Research

Statistics professor Zaid Harchaoui, working at the intersection of statistics and computing, explores what AI models do well, where they fall short, and why.

An international team led by researchers at the University of Washington 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 âactivateâ and he visually scans the immediate vicinity for a potential mate.

NASAâs upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will look for âfossilsâ of galaxy formation by conducting high-resolution imaging studies. Through a grant from NASA, astronomers are designing a set of possible observations called RINGS â the Roman Infrared Nearby Galaxies Survey â that would collect these images, and the team is producing publicly available tools that the astronomy community can use once Roman launches and starts collecting data.

Nick Riley's chemistry research aims to understand cellular processes involving sugars, which could one day lead to advances in treating a range of diseases.

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 University of Washington and University College London. By 2070, the overlap between humans and more than 22,000 vertebrate species will rise across nearly 57% of Earthâs land, according to the team.

New research shows that galaxies in denser parts of the universe are usually larger than those that are more isolated. Aritra Ghosh, a postdoctoral researcher in astronomy at the UW, is quoted.

A new study has found galaxies with more neighbors tend to be larger than their counterparts that have a similar shape and mass, but reside in less dense environments. In a paper published Aug. 14 in the Astrophysical Journal, the team, which used a machine-learning algorithm to analyze millions of galaxies, reports that galaxies found in denser regions of the universe are as much as 25% larger than isolated galaxies. The findings resolve a long-standing debate among astrophysicists over the relationship between a galaxyâs size and its environment, but also raise new questions about how galaxies form and evolve over billions of years.

"In the face of shrinking populations, many of the world’s major economies are trying to engineer higher birth rates," co-writes Win Brown, an affiliate researcher at the Center for Studies in Demography & Ecology at the UW.

"In the Old Town of Rhodes, a picturesque tourist destination in the Aegean Sea, stands a monument to a dark period in the island’s past. In the former “Djuderia,” the Jewish quarter, a marble obelisk commemorates the deportation of the island’s small but vibrant Sephardic Jewish community to Auschwitz-Birkenau on July 23, 1944," writes Devin Naar, associate professor of history and of Jewish studies at the UW.

"Elon Musk recently pronounced that the next Neuralink project will be a “Blindsight” cortical implant to restore vision...Unfortunately, this claim rests on the fallacy that neurons in the brain are like pixels on a screen. It’s not surprising that engineers often assume that “more pixels equals better vision.” After all, that is how monitors and phone screens work," write Ione Fine and Geoffrey Boynton, professors of psychology at the UW.

If Elon Musk’s Neuralink brain-implant venture succeeds in its effort to create next-generation brain implants for artificial vision, the devices could bring about a breakthrough for the visually impaired — but probably wouldn’t match Musk’s claim that they could provide “better than normal vision,” UW researchers report. Ione Fine and Geoffrey Boynton, professors of psychology at the UW, are quoted.

Elon Musk's ambitious eye implants that "ultimately may exceed normal human vision" are unlikely to reach this lofty benchmark, according to scientists who have used "virtual patients" to expose the limitations of this innovative technology. Even the greatest engineering is no match for human neurophysiology in restoring sight. Ione Fine, professor of psychology at the UW, is quoted.

The brainy machines are predicting global weather patterns with new speed and precision, doing in minutes and seconds what once took hours. Chris Bretherton, professor emeritus of atmospheric sciences and of applied mathematics at the UW, is mentioned.

Researchers have made startling discoveries in recent years about a crow’s ability to communicate, solve problems, remember people and use tools. What researchers are discovering about crow brains is changing how scientists understand intelligence — and bringing into question our accepted version of evolution. John Marzluff, professor of environmental and forest sciences at the UW, Loma Pendergraft, lecturer of psychology at the UW, and Doug Wacker, assistant professor of biological sciences at UW Bothell, are quoted.

UW Chemistry professor Xiaosong Li has joined the College of Arts & Sciences leadership team as associate dean for research.