Stem cell advance yields mature heart muscle cells
A team of University of Wisconsin–Madison researchers has induced human embryonic stem cells (hESC) to differentiate toward pure-population, mature heart muscle cells, or cardiomyocytes. Read More
Sardis dig yields enigmatic trove: ritual egg in a pot
Sardis has given up another treasure in the form of two enigmatic ritual deposits, which are proving more difficult to fathom than the coins for which the city was famous. Read More
Actress Rosario Dawson to keynote Nelson Institute conference in April
Actress and activist Rosario Dawson, cofounder and chair of the voting rights organization Voto Latino and an international advocate for women's rights and environmental quality, will keynote the eighth annual Nelson Institute Earth Day Conference on Tuesday, April 22 in Madison. Read More
New report profiles UW–Madison organic agriculture research
University of Wisconsin–Madison scientists are engaged in a wide range of research related to organic agricultural production practices, according to a new report released on Feb. 28 at the MOSES Organic Farming Conference in La Crosse. Read More
Madison Reads Leopold set for Saturday at UW Arboretum
The UW Arboretum's ninth annual Madison Reads Leopold event anchors the celebration of Aldo Leopold Weekend in the Madison area with a mix of citizen and celebrity readers giving voice to Leopold's "A Sand County Almanac." Read More
Famed Milwaukee County Zoo orangutan’s death caused by strange infection
Mahal, the young orangutan who became a star of the Milwaukee County Zoo and an emblem of survival for a dwindling species, led an extraordinary life. It turns out, the young ape died an extraordinary death, too. Read More
Rec Sports Master Plan vote next week
Will money be spent to rebuild or repair? That will be a decision students make during the spring student elections, held March 3-5, while voting on a new Rec Sports Master Plan. Read More
Student engagement survey: Turning the focus on the UW experience
There are times when UW–Madison finds itself under the figurative lens of a research study. In this case, it’s a national survey directed towards freshmen and seniors – asking for their candid and confidential thoughts on their experiences at UW. Read More
UW-Madison a partner in national effort to retool U.S. manufacturing
Contributing expertise in such areas as advanced manufacturing, controls and high-performance computing, the University of Wisconsin–Madison will play a key role a $320 million initiative to create and apply cutting-edge technologies to advance U.S. global competitiveness in manufacturing. Read More
‘Greener’ aerogel technology holds potential for oil and chemical clean-up
Cleaning up oil spills and metal contaminates in a low-impact, sustainable and inexpensive manner remains a challenge for companies and governments globally. But a group of researchers at UW–Madison is examining alternative materials that can be modified to absorb oil and chemicals. Read More
UW Arboretum director finalists announced
Finalists hoping to become the next director of the UW Arboretum will visit campus for public presentations starting Wednesday, Feb. 26. Read More
Officials to study issues on email, calendaring
To ensure the long-term success of the campus’ new email and calendaring system, project leaders have decided to slow the implementation of Microsoft Office 365 as plans for the conversion are evaluated. Read More
Awards honor excellence by teaching assistants
The work of 15 teaching assistants at the University of Wisconsin–Madison will be recognized in the 10th annual College of Letters and Science Campuswide Teaching Assistant Awards on Tuesday, Feb. 25. Read More
Educational Innovation funding awarded for 17 projects
Seventeen projects have been selected to receive Educational Innovation funding based on their commitment to advance teaching and learning innovations at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Read More
Statement on School of Journalism and Mass Communication involvement in Critical Information Needs Study
The Federal Communications Commission recently suspended its Critical Information Needs (CIN) pilot study in Columbia, S.C., after concerns were expressed that some of the questions were inappropriate and improperly directed at media owners and journalists Read More
Seed dispersal gets a test in carved-out ‘habitat corridors’
Field ecologists go to great lengths to get data: radio collars and automatic video cameras are only two of their creative techniques for documenting the natural world. So when a group of ecologists set out to see how wind moves seeds through isolated patches of habitat carved into a longleaf pine plantation in South Carolina, they twisted colored yarn to create mock seeds that would drift with the wind much like native seeds. Read More
Oldest bit of crust firms up idea of a cool early Earth
With the help of a tiny fragment of zircon extracted from a remote rock outcrop in Australia, the picture of how our planet became habitable to life about 4.4 billion years ago is coming into sharper focus. Read More
New, inexpensive production materials boost promise of hydrogen fuel
Generating electricity is not the only way to turn sunlight into energy we can use on demand. The sun can also drive reactions to create chemical fuels, such as hydrogen, that can in turn power cars, trucks and trains. Read More