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Tag Biology

Making biominerals: nature’s recipe is old, evolved more than once

August 19, 2019

In recent years, scientists have teased out many of the secrets of biomineralization, the process by which sea urchins grow spines, mollusks build their shells…

Heat kills invasive jumping worm cocoons, could help limit spread

June 20, 2019

New research is good news for ecologists and horticulturalists who are working to slow or stop the spread of the worms. But little remains known about the life cycle of these damaging invaders or how to stop them.

H3N2 viruses mutate during vaccine production but new tech could fix it

April 29, 2019

UW-Madison researchers describe a new cell line that enables better growth of H3N2 for vaccine use. The virus is also far less likely to mutate during production using this cell line, improving the chances of a match between vaccine and circulating influenza viruses.

Have microscope, will travel: New tech project links Madison, Boston scientists

March 19, 2019

Researcher Jan Huisken’s vision is to redesign a high-end optical microscope — normally big enough to fill an entire room — down to the dimensions of a suitcase, with minimal loss of power or precision.

UW–Madison researcher awarded “Make Our Planet Great Again” grant

March 14, 2019

Professor Carol E. Lee has just been awarded a grant from the French government to investigate the ability of plankton to evolve and adapt to a changing climate.

UW alum masterminding next generation data storage: A solution to the datapocalypse?

March 11, 2019

In a meeting at the Weinert Center for Entrepreneurship at the Wisconsin School of Business, Hyunjun Park said the device will hold digital information in DNA – life’s evolution-perfected “data storage” molecule.

Steve Miller, Tom Brock to receive honorary degrees

February 14, 2019

This year’s recipients of honorary degrees from UW–Madison are both rock stars — one literally, the other in microbiology. The honorees are Steve Miller, a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, and Thomas Brock, who helped usher in modern molecular biology.

Citizen science monitoring program Journey North finds home at Arboretum

February 5, 2019

Journey North has more than 60,000 registered participants in the United States, Canada and Mexico. People report sightings from the field, view maps, take photographs and submit observations.

Researchers find value in unusual type of plant material

September 28, 2018

UW-Madison scientists have shown that a recently-discovered variety of lignin, catechyl lignin (C-lignin), has attributes that could make it well-suited as the starting point for a range of bioproducts.

Finding a weak link in the frightful parasite Schistosoma

July 10, 2018

More than 250 million people, mostly in Africa and Asia, have schistosomiasis, which kills an estimated 280,000 each year. “We don’t get that many aha! moments in our lives as scientists,” says a researcher. “This was one of them.”

High-powered microscopy coming to a scientist near you

June 21, 2018

A portable light-sheet microscope that shrinks to the weight and dimensions of a packed suitcase can be mailed to a lab anywhere in the world, configured remotely by Morgridge Institute for Research engineers to run experiments.

Searching the sea, and bacterial battles, for new antibiotics

June 6, 2018

Researchers in pharmacy and bacteriology say their discovery would not have been possible without a cross-college collaboration going back nearly a decade.