Category: Seattle Science
Microbial molecules in our blood may influence how our cells function
In an unexpected finding, scientists in Seattle have found small molecules from bacteria, fungi and other organisms in human blood that could be influencing how our bodies function.
Americans living longer but less healthy lives, UW-led research finds
Americans are living longer lives, but we are living out these longer lives with chronic illnesses in large part due to our lifestyle choices, including eating unhealthy diets, failing to exercise, smoking, and using alcohol and drugs.
Seattle’s contribution to kidney-failure research reflected in one woman’s story
When 18-year-old Nancy Spaeth’s kidneys a failed in 1966, Seattle researchers had recently launched the world’s first outpatient artificial kidney clinic. The clinic, now known as the Northwest Kidney Centers, commemorates its 50th anniversary this year. At a recent event celebrating the centers’ anniversary, reporter Mali Main spoke with Spaeth about her life as a kidney failure patient and how far treatment has come over the past five decades.
Chronic illness and disability becoming world’s leading health challenges – UW-led study finds
We’re living longer, but many of us are living with chronic illnesses that significantly lower the quality of our lives, according to a new study led by researchers at the University of Washington.
UW Medicine donors try their hand at protein folding
UW Medicine’s donors gathered recently to be recognized for their contributions and to match wits on the University of Washington’s online game Foldit, a interactive protein-folding game developed by UW researchers that has drawn more than 200,000 Internet gamers.
Group Health study finds “shared decision making” may reduce medical procedures
A new Group Health Cooperative study about decision aids, materials given to patients to help educate them about treatment options, shows that they can help hold down costs.
Pacific Northwest Diabetes Research Institute appoints John Wecker president and CEO.
Dr. Wecker, who has been Global Program Leader, Vaccine Access and Delivery at PATH, succeeds Dr. Jack Faris, who has been serving as acting CEO during the past eighteen months. Dr. Faris will remain part of the PNDRI team as a strategic advisor.
Hutchinson Center President Larry Corey Elected American Academy of Art and Sciences Fellow
Dr. Corey is an expert in virology, immunology and vaccine development. His research has focused on herpes viruses, HIV and other viral infections, particularly those associated with cancer.
Paul Allen donates $300 million to Allen Institute for Brain Science
The new funds will support the first four years of a 10-year plan that will double the Institute’s staff to 350 and launch three new scientific initiatives.
Hutch researchers identify barrier that blocks pancreatic cancer drugs
Researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have discovered a physical mechanism that prevents chemotherapy from reaching pancreatic cancer cells, as well as a way to reverse that mechanism.
Seattle Children’s opens biobank for pregnancy research
The Global Alliance to Prevent Prematurity and Stillbrith (GAPPS) repository will store specimens from pregnant women that researchers from around the world can use to study both normal and abnormal pregnancies.
Brain changes linked autism start early in life — UW study
Changes in the brains of children at high-risk for developing autism who later go on to develop the condition can be detected as early as six months of age, long before any signs of autistic behavior appear.
Strange organisms shed light on how living things evolve
Researchers at Seattle’s Institute for Systems Biology have discovered how a group of organisms that thrive in places where conditions would kill most living things —such as hot springs, geysers, and salt ponds — rapidly adapt to changing conditions.
Hutch hosts lecture series for the public next month
Next month, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center offers its annual “Science for Life” series in which the center’s top researchers will explain the latest science in a fun and informal atmosphere.
RNAi explained: Animation by Ballard’s Arkitek Studios
A video explaining RNA interference — or RNAi — from the journal Nature Reviews Genetics. The animation by Ballard-based Arkitek Studios.
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