College, where she assumed the presidency on Aug. 1.
Honoring a legend
The University will salute UW Genome Sciences and Biology Professor Benjamin Hall Oct. 17 when it dedicates its newest research facility in his honor.
June 1, 2006
The right questions
It was a puzzle no one could solve: How does the nose detect and distinguish 10,000 different odors? But Linda Buck's curiosity—and tenacity—led her to the answer and ultimately to Stockholm.
June 1, 2005
Antibiotics won't do it
Could bacteria also be a culprit in heart disease? In April the UW released the first results of a study — and the verdict so far for C. pneumoniae is not guilty.
March 1, 2005
Donation for science
The philanthropy of Genome Sciences and Biology Professor Benjamin D. Hall and his wife, Margaret A. Hall, ’84, is creating future support for graduate students in biology and genome sciences at the UW.
September 1, 2001
Turning off TB
UW Pathobiology Professor David Sherman announced that he was able to interrupt the function of a TB gene that allows the bacterium to go dormant.
June 1, 2000
No stopping her
Enthralled by science, Rita Colwell broke through a decades-old glass ceiling to become the first woman to lead the National Science Foundation.
September 1, 1999
For the heart
UW Professor Thomas Grayston is principal investigator of an $11 million grant to see if killing a form of bacteria reduces heart attacks.
March 1, 1994
Spineless friends
The Smithsonian Press calls UW zoology professor Alan Kohn the world's leading authority on marine cone snails.
September 1, 1993
The ultimate biotech
The emerging field of biomimetics draws on some of the most powerful source material imaginable: hundreds of millions of years of evolution.