Category Science & Technology
Center stages bio-education blitz in Madison schools
The Center for Biology Education was recently honored by the Madison Metropolitan School District with a nomination for a distinguished service award. Read More
U.S. chemistry forecast: ‘Partly cloudy, chance of showers’
A report released this month by the National Academy of Sciences concludes that although the United States currently leads the world in most aspects of chemistry research, increasing international competition makes that position far from secure. Read More
Curiosities: Can dogs be trained not to bark?
"Yes, absolutely," said canine authority and UW–Madison adjunct associate professor of zoology Patricia McConnell. When confronting the natural tendency of our… Read More
Lake districts serve as prisms of environmental change
Two vastly different Wisconsin lake districts - one in a dynamic agricultural and urban setting, the other in a forested and much less developed region of the state - are proving their value as sentinels of regional environmental change, according to a new report. Read More
Gardeners invited to Family Horticulture Day
Tired of the same old backyard bounty? Maybe it's time to plant some red, pink or blue popcorn, or white, purple or black carrots. Read More
U.S. News & World Report’s Shute to be writer in residence
Nancy Shute, a veteran science and medical reporter for U.S. News & World Report, has been named the spring Science Writer in Residence at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Read More
Chemistry professor receives National Science Board Public Service Award
Bassam Z. Shakhashiri, a University of Wisconsin–Madison chemistry professor who pioneered new ways to encourage public understanding of science through his enthusiastic communications and visually exciting chemical demonstrations, will receive the 2007 National Science Board Public Service Award. Read More
Curiosities: What are clouds made of?
Question submitted by Jimmy Andruss, 7th Grade, Sennett Middle School. Read More
Gene that governs toxin production in deadly mold found
For the growing number of people with diminished immune systems - cancer patients, transplant recipients, those with HIV/AIDS - infection by a ubiquitous mold known as Aspergillus fumigatus can be a death sentence. Read More
Biomedical engineering competition stresses real-world challenges
Part of a unique curriculum infused with real-world design opportunities, a new competition for University of Wisconsin biomedical engineering undergraduate students places an even greater emphasis on applying their engineering knowledge to actual problems in biology and medicine. Read More
Fishing for new anti-inflammatory, cancer drugs
Though cell movement and migration in the body play a central role in mediating injury and disease, including inflammatory responses and cancer metastasis, drugs designed to stifle cells’ nomadic tendencies are scarce. A new interdisciplinary research project funded by the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery seed grant program seeks to develop a novel drug-discovery process that may start to fill this gap. Read More
Researchers seek early detection for hard-to-diagnose disease
Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is characterized by infertility due to anovulation, abnormal secretion of androgens and other hormones, and insulin resistance. PCOS is the most common female endocrine disorder, affecting 4-7 percent of women in their reproductive years — the syndrome accounts for 75 percent of all anovulations. PCOS has staggering adverse physiological, psychological and financial consequences for women’s reproductive health. Read More
Second annual stem cell symposium to focus on heart tissue, blood diseases
Several of the world's leading experts on the formation of blood and heart cells from stem cells, and clinical applications of stem cells in blood and heart diseases, will come together on Wednesday, April 18, for the second annual Wisconsin Stem Cell Symposium. Read More
Sixth annual bioethics forum to tackle medical applications of research
The interface among molecular biology, medical applications, law, religion and ethics will be the focus of the sixth annual international Bioethics Forum, hosted by Promega Corp.'s BioPharmaceutical Technology Center Institute (BTCI) in Fitchburg. Read More
In young mice, gregariousness seems to reside in the genes
In a groundbreaking study, researchers from the University of Wisconsin–Madison have found evidence that social interactions among young mice result from basic motivations to be with one another. What's more, the researchers say, the extent of a young mouse's gregariousness is influenced by its genetic background. Read More
With rat genome as guide, human breast cancer risk refined
Combing the genomes of the rat and the human, researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison have found swaths of genetic code that can be used to assess the risk of human breast cancer. Read More
Abrupt climate change more common than believed
It came on quickly and then lasted nearly two decades, eventually killing more than one million people and affecting 50 million more. All of this makes the Sahel drought, which first struck West Africa in the late 1960s, the most notorious example of an abrupt climatic shift during the last century. Read More
Stem cell therapy shows promise for rescuing deteriorating vision
For the millions of Americans whose vision is slowly ebbing due to degenerative diseases of the eye, the lowly neural progenitor cell may be riding to the rescue. Read More
Unique models help teach nanoscience to the blind
At the root of scientific study are observations made with the eyes; yet in nanoscience, our eyes fail us. The smallest object we can see still looms thousands of times larger than a typical nano-sized structure. Even the most powerful microscopes can't peer into the nanoscale directly. Read More
Targeting tumors the natural way
By mimicking Nature's way of distinguishing one type of cell from another, University of Wisconsin–Madison scientists now report they can more effectively seek out and kill cancer cells while sparing healthy ones. Read More