Category Science & Technology
Four UW–Madison students attending prestigious Nobel conference
Four UW–Madison students will meet with more than 30 Nobel laureates and 580 young researchers from around the world July 1-6 at the 62nd annual… Read More
Designing microbes that make energy-dense biofuels without sugar
With metabolically engineered microorganisms hungry for levulinic acid, rather than sugar, a University of Wisconsin–Madison chemical and biological engineer aims to create more sustainable, cost-effective processes for converting biomass into high-energy-density hydrocarbon fuels. Read More
Mission deliscious: A look at Babcock Hall ice cream
What makes Babcock ice cream so good to eat—and so good for science, students and industry? Read More
Greenland ice may exaggerate magnitude of 13,000-year-old deep freeze
Ice samples pulled from nearly a mile below the surface of Greenland glaciers have long served as a historical thermometer, adding temperature data to studies of the local conditions up to the Northern Hemisphere’s climate. But the method — comparing the ratio of oxygen isotopes buried as snow fell over millennia — may not be such a straightforward indicator of air temperature. Read More
Blood-brain barrier building blocks forged from human stem cells
The blood-brain barrier -- the filter that governs what can and cannot come into contact with the mammalian brain -- is a marvel of nature. It effectively separates circulating blood from the fluid that bathes the brain, and it keeps out bacteria, viruses and other agents that could damage it. Read More
National network innovation program builds on UW–Madison success
Suman Banerjee's work finds plenty of happy users every day, but it's not every day the University of Wisconsin–Madison computer sciences professor helps inspire a national program supporting technical innovation. Read More
Learn about science in Spanish at Explorando las Ciencias
Explorando las Ciencias, a popular Spanish-language science outreach event, will take place from 2 to 10 p.m. on Friday, June 22, at Warner Park in the Community Recreation Center and shelter at Warner Park, 1625 Northport Drive, and with the help of “Amigos en Azul,” a Madison police organization aimed at building partnerships in the city’s Hispanic community. Read More
Probe seeking life on Saturn’s moon earns student team a spot at international space conference
Somewhere beneath as much as 30 miles of ice on the surface of Saturn’s moon Enceladus, extraterrestrial life could be waiting to be discovered under a subglacial ocean. And a team of University of Wisconsin–Madison engineering mechanics and astronautics students want to be the people who find it. For their senior design course, Alex Gonring, Capri Pearson, Samantha Robinson, Jake Rohrig and Tyler Van Fossen designed a mission that would take a probe from Earth to deep below Enceladus’ icy surface, where an array of science instruments would look for carbon-based life. Read More
“Science is Fun Summer Extravaganza” scheduled with noted science educator
Chemistry professor Bassam Shakhashiri, whose “Science is Fun” demonstrations have been a tradition in Madison for 42 years, will present a “Summer Extravaganza” on campus June 25. Read More
Red-tailed hawks go from egg to flight
On the afternoon of June 7 — about seven weeks and more than a million prying eyes after it hatched — the last red-tailed hawk chick raised on a Weeks Hall window ledge threw caution to the wind and flapped away from home. Read More
Stress may delay brain development in early years
Stress may affect brain development in children - altering growth of a specific piece of the brain and abilities associated with it - according to researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Read More
Wisconsin team reveals way to treat drug-resistant brain tumor cells
New research from the University of Wisconsin–Madison explains why the incurable brain cancer, glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), is highly resistant to current chemotherapies. Read More
Morgridge Institute presents panel on H5N1 influenza research
The Morgridge Institute for Research will launch its Ethics@Discovery program on Thursday, May 31, at 2 p.m. with “Campus Conversation: Biomedical Research and National Security—Learning from the H5N1 Influenza Story.” Read More
New stem cell technique promises abundance of key heart cells
Cardiomyocytes, the workhorse cells that make up the beating heart, can now be made cheaply and abundantly in the laboratory. Read More
High-speed method to aid search for solar energy storage catalysts
Eons ago, nature solved the problem of converting solar energy to fuels by inventing the process of photosynthesis. Read More
Geology student drills into Tohoku quake source
For the past eight weeks, geoscience graduate student Tamara Jeppson has traded her usual commute, from her Madison apartment to Weeks Hall on the University of Wisconsin–Madison campus, for a single flight of stairs. Read More
Clinical trial: More evidence that cancer drug treats macular degeneration
The second year of data from a nationwide, federally funded trial continues to show that the cancer drug Avastin (bevacizumab) is an effective and economical treatment for age-related macular degeneration. Read More
Sleep apnea associated with higher mortality from cancer
Sleep-disordered breathing (SDB), commonly known as sleep apnea, is associated with an increased risk of cancer mortality, according to a new study. Read More
Science communication under the microscope
The process of science is not complete until the results of research are communicated. For a long time and for many researchers, the act of communicating research was geared primarily to other scientists. Read More