Category Science & Technology
Single gene lets bacteria jump from host to host
All life - plants, animals, people - depends on peaceful coexistence with a swarm of microbial life that performs vital services from helping to convert food to energy to protection from disease.
Vet Medicine launches a new approach to E. coli food safety
Infection by Eschericia.coli O157:H7 from undercooked cattle meat proves deadly to about 60 people in the U.S. each year. While testing is available to detect the presence of the bacterium in raw meat, researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison would prefer to address the problem before the meat is sent to market.
Innocence Project helps reverse wrongful murder conviction
Robert Lee Stinson, a Milwaukee man convicted of homicide in 1985, is expected to be released from prison today (Jan. 30, 2009) based on new evidence of his innocence.
Experts available to discuss the federal economic stimulus package
As federal lawmakers continue to debate the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA 2009), professional development experts at the University of Wisconsin–Madison are available to discuss the impact of the legislation on the nation's infrastructure.
Research uncovers surprising lion stronghold in war-torn central Africa
Times are tough for wildlife living at the frontier between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Armies are reportedly encamped in a national park and wildlife preserve on the Congolese side, while displaced herders and their cattle have settled in an adjoining Ugandan park.
New evolutionary biology option looks to the future of science
Charles Darwin would be proud of the way the biology major has evolved during the last academic year.
Predicting the future spread of infectious-disease vectors
As global warming raises concerns about potential spread of infectious diseases, a team of researchers has demonstrated a way to predict the expanding range of human disease vectors in a changing world.
Early childhood stress has lingering effects on health
Stressful experiences in early childhood can have long-lasting impacts on kids' health that persist well beyond the resolution of the situation.
New program aims to enhance operations of Wisconsin biotech companies
The University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Engineering and the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) have partnered to launch a biotechnology process improvement program, working with local firms NeoClone in Madison, Catalent in Middleton and Invitrogen in Milwaukee.
Psychiatrist provides advice on seasonal affective disorder
Did you dread the start of winter? Do you feel like crawling into bed with a package of cookie dough, pulling the covers over your head, and not coming out until spring?
Chancellor Martin joins effort to encourage federal research investment
Chancellor Carolyn "Biddy" Martin joined nearly 50 other higher education leaders and Nobel laureates earlier this month in a letter to President-elect Barack Obama, arguing that scientific research should be an investment priority in the debate over an economic stimulus package.
UW-Madison sociologist named to key NSF post
Cora Marrett, University of Wisconsin–Madison emeritus professor of sociology and former UW System senior vice president for academic affairs, has been named acting deputy director of the National Science Foundation (NSF) effective Jan. 18.
Cellartis, WARF sign license agreement for human embryonic stem cells
Cellartis AB, a premier provider of human embryonic stem cell (hES) derived products and technologies, and the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF), the private, nonprofit patenting and licensing organization for the University of Wisconsin–Madison, announced today (Jan. 15) that they have signed a license for hES patents that enables Cellartis to commercialize undifferentiated hES cell products in the U.S.
Large-scale nuclear materials study shapes national collaborations
In Kumar Sridharan's laboratory on the University of Wisconsin–Madison engineering campus, just one ill-timed sneeze might have catapulted his next three years' worth of nuclear reactor materials research into oblivion.
Common soil mineral degrades the nearly indestructible prion
In the rogues' gallery of microscopic infectious agents, the prion is the toughest hombre in town.
Nations that sow food crops for biofuels may reap less than previously thought
Global yields of most biofuels crops, including corn, rapeseed and wheat, have been overestimated by 100 to 150 percent or more, suggesting many countries need to reset their expectations of agricultural biofuels to a more realistic level.
Can you see me now? Flexible photodetectors could help sharpen photos
Distorted cell-phone photos and big, clunky telephoto lenses could be things of the past.
Protein that regulates hormones critical to women’s health found in pituitary
University of Wisconsin–Madison researchers have solved the mystery surrounding a "rogue protein" that plays a role in the release of neurotransmitters and hormones in the brain.
All NIH human embryonic stem cell registry lines now deposited at NSCB
The U.S. National Stem Cell Bank (NSCB) has announced that it has received deposits of two human embryonic stem cell lines from Cellartis AB, a biotechnology company based in Sweden. With the addition of the new lines, the National Stem Cell Bank now has received all 21 cell lines from the six providers listed on the National Institutes of Health (NIH) federal registry.