Summer 2008
Masters of Disguise
WSU researchers close in on an elusive pair of pathogens. Their hunt may help small-scale farmers around the world. » More ...
Research
Fall 2008
Seeing red (and far-red)
Ask crop scientist Michael Neff about plant growth, and he won’t talk about rainfall or fertilizer. He’ll talk about what the plants see.
“What I’ve been interested in forever is how plants use light as a source of information,” says Neff. “Plants have photoreceptors that are completely independent of photosynthesis and chloroplasts, that read their environment and say, ‘I am in full sunlight, I’m in the shade of another plant, I’ve got plants that are growing too close to me,’” and so on. The photoreceptors then trigger a host of hormonal reactions that influence how tall the plant will grow.
Neff thinks it’s possible to … » More …
Fall 2008
To Err is Human
The older a woman is when she conceives, the more likely it is her eggs will have abnormal chromosomes. But beyond the fact of the biological clock, we often overlook a bigger story. Even with young mothers, chromosome abnormalities are the single most frequent cause of miscarriage and birth defects. Between 25 and 30 percent of all fertilized human eggs have the wrong number of chromosomes, a rate that seems peculiar to humans. » More ...
Spring 2006
Ghost Towns of the Anasazi
For the past three decades, WSU archaeologists and their students have been searching the Southwest with tools ranging from trowels to computers to uncover the story of a vanished people. » More ...
Spring 2006
The Secrets of Sweet Oblivion
What happens in our brains when we go to sleep—and what happens to us if we don't sleep enough—are questions that keep this research team up at night. » More ...
Spring 2003
Resilient Cultures—A new understanding of the New World
The history of European and Indian interactions is being dramatically rewritten. In a new book, a WSU historian produces an update. » More ...
Winter 2002
A Matter of Survival
One of the simplest truths of nature is that if a species is to survive, it must reproduce. faculty researchers explore reproduction's mysteries and threats. » More ...
Fall 2002
Small and smaller
There’s a limit to how small a piece of chocolate chip cookie you can have. At some point, you’ll either have a piece of chocolate or a piece of cookie, but not a piece of chocolate chip cookie.
You run into the same problem if you’re trying to make smaller silicon processor chips, says Kerry W. Hipps, professor of chemistry and materials science. Eventually the chip gets too small to function as a processor.
The processor is the brain in your computer. It makes the decisions about what data should go where, including how to route input like keyboard strokes, and how to route output … » More …
Fall 2002
Genetically modified foods—What’s in it for you?
If you think scientists all agree on genetically modified foods, think again. » More ...
Summer 2002
An English import invades Puget Sound
A classic case of good intention gone bad, English cordgrass (Spartina anglica) was introduced to Washington around 1962 to stabilize dikes and provide forage for cattle. The U.S. Department of Agriculture imported seeds from England, and a WSU extension agent planted the seeds near Stanwood in the Stillaguamish Estuary.
English cordgrass has since infested large areas around Stanwood, particularly Port Susan Bay, Skagit Bay, Admiralty Inlet, and Saratoga Passage. It has also spread, with disastrous environmental effect, to other parts of Puget Sound, including Camano Island, Whidbey Island, and the San Juan Islands.
Due to its tenacity, its rapid growth rate, and its ability to … » More …