Category Science & Technology
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
Student designs restore mobility to a rooster with one foot and a client with MD
Every semester, the Inter Engr 170 freshman design course gives first-year University of Wisconsin–Madison engineers a chance to get valuable hands-on experience working on practical projects with real clients. Read More
UW researchers investigate mining-related deforestation in the Amazon
While these mining operations are often called “artisanal” or “small-scale,” in aggregate they are very destructive. Read More
Earth’s vegetation is changing faster today than it has over the last 18,000 years
The research suggests that humanity’s dominant influence on ecosystems that is so visible today has its origin in the earliest civilizations and the rise of agriculture, deforestation and other ways our species has influenced the landscape. Read More
First we tamed turnips. Then we turned them into bok choy and other veggies.
This new research represents the most complete look yet at how humans domesticated the ubiquitous species Brassica rapa, untangling the complex web of domestication. Read More
Video: Dean Robertson engineering expansion
“The new facility will stimulate collaboration, spark research discoveries and serve as the focal point of our engineering campus, Robertson said. Read More
Celebrating IceCube’s first decade of discovery
The Antarctic observatory's founders believed that studying cosmic neutrinos would reveal hidden parts of the universe. Over the course of the next decade, they would be proven right. Read More
Designer alterations to brain cells reduce anxious behavior in monkeys, hold promise for new treatments
The technique used by psychiatry Professor Ned Kalin could point to a new way to help people with severe anxiety and other treatment-resistant psychiatric illnesses. Read More
New director leads major changes in campus human research protection program
Gretchen Anding is implementing steps that will allow for greater collaboration, consistency and communication in the compliance process. Read More
UW–Madison senior wins prestigious Knight-Hennessy Scholarship
Cheryl Mulor plans to pursue a master’s degree in civil and environmental engineering at Stanford University with a focus in sustainable design and construction. She hopes to one day return to Kenya and own her own company. Read More
UW grad combines research, tribal traditions in wolf relationship plan
Abi Fergus says understanding tribal citizens’ attitudes toward wolves helped her stay in touch with the human dimension of her research. Read More
Great Lakes research to fuel emerging bioeconomy
GLBRC is laying the groundwork for economically viable and environmentally sustainable biorefineries that use dedicated bioenergy crops grown on land unsuitable for food production — work that could serve as a cornerstone for an emerging bioeconomy. Read More