Category Science & Technology
West Nile’s ‘super spreader:’ How about the American robin?
The 2012 outbreak of West Nile virus, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, promises to be the largest since the disease was first detected in the United States 13 years ago. Read More
Morgridge Institute’s Velten named a top young innovator
Andreas Velten, an associate scientist with the Morgridge Institute for Research, has been recognized by MIT’s Technology Review as a TR35 honoree for 2012. Read More
Compounds shown to thwart stubborn pathogen’s social propensity
Acinetobacter baumanni, a pathogenic bacterium that is a poster child of deadly hospital acquired infections, is one tough customer. Read More
Industrial and systems engineering professor Ben-Tzion “Bentzi” Karsh dies
Ben-Tzion “Bentzi” Karsh, a professor of industrial and systems engineering who also earned three degrees from UW–Madison, died Aug. 18 after an 18-month battle with cancer. Read More
Engineering moving classroom into digital age
The Internet has profoundly affected the lives of those born into an information-saturated world, the “digital natives.” It has shaped nearly all of their expectations of the world, including what they expect from an institution of higher learning. Read More
Sunflowers inspire more efficient solar power system
A field of young sunflowers will slowly rotate from east to west during the course of a sunny day, each leaf seeking out as much sunlight as possible as the sun moves across the sky through an adaptation called heliotropism. Read More
Research shows how computation can predict group conflict
When conflict breaks out in social groups, individuals make strategic decisions about how to behave based on their understanding of alliances and feuds in the group. Read More
AhR Pharma and WARF sign exclusive license for cancer-fighting hormone
AhR Pharmaceuticals Inc. and the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) have signed an exclusive license agreement for ITE, a natural hormone discovered by University of Wisconsin–Madison researchers with properties helpful in treating cancer, obesity and immune system disorders. Read More
Wisconsin Science Festival seeks partners to expand celebration statewide Sept. 27-30
After a rousing debut last fall in Madison, the Wisconsin Science Festival is encouraging supporters of learning and science from around the state to help expand the festival during its second year by staging local events this Sept. 27-30. Read More
Million-dollar Keck Foundation grant funds UW–Madison genome research
An interdisciplinary team of scientists and engineers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison has received a $1 million grant from the W.M. Keck Foundation to fund research into creating synthetic genome "foundries." Read More
High-tech silver dressings ward off infection in wounds
Applied onto the business end of artificial skin, nanofilms that release antibacterial silver over time can eradicate bacteria in full-thickness skin wounds in mice. Read More
Collaborative computing, pioneered at UW–Madison, helped drive LHC analysis
When scientists at the Large Hadron Collider in Europe announced the appearance of a new particle among the pieces of smashed protons, Miron Livny saw a huge scientific success. Read More
Mathematical ecologist wins prestigious award
University of Wisconsin–Madison ecologist Anthony Ives is being recognized with the prestigious Robert H. MacArthur Award from the Ecological Society of America (ESA). Read More
Oral drops for dog allergies pass another hurdle
A study reported today at the World Congress of Veterinary Dermatology in Vancouver, British Columbia, shows that placing allergy drops under a dog's tongue can be as effective as allergy injections for controlling skin allergies. Read More
Printed photonic crystal mirrors shrink on-chip lasers down to size
Electrical engineers at The University of Texas at Arlington and at the University of Wisconsin–Madison have devised a new laser for on-chip optical connections that could give computers a huge boost in speed and energy efficiency. Read More
Lake algae: What you don’t see can really hurt you
The strikingly blue algae that afflicted the Madison lakes last week hardly needs a danger sign to warn of its toxicity. Read More
Northern Wisconsin high schoolers learn with stem cells, UW researchers
Eighteen top science students from northern Wisconsin high schools have earned the opportunity to hone their laboratory skills and work alongside leading researchers from the University of Wisconsin–Madison at a summer science camp focused on stem cells. Read More
A Hubble Space Telescope original returns to Wisconsin
After a journey of some 535 million space miles, give or take, and years languishing in a cavernous government warehouse, one of the original scientific instruments aboard the Hubble Space Telescope has splashed down in Wisconsin. Read More