Category Science & Technology
New technologies target food-borne illnesses
On its journey to your dinner plate, food is vulnerable to contamination along the way. In 2000, UW–Madison made a commitment to help tackle this complex problem by hiring an interdisciplinary group of researchers with expertise in food safety. Read More
Study suggests treatment for fatal nervous system disorder
Working with mice, University of Wisconsin–Madison researchers have developed the basis for a therapeutic strategy that could provide hope for children afflicted with Krabbe's disease, a fatal nervous system disorder. Read More
Dancing bacteria? Engineers explore microbial choreography
Birds fly together in flocks. Fish swim together in schools. Everyone has seen the beautiful, seemingly choreographed motions these collections of organisms can exhibit. But surely bacteria, which have no eyes or brain, cannot behave in such a coordinated way. In fact, they do, and researchers are beginning to learn how. Read More
UW-Madison course enhances nonprofits
As exam time rolls around, UW–Madison students in the e-Projects in Community Service (ePICS) course won't be studying textbooks or writing take-home finals. They'll be presenting their semester's work to real-world clients, twelve nonprofit organizations for whom students have designed Web sites, built Web-based information systems, created logos, developed marketing materials and produced videos. Read More
Scientists map one of biology’s critical light-sensing structures
For plants, the ability to accurately sense light governs everything from seed germination, photosynthesis and pigmentation to patterns of growth and flowering. Now, for the first time, scientists at UW–Madison have obtained a detailed map of one of biology's most important light detectors, a protein found in many species across life's plant, fungal, and bacterial kingdoms. Read More
Lightfoot receives National Medal of Science
President George W. Bush has named a UW–Madison professor of chemical and biological engineering as one of eight recipients of the 2004 National Medal of Science, the nation's highest honor for science and technology. Read More
A fatty acid found in milk may help control inflammatory diseases
One of the isomers of conjugated linoleic acid, a group of fatty acids found in milk, is a natural regulator of the COX-2 protein, which plays a significant role in inflammatory disease such as arthritis and cancer, according to a study published by UW–Madison researchers. Read More
WiCell receives $16 million NIH grant to create national stem cell bank
The WiCell Research Institute has been selected by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to establish the federal government's first and only National Stem Cell Bank (NSCB), it was announced today at a news conference in Madison. Read More
Nanoscale research receives big boost
The National Science Foundation has awarded the UW–Madison Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) nearly $14.8 million over the next six years to continue its leading-edge research on the interfaces of materials at the nanoscale. Read More
Researchers: Deep sleep short-circuits brain’s grid of connectivity
In the human brain, cells talk to one another through the routine exchange of electrical signals. But when people fall into a deep sleep, the higher regions of the brain - regions that during waking hours are a bustling grid of neural dialogue - apparently lose their ability to communicate effectively, causing consciousness to fade. Read More
Statement from Chancellor John Wiley on Assembly Bill 499
The failure of the Wisconsin State Senate to amend Assembly Bill 499, which effectively criminalizes a promising area of biomedical research, sends a frightening message to Wisconsin's research community. Scientists in many fields view this with alarm. Read More
New program in neuroscience and public policy offered
Modern neuroscience is advancing understanding of the brain and behavior at a pace that few could have imagined even five years ago. The resulting knowledge is transforming our understanding of brain function in health and disease, with profound implications for society. Recognizing this, two UW–Madison faculty now have created a new dual-degree graduate program in Neuroscience and Public Policy to train students how to apply this knowledge to problems in public policy. Read More
The World’s Tiniest Badger?
NanoBucky, created in the research lab of UW–Madison chemistry professor Robert Hamers, is composed of tiny carbon nanofiber “hairs,”each just 75 nanometers in diamete Read More
A single gene controls a key difference between maize and its wild ancestor
One of the greatest agricultural and evolutionary puzzles is the origin of maize - and part of the answer may lie in a plot of corn on the western edge of Madison, where a hybrid crop gives new life to ancient genetic material. A UW–Madison genetics team has demonstrated that a single gene, called tga1, controls kernel casing in maize — evidence that modest alterations in single genes can cause dramatic changes in the way traits are expressed. Read More
Study examines public attitudes on nanotechnology
Scientists have a rare opportunity to define public discourse over nanotechnology, if they provide citizens with easily digestible information about the emerging technology, a UW–Madison journalism professor says. Read More
Study: Brain structures contribute to asthma attack severity
The mere mention of a stressful word like "wheeze" can activate two brain regions in asthmatics during an attack, and this brain activity may be associated with more severe asthma symptoms, according to a study by UW–Madison researchers and collaborators. Read More
Gender hormones may lend to social disorder therapies
Researchers at UW–Madison have made the surprising finding that estrogen-and even dopamine, a neurotransmitter-also play critical roles in the development of aggressive social play behaviors. The work may one day help diagnose new autism cases and potentially pave the way for new hormone-based therapeutic approaches that counteract the social difficulties of autism. Read More
New treatment may curb IV-based infections
Inserted through the skin and into a vein, long-term intravascular devices such as IV catheters deliver to patients a range of life-saving medications, nutrition and fluids, among other uses. But these life-saving devices also can provide a furtive pipeline for germs from the external world to gain access to the bloodstream of patients. A new finding at UW–Madison may help solve this medical conundrum. Read More
Scientists zero in on drugs’ sweet spots
Employing a simple new technique to manipulate the sugars that power many front-line drugs, a team of Wisconsin scientists has enhanced the anti-cancer properties of a digitalis, a drug commonly used to treat heart disease. Read More
Center for Integrated Ag Systems Selected as a Pesticide Reduction Champion
The UW–Madison Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems has been selected by the EPA as a Pesticide Environmental Stewardship Program Champion for 2005. This designation honors CIAS for its efforts to reduce pesticide risk through sustainable agricultural practices such as Integrated Pest Management and organic farming. CIAS also received this national honor in 2003. Read More