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Category Science & Technology

National roster of science illustrators to meet at UW–Madison

July 25, 2006

The Guild of Natural Science Illustrators Conference, hosted in 2006 by the University of Wisconsin–Madison, will be held Sunday, July 30-Saturday, Aug. 5. Read More

Research dishes out flexible computer chips

July 18, 2006

New thin-film semiconductor techniques invented by University of Wisconsin–Madison engineers promise to add sensing, computing and imaging capability to an amazing array of materials. Read More

Soil scientists in the spotlight at World Congress of Soil Science

July 10, 2006

Soil scientists from the University of Wisconsin–Madison will have international attention this week at the 18th World Congress of Soil Science on July 9-15 in Philadelphia. Read More

Study of urban roadside dirt reveals potentially toxic mix of metals

June 29, 2006

Scientists at the University of Wisconsin–Madison learned that there's more to that cloud of roadway dirt than meets the eye: What looks like ordinary dirt actually is a potentially toxic mixture of non-tailpipe vehicle emissions, including microscopic metal particles from brake and tire wear. Read More

New process makes diesel fuel, industrial chemicals from simple sugar

June 29, 2006

A University of Wisconsin–Madison chemical and biological engineering professor reports in the June 30 issue of the journal Science on a better way to make a chemical intermediate called HMF from fructose: fruit sugar. Chemical intermediates are compounds that are the raw material for many modern plastics, drugs and fuels. Read More

Underwater treadmill benefits patients at Vet School

June 27, 2006

Reupert, a beagle who could not walk immediately following surgery for a herniated spinal disk, was the first patient to benefit from the University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Veterinary Medicine's new underwater treadmill therapy. Read More

Study reveals how attention deficit drugs work

June 26, 2006

Although millions depend on medications such as Ritalin to quell symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), scientists have struggled to pinpoint how the drugs work in the brain. Read More

Researchers study why waste in bioreactor landfills degrades in haste

June 23, 2006

Part of Craig Benson's laboratory looks - and smells - like a landfill. It's not that the University of Wisconsin–Madison professor of civil and environmental engineering is excessively messy. Rather, he's studying bioreactor landfills, a relatively recent technology in solid-waste management that may help landfill owners make better use of their land-and of the waste itself. Read More

UW researchers reveal insights on silicon semiconductors

June 23, 2006

"Smaller. Faster. Wildly complex." This could easily be the motto for semiconductors-the materials that, among lots of other advances in electronics, allow cell phones to continuously shrink in size while increasing the number of their mind-boggling functions. Read More

Digging in Denmark, archaeologist uncovers rare prize

June 21, 2006

University of Wisconsin–Madison archaeologist T. Douglas Price has received the unique distinction of being the first non-Dane to be awarded the Westerby Prize, Denmark's pre-eminent award for archaeology. Read More

UW-Madison graduate tapped for top USGS post

June 21, 2006

University of Wisconsin–Madison alumnus Mark D. Myers recently was nominated to be director of the U.S. Geological Survey by President George W. Bush. Read More

E. coli work identifies new keys to regulation of bacterial gene expression

June 16, 2006

The cellular process of transcription, in which the enzyme RNA polymerase constructs chains of RNA from information contained in DNA, depends upon previously underappreciated sections of both the DNA promoter region and RNA polymerase, according to work done with the bacterium E. coli and published today (June 16) in the journal Cell by a team of bacteriologists from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Read More

Kids explore art and science in summer programs

June 15, 2006

The Office of Education Outreach in the University of Wisconsin–Madison's School of Education is offering numerous opportunities for local students to learn about art, technology and science this summer. Read More

Diet, aging study gains $7.9 million grant

June 13, 2006

A pioneering long-term study of the links between diet and aging in monkeys will continue through 2011 with the help of a new $7.9 million grant from the National Institutes of Health. Read More

Hybrid-vehicle team places second nationally

June 8, 2006

Tired of high gas costs and poor sport utility vehicle (SUV) fuel efficiency? A group of engineering students at the University of Wisconsin–Madison has spent the last three years building one of the cleanest and most fuel-efficient SUVs in North America. The principles behind the vehicle, appropriately named the "Moovada," could one day be incorporated into mass-production hybrid SUVs. Read More

The Why Files celebrates decade of science exploration

June 6, 2006

The Why Files is celebrating its first decade online. Read More

Chemists forge a new form of iron

June 1, 2006

An international team of chemists has discovered a new and unexpected form of iron, a finding that adds to the fundamental understanding of an element that is among the most abundant on Earth and that, in nature, is an essential catalyst for life. Read More

Physicists persevere in quest for inexhaustible energy source

May 30, 2006

As gas prices soar and greenhouse gases continue to blanket the atmosphere, the need for a clean, safe and cheap source of energy has never seemed more pressing. Read More

Professor to coordinate U.S. fusion science effort

May 30, 2006

A University of Wisconsin–Madison professor will be the liaison between United States plasma and fusion science researchers and a group that is building the U.S. share of ITER, an international fusion experiment that eventually could lead to an abundant, economical and environmentally benign energy source. Read More

New approach allows closer look at smoker lungs

May 30, 2006

Aided by a powerful imaging technique, scientists have discovered they can detect smoking-related lung damage in healthy smokers who otherwise display none of the telltale signs of tobacco use. Read More