Category Science & Technology
A curtain call for impresario, tireless advocate for science literacy — Shakhashiri retires
Bassam Shakhashiri, the kinetic and tireless science educator and 81-year-old University of Wisconsin–Madison chemistry professor who for more than 50 years charmed and amazed audiences with the wonders of science, has retired. Read More
Professional couples are on the rise, but it’s not increasing income inequality
But the changing availability of spouses with particular jobs — especially a large increase in professional women — has dramatically changed common household couplings. Read More
Apply for the Annual Fall Research Competition, providing support across divisions
The yearly contest from the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Education funds select research projects in biological sciences, physical sciences, social sciences and the arts and humanities. Read More
New carnivorous plant must balance trapping prey and being pollinated
In the summer, Triantha occidentalis shoots up tall flowering stems coated with sticky hairs that trap small insects like gnats and midges. Read More
Daddy longlegs got their long legs by reusing some old evolutionary tools
The first genome of a daddy longlegs is giving up clues to the evolution of the gangly appendages that give members of the order Opiliones their common name. Read More
Study shows virus abundant in COVID-19 cases in Wisconsin, even among fully vaccinated
Vaccination remains critical, researchers David O’Connor and Thomas Friedrich say, since the available vaccines are effective, successful, and help prevent new, dangerous cases. Read More
UW researchers join three national artificial intelligence institutes
The institutes, funded by a new federal program to broaden access to AI to solve complex societal problems, will promote sustainable food systems and advanced wireless networks. Read More
Study identifies how lung cells sense chitin, an allergen in fungi and shellfish
The discovery solves one piece of the puzzle of the immune response to this common allergen — "something that the scientific community has been chasing for a long time." Read More
Research aims to give everyone a fair shot at accessing COVID-19 vaccines
A UW team's work will inform government and community groups’ efforts to address vaccine access and hesitancy, with the ultimate goal of increasing immunization rates. Read More
Combining low-dose radiotherapy with immunotherapy eradicates metastatic cancer in mice
UW–Madison and University of Pittsburgh scientists report the method works even when the radiation is given in doses too low to destroy the cancer outright. Read More
Educators publish free workbook to help instructors teach climate change science
The online workbook integrates existing science curriculum subjects — such as heat, light, energy, and acids and bases — into a discussion of the properties and effects of greenhouse gases. Read More
Badger Talks: The delta variant
“Luckily, our vaccines ... have been shown to be effective even against this delta variant, so we continue to have protection when we are getting vaccinated,” Devlin Cole says. “But we do now have even more increased risk of getting very, very sick if we’re not vaccinated.” Read More
COVID-19 vaccine boosters: ‘Too soon to know’ if they’re needed
For now, the priority needs to be continuing to provide vaccines to the unvaccinated, says the director of the UW Health Immunization Program. Read More
Nuclear engineering research and education pioneer Max Carbon dies at 99
As founding chair of the Department of Nuclear Engineering, Carbon authored "Nuclear Power: Villain or Victim? Our Most Misunderstood Source of Electricity." Read More
Self-powered implantable device stimulates fast bone healing, then disappears without a trace
The thin, flexible device is bioresorbable, so once the bone is knitted back together, the device’s components dissolve within the body. Read More
Hunting and hidden deaths led to estimated 30% reduction in Wisconsin’s wolf population
The findings are the first estimate of Wisconsin’s wolf population since the public hunt in February that followed the federal delisting of wolves. Read More
WiscWind makes sixth appearance in Collegiate Wind Competition
The teams had to design, fabricate, and test a wind turbine, and create a plan for siting a 100-megawatt wind farm in western South Dakota. Read More
Modeling COVID-19 infection based on movement can improve public health response
The research team — which includes geographers, mathematicians, an epidemiologist and communications experts — used the model to examine decisions to ease restrictions as the pandemic seemed to wane in mid-2020. Read More
UW–Madison joins Rockefeller Foundation’s pandemic prevention institute
The goal, says a leading UW researcher, is to “break through these silos and get us better public health outcomes and also more informed translational research.” Read More
Polar vortex, winter heat may change bird populations
Extreme winter weather events such as a polar vortex can push some species to the edge of survival. Yet winter tends to get short shrift in climate change research. Read More