University of Washington

No matter how good we humans have made something, chances are nature did it better. Rather than compete, scientists have now tapped into a natural sensor with the Smellicopter, a drone that uses an antenna from a live moth to sniff out its targets.

Fertilizers typically contain phosphorous, as it's essential to growing plants. Unfortunately, though, it can become "locked" in the soil, and thus not available to crops. That said, it turns out that the addition of a microbe could unlock it.

A new understanding of the way tarantula toxins shut down electrical signals in the spider’s prey has given scientists hope of recreating this effect, but in a positive way through advanced drugs that treat chronic pain.

For people who are deaf or hard of hearing, it can be difficult to pick out important sounds, such as a doorbell or a fire alarm. A new smartwatch system called SoundWatch identifies sounds and alerts users to them with a buzz and a visual readout.

Researchers at the University of Washington have developed a tiny new sensor that can be carried around on a small drone or even the back of an insect – and then dropped on demand to track the environment for years at a time.

The brain may be a new drug target for longer term control of diabetes. Two new studies on rodents have investigated how a certain peptide works to induce remission for animals with diabetes, which could lead to new breakthroughs in human treatments.

A team of paleontologists has discovered that a 250-million-year-old species of animal called Lystrosaurus likely relied on hibernation to survive back when Antarctica was still part of the ancient supercontinent known as Pangaea.

Researchers have created a new camera system that’s so small and light it can perch on the back of a beetle. From there, it can be wirelessly controlled to focus on different things, streaming video and photos back to a phone connected via Bluetooth.

Washington University scientists working on techniques to turn stem cells into pancreatic beta cells are now reporting another exciting breakthrough, combining them with the CRISPR gene-editing tool to reverse the disease in mice.

A new study has shown how the world’s shipping is inadvertently serving up a live experiment, quantifying how the clouds modified by pollution they create can block solar energy, and measuring the effect this could be having on global temperatures.

If you've ever thought that you got food poisoning from eating sushi, you might have actually gotten worms from the stuff. A new study indicates that such fish worms are now more common than ever – although chefs usually pick them out.

University of Washington engineers are working on a new rocket engine called a Rotational Detonation Engine that promises to be lighter, more efficient, and simpler to make than conventional liquid-fuel rockets .... but it's far less predictable.