Archived news stories

• Common soil mineral degrades the nearly indestructible prion Jan. 14, 2009 In the rogues' gallery of microscopic infectious agents, the prion is the toughest hombre in town.
• Soil particles found to boost prion’s capacity to infect July 6, 2007 The rogue proteins that cause chronic wasting disease (CWD) exhibit a dramatic increase in their infectious nature when bound to common soil particles, according to a new study.
• Study: Prions likely more mobile in alkaline soils March 19, 2007 Prions, the rogue proteins that cause chronic wasting disease and similar maladies, may be more mobile in soil that is more alkaline, suggests a new study by University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers.
• Soil-bound prions remain infectious April 14, 2006 Scientists have confirmed that prions, the mysterious proteins thought to cause chronic wasting disease in deer, latch on tightly to certain minerals in soil and remain infectious.
• Researchers ask hunters to refrain from shooting deer with radio collars Oct. 21, 2005 UW-Madison researchers are asking south central Wisconsin deer hunters participating in the fall hunt to refrain from shooting animals with radio collars. The collared animals have been part of an intensive survey of deer behavior and movement and research results from the study promise scientists and wildlife managers better insight into how chronic wasting disease (CWD) is spreading across Wisconsin's landscape.
• UW study shows deer in CWD zone stick to home Oct. 21, 2005 White-tailed deer, it seems, are homebodies. That's the upshot of an intensive UW-Madison study of the traveling behaviors of 173 radio-collared white-tailed deer in south central Wisconsin — a study that has implications for managing chronic wasting disease (CWD) in deer herds.
• Scientists probe CWD’s spread through soils July 11, 2005 Scientists at UW-Madison and around the country will report new findings during the Second International Chronic Wasting Disease Symposium here on July 12-14. The symposium comes at a time when the known range of CWD seems to be swelling from its relatively small, endemic home in parts of Wyoming and Colorado toward the east, where deer populations are denser.
• Researchers to study fate of prions in wastewater May 19, 2004 With funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, a group of UW-Madison researchers will investigate what happens if infectious prion proteins - considered the cause of chronic wasting disease and mad cow disease - enter wastewater treatment plants.
• Critter cams capture clean up crews at work and may track CWD Feb. 10, 2004 Not much goes to waste in the woods, and fallen deer — including those that die of chronic wasting disease — mean fine dining for a variety of animals. Who comes to the dinner table, and can some of these species get CWD by scavenging infected deer carcasses?
• Tissue digester to help dispose of CWD-infected materials Dec. 15, 2003 A new $900,000 state-of-the-art mobile tissue digester promises a safe and efficient way to dispose of as many as 15,000 samples of deer tissue to be tested in the coming months by the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory for the presence of chronic wasting disease.
• What's that deer wearing? Oct. 10, 2003 The electronic neckwear sported by some deer around Mt. Horeb allows CWD researchers to monitor their movements around the clock.
• Is it ok to shoot radio-collared deer in the CWD zone? Oct. 10, 2003 One effect of the university's successful deer trapping and collaring program ÷ aimed at tracking the movements of whitetails in the CWD intensive harvest zone around Mt. Horeb, Wis. ÷ is that hunters are now spotting radio-collared deer, and wondering if it's alright to shoot them.
• Study shows prions stick around in certain soils Sept. 24, 2003 Dirt may help scientists answer a question that has baffled them for decades: How does chronic wasting disease in deer and elk spread from animal to animal?
• Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Lab selects new CWD test Sept. 19, 2003 The Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, the state lab responsible for testing deer killed during Wisconsin's annual hunt for the presence of chronic wasting disease (CWD), has selected a new rapid test for use beginning this November.
• UW gets more than $5.2 million to study CWD June 11, 2003 With the help of three grants from the Department of Defense, researchers from the UW-Madison will delve deeper into a molecular and environmental understanding of chronic wasting disease.
• Genetic study concludes nearly all deer prone to CWD April 24, 2003 Dashing hopes that some Wisconsin deer may harbor genetic resistance to chronic wasting disease, a UW-Madison study suggests that virtually all deer are prone to the fatal disease.
• State to assess chronic wasting disease efforts April 22, 2003 Chronic wasting disease and the state's efforts to manage it will be the topic of a symposium, 1-3:55 p.m., Thursday, April 24, at the Fluno Center for Executive Education.
• Ag forum features new secretary, researchers Feb. 25, 2003 Rod Nilsestuen, the new secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, will be the featured speaker at an agricultural issues forum.
• UW scientists line up behind CWD plan Oct. 14, 2002 A group of UW-Madison scientists, representing a range of scientific disciplines, is lending broad support to the state Department of Natural Resources (DNR) plan to contain the outbreak of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in Wisconsin.