Riffell Lab, University of Washington

The embargo on our latest research has just been lifted! We are excited to finally be able to share our findings on why pollination drops significantly at night. The study was just published in the Journal Science. We've been talking with reporters all day-- here is a link to the The New York Times article which will be printed in the paper tomorrow:

Polluted Flowers Smell Less Sweet to Pollinators, Study Finds The research, involving primroses and hawk moths, suggests that air pollution could be interfering with plant reproduction.

Part Time Weekend Job Alert: Help take care of the moths used in our pollination studies! We are seeking a motivated undergraduate student to assist in maintaining the colony of to***co hornworm, Manduca sexta. 4-8 hours per week. Link for details in comments.
📸 by Kiley Riffell Photography

Our lab’s work with Artificial Intelligence was featured by GeekWire today:

Scientists are using AI to study bee behavior, zebra movement, and insects on treadmills A bumblebee labelled for tracking by computer vision. (James Crall Photo) The halls at a recent meeting of biologists in Seattle were buzzing with more

I swung by KING 5 studios for an interview with Amity Addrisi. Thanks for having me New Day NW! You can watch my full interview at https://youtu.be/SRiF7SWdoDE

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Yes, mosquitoes are more attracted to certain people - New Day NW Are you the type of person who is a magnet for mosquitoes? UW biology professor Jeff Riffell joined the show to breakdown why that may be.-------------------...

Preparing a drone to fly our suite of chemical sensors that use a neural network to process complex odor mixtures. It was a big success... picking out trace chemicals from the air. - with Eli Shlizerman and Jacky Wang

Congrats to Dr. Marie Clifford for a fantastic dissertation and defense! You did great!

Congrats to Claire Rusch for passing her general exam today! Glad to have you for a few more years!

We are excited to announce that Riffell Lab won UW's prestigious Innovation Award for our mosquito research!

Here is a description of the project that this award will fund:

Generating mutant mosquitoes to identify the genetic and neural bases of human host-seeking behavior

Mosquitos can carry a number of serious human diseases, including malaria, yellow fever, Zika, and West Nile virus. Mosquitos locate hosts using their sensitive olfactory system, and many vary in their preference for individual humans or other hosts. Prior experience with a host affects future host choices, and many mosquitos can change their host preference if necessary. However, there is no information about the neural and genetic bases of these behaviors.

In this project, Dr. Riffell’s work with mosquitos will use “cutting-edge genetic manipulations and new neurophysiological recording methods to identify the genetic and olfactory bases of host preferences in mosquitos”. Additionally, Dr. Riffell will investigate how learning modifies mosquito behavior in regards to host choice. Ultimately, one goal of this work is to determine if there are possible genetic targets for mosquito control.

Check out the great conference Riffell Lab PhD student, Eleanor Lutz is organizing at Google this week! The conference is designed to empower STEM graduate students to communicate the concepts in their field and beyond to diverse audiences. This unique professional development experience will provide attendees with a fantastic opportunity to meet leaders in the communication of research from across the region, learn from and interact with a remarkable group of invited experts, and produce an original work communicating scholarly research to a new audience. More info here: http://comscicon.com/comscicon-pnw2017

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Thanks Kamm Teply for the awesome brain hat! I'm wearing it with pride!

And congratulations to Dr. Yasmeen Hussain for being selected as an AAAS Congressional Fellow through the Biophysical Society. Dr. Hussain was a Seattle ARCS Fellow and her PhD was on the chemosensory basis of sea urchin reproduction and gamete interactions.

Congrats to Kennedy Tobin for receiving a Mary Gates scholarship! This will allow Kennedy to continue his fantastic research on mosquito sensory fusion.

A Visual Guide to the Women Venus's Geography Is Named For

Pretty cool article about Eleanor Lutz's work!

"When space tourism is in full swing, you’ll need to know how to get around foreign planets. One designer is already making maps to guide us.

Scientist and information designer Eleanor Lutz, a Ph.D. candidate in the University of Washington’s biology program, has previously mapped Mars, turned viruses into trading cards, and made an animated guide to North American butterflies. Her latest infographic is a map of Venus...."

http://mentalfloss.com/article/93113/visual-guide-women-venuss-geography-named

mentalfloss.com Almost every topographical feature on the second planet is named for a famous woman from mythology or history.

Orchids Mimic Human Body Odor to Attract Mosquitoes

If you are at come check out my talk tomorrow! http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news/2017/01/orchids-mimic-human-body-odor-attract-mosquitoes

laboratoryequipment.com According to Shakespeare, “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet”. But what makes a rose smell sweet? And why has it evolved to smell that way?

Moths & Microscopes: So much fun visiting a local preschool and letting them get a close up view of the life cycle of the Manduca sexta

Our Electrical Engineering students will be presenting their work on developing bio-inspired sensors for air monitoring tomorrow, June 6th. It is part of the senior capstone design program on "Crowd Sensing." Here is a link to the event invitation: http://goo.gl/forms/3h0T8WLGdl

And here is a look at the sensor platforms which the students tested around the UW campus:

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We are doing an interview for Q13 Fox tomorrow about our mosquito research and the Zika virus... check it out!

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Here is a look at our research on the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes as described in the Stranger article. Photo by Kiley Riffell Photography.

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Love in the Time of Zika

Big thanks to The Stranger for their great article on research underway in our lab:

http://www.thestranger.com/feature/2016/05/11/24068596/love-in-the-time-of-zika

University of Washington News UW Biology Zika virus

thestranger.com In the Middle of the World's Zika Crisis, These Researchers Are Studying What It Means When Mosquitoes Are Able to Learn

AFOSR, Air Force Office of Scientific Research

This illustration by Eleanor Lutz shows the wingbeats of five different flying species! The graphic includes Bats in Slow Motion 2 by the Cranbrook Institute of Science, Life in the Underground by David Attenborough, Geese taking flight by Edward Tufte, Hummingbird in slow motion by Masateru Maeda, Chiba University, and Moth feeding from a flower by the Riffell Lab, University of Washington. More information and a larger version can be found at http://tabletopwhale.com/2014/09/29/flight-videos-deconstructed.html

Thanks everyone who stopped by our Discovery Days table to check out our artificial nose. It has been an awesome collaboration with the engineering department. Looking forward to our future projects! UW Biology

Had so much fun talking with two groups of preschoolers about metamorphosis this morning. Loved all their great questions! UW Biology

Orchids give off human ‘body odor’ to attract mosquitoes

Thanks for the great coverage of research in Science! Nice work by Chloé Lahandere, Ryo Okubo & Clément Vinuager.

news.sciencemag.org Findings could lead to improved mosquito bait

Here is a look at who will be presenting: http://www.sicb.org/meetings/2016/symposia/neuroecology.php

www.sicb.org How do animals detect and process information, and respond appropriately? Animal behavior mediates many critical ecological processes that, in turn, have implications for the evolution of these interactions. Because the peripheral and central nervous systems ultimately control these behaviors, this…

I'll be live tweeting from Monday's Neuroecology Symposium: neural mechanisms of sensory and motor processes that mediate ecologically relevant behaviors. Find me on Twitter:

Getting excited for - 6 people from our lab will be talking or presenting. See you in Portland!

UW researchers study how bats and plants evolved together

A great article about our research on bats in Costa Rica https://t.co/k0068IVJEi UW Biology National Science Foundation (NSF) Burke Museum

t.co Beyond one plant and one bat

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Lab photo hour! With- Kiley Riffell Photography

Photographs by Kiley Riffell Photography - UW Biology