Category Science & Technology
Record speed for thin-film transistors could open door for flexible electronics
A pair of University of Wisconsin–Madison researchers have developed a method of making flexible, thin-film transistors that are not only inexpensive to produce, but also capable of high speeds — even microwave frequency, impossible before now. Read More
Barnacle busters: Tackling a shipping industry headache
Scientists at the University of Wisconsin–Madison have devised a potentially ingenious solution to the multi-million dollar problem known as "biofouling," a chronic headache that has plagued the shipping world for centuries. Read More
UW contributes to international fusion program
University of Wisconsin–Madison Fusion Technology Institute (FTI) researchers are playing a key role in the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), a multinational project designed to demonstrate the scientific and technological feasibility of fusion power. Read More
40 years ago, UW researcher changed our view of the world
Forty years ago this month, thanks to an inventive University of Wisconsin–Madison scientist, our view of the world was changed forever. Read More
Royal Society of Chemistry cites UW–Madison professor
Through Lab on a Chip journal, the European-based Royal Society of Chemistry and Corning Inc. have awarded the first-ever Pioneers of Miniaturization prize to David J. Beebe, a University of Wisconsin–Madison professor of biomedical engineering. Read More
Stem cells used to create critical brain barrier in lab
Using neural stem cells derived from the fetal brains of rats, a team of Wisconsin scientists has devised a rudimentary blood-brain barrier in the lab. Read More
New math and science repository serves up the good stuff
Internet Scout, a 12-year-old University of Wisconsin–Madison online research project, is unveiling its new national math and science educational project this month called the Applied Math and Science Education Repository. Read More
Wisconsin scientists land major infectious disease awards
The holidays have arrived early for two young University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty members. Cancer researcher Robert Kalejta and chemist Helen Blackwell have learned that they are each the recipients of prestigious Investigators in Pathogenesis of Infectious Disease Awards from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund. Read More
New book extols the beauty of Arboretum prairie plants
People looking for a gift for the gardener or nature lover in their lives - especially one who is interested in prairies and prairie gardens - might consider the new "Prairie Plants of the University of Wisconsin–Madison Arboretum," a beautiful and informative guide to the more than 360 native and introduced species that grow and bloom on the Arboretum's prairies. Read More
‘Kauffman Campus’ award will fuel campus, state entrepreneurship
Gov. Jim Doyle and Chancellor John Wiley announced today that the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation has named the University of Wisconsin–Madison one of its nine "Kauffman Campuses," and has received $5 million to help train students in the principles and practices of entrepreneurship and spur greater research commercialization statewide. Read More
New research program tackles Parkinson’s disease
A new research collaboration at the University of Wisconsin–Madison aims to move promising new therapies for Parkinson's disease from primates to patients. Read More
Anesthesia in childhood: Are there dangers?
This week, The Why Files asks if anesthetics are killing brain cells in children who are exposed during pregnancy or the first three years of life. Read More
Study: Botulinum attacks like a ‘smart bomb’
A pilot without a map can locate an airport by first finding a nearby landmark, like a big river, and then searching for the airport. New research from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health (SMPH) and Scripps Research Institute shows how the astonishingly powerful botulinum toxin uses a similar strategy to latch onto nerve cells, the first step in inactivating them. Read More
Scientists find potential weapon against tuberculosis infection
The discovery of a unique copper-repressing protein in the bacterium that causes tuberculosis in humans may pave the way toward new strategies for halting tuberculosis infection. Read More
Brain’s ‘fear center’ may underlie autistic behaviors
The brain's emotional center is unusually small in autistic males with the most severe behavioral impairments, University of Wisconsin–Madison researchers reported this month. Read More
Prestigious fellowship awarded to scientist
A postdoctoral researcher in the University of Wisconsin–Madison biochemistry department has been selected as a recipient of a prestigious new fellowship. Read More
Controlling confusion: Researchers make insight into memory, forgetting
Why do we forget? Do memories decay on their own, or are they harmed by interference from similar memories? Using a technique called "transcranial magnetic stimulation," brain researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison may have found the answer. Read More
Combustible Christmas special coming to public television
Chemistry is still a hot ticket in town. As in past years, the popular holiday lectures by University of Wisconsin–Madison chemistry professor Bassam Shakhashiri, scheduled for Dec. 2-3, are sold out, according to organizers. Read More
Five UW–Madison faculty named AAAS fellows
Five University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty members are among the 449 scientists and engineers to be awarded fellowships from the American Association for the Advancement of Science, which were announced this week (Nov. 23). Read More
Good sports: Hamstring findings may help injured athletes stay healthy
Athletes who strain a hamstring could avoid re-injuring the muscle by participating in targeted physical therapies and improving their running mechanics, according to University of Wisconsin–Madison research. Read More