By Leila Gray

Insect-transmitted viruses, like Powassan and West Nile, which can attack the brain in some cases, are becoming a growing public health concern. Medical scientists are trying to understand how brain cells try to fend off invading viruses.

Recently they have learned that, in a turnabout, a biochemical self-destruct trigger found in many other types of cells appears to guard the lives of brain cells during infection with West Nile virus. 

By Victor Balta, UW News and Information

The University of Washington Board of Regents on Thursday approved the location for construction of a new building to house the UW’s Population Health Initiative. The centrally located site will bring together the work of the UW’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, Department of Global Health and parts of the School of Public Health while creating easy access for collaborators from other departments across campus and guests from around the world.

Celebrating Earth Day this past weekend, over 20,000 people showed up to March for Science in Seattle on April 22 at Cal Anderson Park. The March lasted four hours, and among the crowd of students, advocates, professors, researchers, parents, concerned citizens, and even WA Governor Jay Inslee, was a large contingency from the University of Washington community.

Imagine a therapeutic device that children with cerebral palsy could wear at home to strengthen their legs and increase their mobility, eventually allowing them to walk without assistance.  Now imagine the device was low-tech and affordable, making it accessible to children around the globe who have limited or no access to expensive therapies that require robotics, supervision by a trained clinician, or invasive surgeries.