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Category Science & Technology

Conservation areas threatened nationally by housing development

December 28, 2009

Conservationists have long known that lines on a map are not sufficient to protect nature because what happens outside those boundaries can affect what happens within. Now, a study by two University of Wisconsin–Madison scientists in the department of forest and wildlife ecology measures the threat of housing development around protected areas in the United States. Read More

Compound found to safely counter deadly bird flu

December 28, 2009

The specter of a drug-resistant form of the deadly H5N1 avian influenza is a nightmare to keep public-health officials awake at night. Read More

Depression saps endurance of the brain’s reward circuitry

December 28, 2009

A new study at the University of Wisconsin–Madison suggests that depressed patients are unable to sustain activity in brain areas related to positive emotion. Read More

Stellar mosh pit, complete with crashing stars, resolves a mystery

December 23, 2009

For almost 50 years, astronomers have puzzled over the youthful appearance of stars known as blue stragglers. Read More

Dental delight! Tooth of sea urchin shows formation of biominerals

December 21, 2009

Some of the most common minerals in biology, including those in bones and shells, have a mysterious structure: Their crystals are positioned in the same orientation, making them behave as one giant crystal, even though they do not look like a faceted crystal. Read More

Surveying bird biodiversity from space?

December 16, 2009

A fundamental rule of wildlife ecology says that diverse habitats foster greater biodiversity: The Amazon has far more species than Greenland. But how do habitat and biodiversity relate in a state like Wisconsin, with its range of farms, forests, wetlands, cities, suburbs and highways? Read More

Fighting the Grinch who stole Wisconsin’s Christmas trees

December 15, 2009

An entomology research team from UW–Madison aims to squash a grub that plagues as many as one-third of Wisconsin’s approximately 1,100 Christmas tree farms. Read More

Interactive animations give science students a boost

December 14, 2009

For a generation of students raised and nurtured at the computer keyboard, it seems like a no-brainer that computer-assisted learning would have a prominent role in the college science classroom. Read More

New structure could produce efficient semiconductor laser sources

December 14, 2009

University of Wisconsin–Madison researchers have achieved a nanoscale laser structure they anticipate will produce semiconductor lasers in the next two years that are more than twice as efficient as current continuous-wave lasers emitting in the mid-infrared. Read More

UW-Madison, Beloit partnership produces water-run scooter

December 8, 2009

At first glance, a 50-cc Vespa scooter and a squad car may not appear to have much in common. Read More

Greenhouse gas carbon dioxide ramps up aspen growth

December 4, 2009

The rising level of atmospheric carbon dioxide may be fueling more than climate change. It could also be making some trees grow like crazy. Read More

Rocks, crystals, fossils headline sale at Geology Museum

December 2, 2009

Unique gifts for people fascinated by the beauty of nature will be on sale at the University of Wisconsin–Madison Geology Museum for one day only, Friday, Dec. 4. Read More

Giant collider back in gear, sets record for collision intensity

December 2, 2009

On Nov. 30, the world's largest scientific instrument, the Large Hadron Collider, set a record when it smashed one stream of protons against another and then accelerated the beams to 1.18 trillion electron volts, exceeding the record held by Fermilab in Illinois since 2001. Read More

Curiosities: Is it true that laughing is good for your health?

November 24, 2009

Indeed, says Robert McGrath, a clinical psychologist specializing in mind/body wellness at University Health Services at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and for many reasons. “Humor… Read More

Exhibit explores state of science at time of Darwin’s book

November 23, 2009

“Science Circa 1859: On the Eve of Darwin’s Origin of Species,” opening Monday, Nov. 23, in the Department of Special Collections at Memorial Library, explores the state of science before Charles Darwin’s groundbreaking book arrived on the scene 150 years ago. Read More

Like humans, ants use bacteria to make their gardens grow

November 19, 2009

Leaf-cutter ants, which cultivate fungus for food, have many remarkable qualities. Read More

Sweet corn story begins in UW–Madison lab

November 19, 2009

This week, scientists are revealing the genetic instructions inside corn, one of the big three cereal crops. Corn, or maize, has one of the most complex sequences of DNA ever analyzed, says University of Wisconsin–Madison genomicist David Schwartz, who was one of more than 100 authors in the article in the journal Science. Read More

After mastodons and mammoths, a transformed landscape

November 19, 2009

Roughly 15,000 years ago, at the end of the last ice age, North America's vast assemblage of large animals - including such iconic creatures as mammoths, mastodons, camels, horses, ground sloths and giant beavers - began their precipitous slide to extinction. Read More

Evolution institute named for pioneering UW–Madison geneticist

November 19, 2009

A few days before the 150th anniversary of the "Origin of Species," Charles Darwin's epochal book on evolution, plans for a new evolution institute moved closer to final approval at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Read More

UW-Madison receives $9.5 million Gates Foundation grant

November 19, 2009

The University of Wisconsin–Madison has received a five-year, $9.5 million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to identify virus mutations that would serve as early warnings of potential pandemic influenza viruses. Read More