Biological Sciences

Dr. Universe: How do cacti survive in hot, dry environments?

All plants need water to survive. Those that live in places where water is scarce use some interesting strategies to stay alive. That’s what I found out from my friend Charles Cody, who manages one of the greenhouses at Washington State University. When I went to visit the greenhouse, he pointed out a few different […]

North America’s first electron microscope

Early in the 20th century, a five-foot-tall golden microscope on the Washington State University campus was the most powerful imaging device on the continent. Despite its scientific significance, it has been largely lost from the pages of history. “Europe’s first electron microscope earned its inventors a Nobel prize and is on display at the Deutsches […]

15 CAS students earn leadership, engagement awards

Fifteen undergraduate students plus two faculty and one staff member from across the College of Arts and Sciences were recognized during the 2018 Leadership and Engagement Awards of Distinction ceremony on April 17. Award recipients demonstrate exceptional leadership and service to the university and the community and support the leadership development and engagement of WSU […]

2018 CAS awards honor faculty, staff, grad students

Fourteen faculty, three staff, and five graduate students were honored for outstanding achievement at the 2018 College of Arts and Sciences Appreciation and Recognition Social last week. Regents Professor Kerry W. Hipps, an international leader in chemistry, and Barry Hewlett, a veteran anthropologist with a global reputation, received the top two faculty awards. Patricia Thorsten-Mickelson, […]

17 CAS students honored with SURCA awards

From the health benefits of the Lucky Iron Fish to advances in detecting hydrogen polysufides to the cultural impact of a Brazilian composer’s work, 17 CAS students received top honors at the 2018 Showcase of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities (SURCA) competition in April. Hosted by the Office of Undergraduate Research, SURCA features faculty-mentored research, […]

Analyzing fish skull development and evolutionary success

A biology researcher at WSU Tri-Cities aims to pinpoint underpinnings of evolutionary success by analyzing the skull morphology of a handful of fish species. “One-third of living vertebrates belong to two fish lineages that independently evolved the ability to project their upper jaws forward from the face during feeding,” said Jim Cooper, assistant professor of […]

Crimson Spirit Award – Elly Sweet

Recipient of the WSU Crimson Spirit Award for March 2018 is Elly Sweet, a clinical assistant professor in the School of Biological Sciences at WSU Tri-Cities. Honored for her exceptional mentoring and outstanding contributions to the WSU community, Sweet is the faculty academic advisor for all certified majors in biology, general studies in biological sciences, […]

NIH funding for Tasmanian devil cancer research

WSU biologist Andrew Storfer’s work on cancer in Tasmanian devils is one of eight studies awarded funding recently by the National Institutes of Health/ National Science Foundation’s Ecology and Evolution of Infectious Diseases program. Storfer is the principle investigator of an international collaboration with researchers in Australia that received $2.3 million from the NIH to […]

CAS leads top 20 WSU research stories of 2017

From rising inequality and declining Monarch butterfly populations to a particle with negative mass, news coverage about the College of Arts and Sciences research reached millions of people last year. News outlets carrying the stories ran the gamut of the nation’s most popular media, including CNN, The Washington Post and National Public Radio, as well […]