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• WSU Researchers Offer Insight into the Fate of an Ancient Civilization in the American Southwest

  

  Using computer simulations to synthesize both new and earlier research, a team of scientists led by a Washington State University anthropology professor has given new perspective to the long-standing question of what happened more than 700 years ago to cause the ancestral Pueblo people known as the Anasazi to abruptly end their 700-year-long occupation of the now-famous cliff dwellings of Mesa Verde and other nearby communities in southwestern Colorado. Read more

• Scientific American Names WSU Scientist One of Top 50 Researchers of 2007

  Washington State University reproductive biologist Patricia A. Hunt has been named one of the top 50 researchers of 2007 by Scientific American, for her work showing a potential threat to human health posed by bisphenol A (BPA), a component of the polycarbonate plastics used to make food and beverage containers. “There’s been so much good work in this area in the past year that to be singled out is really an honor,” said Hunt after learning of her selection. Read more

• Creating Music that Gives Meaning and Hope to Life

  

  Composers make choices, choices beyond number. During the 20th century perhaps the biggest choice was: follow your head or your heart? Read more

• WSU Researcher Casts Doubt on Reports of Increasing Violence by Teen-aged Girls

  

  While law enforcement agencies are continuing to report a rising trend in violent crime arrests of girls aged 12 to 17, a study by a Washington State University sociologist and her research associate shows there has been little actual change in the rate at which young females commit all forms of violent crime in the U.S. for nearly two decades. Read more

• WSU Researchers Report Statewide Decline in Child Safety Restraint Use

  

  Washingtonians may lead the nation in buckling up when they drive, but recent research at Washington State University shows the state’s drivers are not nearly so conscientious when it comes to providing proper child safety restraints for the children riding with them. Read more

• Researchers Find Work Performance Standards Higher for Women; In surveys of American and British employees, gender gap persists

  

  The joke, "Whatever women do they must do twice as well as men to be thought half as good," may not be totally off the mark in the workplace. In a recent study, no matter how they sliced the data and controlled certain variables, sociologists Julie Kmec of Washington State University and Elizabeth Gorman of the University of Virginia came to the same conclusion: women say they have to work harder than men. Read more

• Study Finds Early Primaries Would Boost States’ Impact on White House Races

  As they prepare to caucus this weekend in the shadow of Super Tuesday’s much-publicized presidential primary, a new study by a Washington State University professor and political scientist suggests Washington’s voters could likely have boosted their impact on the race for the White House had they instead participated in an earlier primary process. Read more

• $1 Million Grant Advances Aquatic Exercise Research

  Thanks to a $1 million grant from the National Swimming Pool Foundation, Washington State University researchers plan to create the National Aquatics and Sports Medicine Institute. “This will be the world’s premiere center for aquatic health research,” said the institute director, Bruce Becker, a physician and research professor in WSU’s College of Education. “There is no other lab with this mission and focus. The foundation’s grant gives us tremendous movement forward. We intend to build on our initial research and fill the knowledge gaps of how water benefits our hearts, lungs and endocrine systems.” Read more

Recent News

• Education Expert Urges Teachers to Tune in to Popular Culture

  PULLMAN, Wash.-- Rather than ignoring the latest video games, rap songs and cartoon shows, teachers should be using them to engage students, said Washington State University Assistant Professor Trenia Walker.

• WSU Research Breakthroughs Named to List of the Year’s Top 100 Science Stories

  Two ground-breaking studies by Washington State University research teams are among the top 100 science stories of the year, according to Discover magazine. One of the teams, led by molecular biologist Michael Skinner, made the list for the second time in three years. Also making the list of top stories is research led by molecular anthropologist Brian Kemp.

• A Skeptical Nature May be Your Best Defense Against Online Frauds

  If you’re not easily taken in by e-mail “phishing” attempts and other fraudulent Internet scams designed to get you to reveal sensitive personal information, it may not be so much a result of your online experience and computer savvy as a natural reflection of your own personality.

• Nutrition Study May Give Potato New Respect

  Pullman, Wash. -- The potato, shunned by Americans for its high carbohydrate content, may be healthier than we give it credit. A new study at Washington State University is examining some of its nutritional benefits. Brightly colored potatoes, such as purple, red and yellow, contain higher levels of antioxidants compared with white potatoes, according to Boon Chew, WSU professor of nutritional immunology. Antioxidants help to prevent diseases by improving the human immune system.

• Merial Licenses WSU DNA Testing Technology

  PULLMAN, Wash. -- Washington State University has signed a licensing agreement with Merial Limited., a world-leading animal health company, to commercialize DNA technology that will benefit beef and dairy cattle producers in the selection, breeding and management of their herds. The technology was originally developed by Zhihua Jiang, assistant professor of animal sciences.

• WSU Prof’s New Book Argues Corporate Media Influence Will Be Offset by Technology, Specialized Media

  While mass media corporations will grow globally and reach more people than ever in the 21st century, a Washington State University researcher and media sociologist predicts that the media giants won’t influence the world marketplace any more than they have in the past.

• WSU Researchers Do Landmark Shock Wave Experiments at Argonne’s Advanced Photon Source

  A team of physicists from Washington State University has successfully completed the first experiments using the nation’s premiere synchrotron X-ray facility to detect shock wave-induced changes in a crystalline material.

• Contagion!
  Emerging diseases: Unraveling the mystery

  Human beings have faced new diseases, and more deadly forms of old diseases, all through history. Today fears of an epidemic are on the rise, fueled by reports of exotic infections and antibiotic-resistant "super bugs." Despite sophisticated modern techniques for tracking killer pathogens, figuring out where the next deadly disease will come from--and how to stop it--is not a simple task.

• WSU Researchers Decipher First Steps in How Key Hormone Promotes Plant Defense and Reproduction

  To many people, the scent of jasmine flowers suggests a romantic interlude in an exotic locale. But jasmonate, the main component of the lush scent, carries far different meanings for plants. It is a hormone they use to regulate reproductive development, immunity to pathogens, defense against insect herbivores and other critical aspects of their biology.

• Sleep patterns may have genetic links

  Researchers have long observed significant differences in normal people’s sleep. Some are light sleepers, whereas others sleep deeply. Some fall asleep right away, while others take their time. Such sleeping pattern variability has long been attributed solely to differences in circumstances, habits, and other non-biological factors. But now a landmark study led by Hans Van Dongen, associate research professor and assistant director of the Sleep and Performance Research Center at Washington State University Spokane has shown that these individual variabilities constitute traits which may eventually prove genetic in origin.

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