Category Science & Technology

100-year study mirrors U.S. history of concrete

December 16, 2010

Almost since the beginning of recorded history, people have used concrete substances in everything from infrastructure to artwork.

Satellites give an eagle eye on thunderstorms

December 15, 2010

It's one of the more frustrating parts of summer. You check the weather forecast, see nothing dramatic, and go hiking or biking. Then, four hours later, a thunderstorm appears out of nowhere and ruins your afternoon.

Learning the language of bacteria

December 6, 2010

Bacteria are among the simplest organisms in nature, but many of them can still talk to each other, using a chemical "language" that is critical to the process of infection. Sending and receiving chemical signals allows bacteria to mind their own business when they are scarce and vulnerable, and then mount an attack after they become numerous enough to overwhelm the host's immune system.

Slide show: Entering a state of discovery

December 2, 2010

Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery facility opens on UW–Madison campus

December 2, 2010

Twin research institutes and a space designed for all to engage in science opened Thursday on the University of Wisconsin–Madison campus.

New treatments protect Christmas from ‘Grinch’ grub

December 1, 2010

Across northern Wisconsin, many of the state's Christmas tree growers struggle to protect their trees from an insect pest known as the white grub, which lurks in the soil, feeds on tree roots and destroys the crop.

Suri named to IndustryWeek “dream team”

November 30, 2010

Rajan Suri, a University of Wisconsin–Madison industrial and systems engineering professor emeritus and founding director of the Center for Quick Response Manufacturing (QRM),…

UW-Madison chemistry professor elected to lead American Chemical Society

November 29, 2010

University of Wisconsin–Madison chemistry professor Bassam Shakhashiri has been voted president-elect of the American Chemical Society (ACS).

Mifflin Meteorite finds permanent home in Geology Museum

November 23, 2010

The meteorite that lit up the skies over southwest Wisconsin this spring has been officially dubbed the "Mifflin Meteorite," and several of its pieces are now part of the permanent collection of the University of Wisconsin–Madison Geology Museum.

Banking on predictability, the mind increases efficiency

November 22, 2010

Like musical compression saves space on your mp3 player, the human brain has ways of recoding sounds to save precious processing power.

NSF signs operating pact with UW–Madison as IceCube nears completion

November 22, 2010

It is the start of the final Antarctic drilling season for IceCube, and as researchers descend on the South Pole, there is additional reason for celebration. The National Science Foundation has signed a five-year, $34.5-million agreement with the University of Wisconsin–Madison to operate the unique IceCube telescope - a cubic kilometer in volume - buried in the Antarctic ice sheet between 1,400 meters and 2,400 meters deep.

Scientists ferret out a key pathway for aging

November 18, 2010

A team of scientists from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and their colleagues describe a molecular pathway that is a key determinant of the aging process.

UW-Madison soil scientist named U.S. professor of the year

November 18, 2010

A University of Wisconsin–Madison associate professor of soil science has just been named U.S. Professor of the Year

UW-Madison researchers win White House science awards

November 15, 2010

Two University of Wisconsin–Madison researchers are among the country's most promising young researchers, according to the White House.

Curiosities: Why is Pluto not considered a planet?

November 15, 2010

Until 2006, astronomers had not carefully defined “planet,” says James Lattis, director of the UW Space Place. Asteroids were not considered planets because…

Embryonic stem cell culturing grows from art to science

November 14, 2010

Growing human embryonic stem cells in the lab is no small feat. Culturing the finicky, shape-shifting cells is labor intensive and, in some ways, more art than exact science.

Curiosities: How do frogs, toads and other amphibians survive the Wisconsin winter?

November 10, 2010

Amphibians are at great risk during the winter but employ several strategies for getting through, says Scott Craven, professor of forest and wildlife…

On anniversary of Edmund Fitzgerald sinking, wave research may prevent future tragedies

November 10, 2010

The intense and dangerous windstorm and accompanying high waves the Great Lakes states experienced in late October is thought to be the same kind of…

Long-term lake study suggests ecological mechanism may control destructive crayfish

November 4, 2010

Just a few years ago, scientists at the University of Wisconsin–Madison's research station in Boulder Junction, Wis., were growing sick of a crustacean delicacy - the rusty crayfish. Roughly 90,000 of the animals had been caught during an intensive trapping program at the nearby Sparkling Lake.

UW-Madison students make “genetic machines” for international competition

November 2, 2010

As yogurt and other products are marketed as a method for improving health, young biologists at University of Wisconsin–Madison are trying to do something similar by engineering delivery of biological molecules to the intestine.