Category Science & Technology
New MRI technique quickly builds 3-D images of knees
A faster magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data-acquisition technique, developed at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, will cut the time many patients spend in a cramped magnetic resonance scanner, yet deliver more precise 3-D images of their bodies. Read More
National roster of science illustrators to meet at UW–Madison
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
"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
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
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
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
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
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
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
The Why Files is celebrating its first decade online. Read More
Chemists forge a new form of iron
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
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
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