Category Science & Technology
Forestry project will map likely habitat of endangered butterfly
A grant from the University of Wisconsin–Madison Graduate School's Technology Transfer Program will fund a project that uses computer mapping and statistical modeling to identify likely habitat of the endangered Karner blue butterfly. The project could help Wisconsin land managers save thousands of dollars on field surveys required to protect the rare insect. Read More
UW-Madison scientists receive $20 million award for protein study
Researchers at the Center for Eukaryotic Structural Genomics, based at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, have received a $20 million award to fund Phase II of the Protein Structure Initiative over the next five years. Read More
Study shows eutrophic lakes may not recover for a millennium
Although it has taken just 60 years for humans to put many freshwater lakes on the eutrophication fast track, a new study shows their recovery may take a thousand years under the best of circumstances. Read More
Scientists streamline method for making key virus
By devising a novel way to package the genome of a common human tumor virus - the virus that causes common warts, genital warts and that is implicated in prevalent cancers - scientists have paved the way for making the pathogen far more accessible to biomedical science. Read More
Making a better cheddar
Whether it's a stretchy mozzarella or an easy-to-slice Swiss, cheesemakers aim to provide consumers with high quality, consistent products. To this end, they often try to improve texture and flavor by controlling for factors like acidity and the breakdown of milk proteins by enzymes. However, the key to better Cheddar may lie in undissolved calcium salts, according to a report by UW–Madison cheese scientists published recently in the International Dairy Journal. Read More
Green diesel: New process makes fuel from plants
College of Engineering researchers have discovered a new way to make a diesel-like liquid fuel from carbohydrates commonly found in plants. "It's a very efficient process," says researcher George Huber. "The fuel produced contains 90 percent of the energy found in the carbohydrate and hydrogen feed. If you look at a carbohydrate source such as corn, our new process has the potential to create twice the energy as is created in using corn to make ethanol." Read More
Shared computing grid cuts data mountains down to size
Although University of Wisconsin–Madison professors Wesley Smith and David Schwartz operate in completely different scientific spheres - one seeking to explore the fundamental properties of matter and the other trying to wrest free the secrets of the human genome - both have the same dilemma: They are awash in a sea of data. Read More
Distributing computing resources: The social challenge
By bringing together a diverse group of scientific interests to share a large, distributed computing resource, the Grid Laboratory of Wisconsin (GLOW) itself has become an important subject of research. Read More
Can I get a copy of that molecule? Biology goes 3-D with new technology
In an era of quantum dots and genome maps, science education faces an interesting challenge: How can students come to grips with the complexity of the infinitesimally small? The answer: Fire up the copy machine. Read More
Researchers devise nano-scale method for investigating living systems
By observing how tiny specks of crystal move through the layers of a biological membrane, a team of electrical and computer engineers and biologists has devised a new method for investigating living systems on the molecular level. Read More
Laser scientist illuminates research in living color
In art, color is information. Just look at a painting by an artist such as Monet: Each uniquely hued brushstroke brings to life a new blade of grass, a leaf, a flower petal, a slice of sky-each a component of the complete picture. Read More
Wisconsin researchers identify sleep gene
Zeroing in on the core cellular mechanisms of sleep, researchers at University of Wisconsin Medical School have identified for the first time a single gene mutation that has a powerful effect on the amount of time fruit flies sleep. Read More
Plant pathway may treat human disease
A newly discovered pathway by which cells protect themselves from a toxic byproduct of photosynthesis may hold important implications for bioenergy sources, human and plant disease, and agricultural yields, a team of UW–Madison bacteriologists announced Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Read More
Citizen panel to release report April 28 on nanotechnology
University of Wisconsin officials will join state legislators in the Assembly Parlor of the State Capitol building on Thursday, April 28, at 11:30 a.m. to accept a report on the promise and perils of nanotechnology produced by a panel of Madison-area citizens. Read More
Bioethicists to ponder biotechnology and the brain
Researchers at UW–Madison will be featured among several experts gathering at the Fourth Annual International Bioethics Forum on Thursday and Friday, April 21 and 22, to discuss a range of ethical issues. Read More
Harnessing microbes, one by one, to build a better nanoworld
Taking a new approach to the painstaking assembly of nanometer-sized machines, a team of scientists at UW–Madison has successfully used single bacterial cells to make tiny bio-electronic circuits. Read More
To control germs, scientists deploy tiny agents provocateurs
Aiming to thwart persistent bacterial infections and better control group behaviors of certain microorganisms, scientists are creating artificial chemicals that infiltrate and sabotage bacterial "mobs." Read More
Small molecule may help pinpoint some cancers
Writing in the March 8 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, groups led by Medical School Professor James Dahlberg and his collaborator Wayne Tam, at the Joan and Sanford I. Weill Medical College of Cornell University, report that elevated cellular levels of a particular microRNA, known as miR-155, may be diagnostic of some human cancers, notably lymphomas. Read More
Study finds two brain systems regulate how people call for help
The willingness to call out in distress to get help from others appears to be regulated by two brain systems with very different responsibilities, according to a study by researchers at UW–Madison. Read More
Geochemical technique yields biomedical promise
Adapting a technique used routinely by geologists to measure the chemical composition of rocks, scientists may have found a better way to sample bone calcium balance in humans. Read More