Category Science & Technology
Nova producer to delve into the art of science television
Paula S. Apsell, the executive producer for public television's science series Nova, has been named University of Wisconsin–Madison Science Writer in Residence for the fall of 2006.
Microbial ‘blueprint’ may unlock mysteries of wastewater treatment
A University of Wisconsin–Madison environmental engineer and her graduate student are among researchers on a multi-institutional team who have mapped the metagenome of elusive phosphorous-eating organisms key to thousands of wastewater treatment processes in the developed world.
Study: Dust may dampen hurricane fury
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison have put forward an intriguing theory that introduces a whole new dimension to the debate on what might be causing stronger and more frequent storms.
New drug blocks influenza, including bird flu virus
Opening a new front in the war against flu, researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison have reported the discovery of a novel compound that confers broad protection against influenza viruses, including deadly avian influenza.
Zinn to receive Havens Center award
Acclaimed historian, playwright and social activist Howard Zinn will receive the A.E. Havens Center's Award for Lifetime Contribution to Critical Scholarship on Thursday, Oct. 5.
Study: Earlier crop plantings may curb future yields
In an ongoing bid to grow more corn, farmers in the U.S. Corn Belt are planting seeds much earlier today than they did 30 years ago, a new study has found. Poring over three decades of agricultural records, Christopher Kucharik, an associate scientist at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, discovered that farmers in 12 U.S. states now put corn in the ground around two weeks earlier than they did during the late 1970s.
Intersection of business and research explored at CEO Summit
Three distinguished University of Wisconsin–Madison scientists will meet with corporate chief executives who graduated from the university to brief them on the business applications and marketability of their research on Saturday, Oct. 7.
Stem Cells 101: Meet Wisconsin’s research leaders
Southeastern Wisconsin residents will have a unique opportunity on Oct. 10 to hear about the promises and limitations of stem cell research directly from the Wisconsin professors and researchers working in the field.
‘Failed’ experiment produces a bacterial Trojan horse
A failed experiment turned out to be anything but for bacteriologist Marcin Filutowicz. As he was puzzling out why what should have been a routine procedure wouldn't work, he made a discovery that led to the creation of a new biological tool for destroying bacterial pathogens - one that doesn't appear to trigger antibiotic resistance.
Open house to showcase Science Hall’s past and present
An open house from noon-4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 11, will highlight the history of Science Hall and the work of its current occupants.
New angiogenesis finding may help fight cancer growth
A researcher at the University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Medicine and Public Health has discovered a new part of the complicated mechanism that governs the formation of blood vessels, or angiogenesis.
Computer scientist spearheads $30 million ‘Open Science Grid’
University of Wisconsin–Madison computer scientists will play a central role in the expansion of a national "Open Science Grid" (OSG), an interconnected computing infrastructure that provides scientists with a massive infusion of computing power and storage capacity to solve large, data-intensive challenges in science.
Noted ethanol critic to lecture
Tad Patzek, a professor of civil engineering at the University of California- Berkeley who is distinguished both for his research on oil field peaking and depletion and for his often controversial, outspoken opposition to corn-based ethanol as a replacement for oil, will give the talk, “The environmental impacts of the corn-ethanol cycle,”on the UW–Madison campus Oct. 5.
EcoHealth One conference to explore global health, environment
Nearly 300 people from around the world will gather October 6-10 at the University of Wisconsin–Madison for the program "EcoHealth One," the first international conference of a newly expanded consortium of human and wildlife health experts, ecologists, conservation biologists, and social scientists exploring the links between ecology and our health.
Technology helps foster ‘democratization of cartography’
Mark Harrower recalls a raging debate in his field in the 1970s, when some geographers worried that commercial map-making software would trigger the demise of cartography. But rather than sully the field, Harrower says the new technology — combined with the explosion of availability of geospatial information — is fueling one of the most exciting eras in his profession.
Architects chosen to design Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery
Uihlein Wilson Architects of Milwaukee, together with Ballinger of Philadelphia, will design the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery and the Morgridge Institute for Research on the University of Wisconsin–Madison campus, officials announced today.
National stem cell bank announces addition of new cell lines
The National Stem Cell Bank has expanded its offering of human embryonic stem cell lines to include cells from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), it announced today (Sept. 19). With the addition of the UCSF lines, the National Stem Cell Bank will soon have on deposit 13 of the 21 cell lines on the federal registry.
Conference to advise businesses on pandemic preparation
A University of Wisconsin–Madison conference on Thursday, Oct. 12, "Surviving the Pandemic," is designed to help representatives from small- and medium-sized companies and nonprofit organizations assess their levels of preparedness and begin to develop their own company-specific plans.
Chinese scholars meet to examine environmental health issues
More than 25 Chinese scholars studying in the United States will convene in Madison next week to study ways to attack global environmental problems.
Anticipation plays a powerful role in human memory
Psychologists have long known that memories of disturbing emotional events — such as an act of violence or the unexpected death of a loved one — are more vivid and deeply imprinted in the brain than mundane recollections of everyday matters. Probing deeper into how such memories form, researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison have found that the mere anticipation of a fearful situation can fire up two memory-forming regions of the brain — even before the event has occurred.