Category Science & Technology
Study suggests trees are crucial to the future of our cities
According to a new UW–Madison study, the right amount of tree cover can lower summer daytime temperatures in a city by as much as 10 degrees Fahrenheit. Read More
New mechanism of action found for agricultural pesticide fludioxonil
The fungicide was originally devised to protect seeds during storage but was so effective at limiting mold damage that it is now widely used to treat produce after harvest to extend its shelf life. Read More
UW–Madison mathematicians named Simons Fellows
Andreas Seeger, Autumn Kent and Gheorghe Craciun are among 48 distinguished scientists named to the fellowships, which will help them “focus solely on research for the long periods often necessary for significant advances.” Read More
Turn off a light, save a life, says new UW–Madison study
We all know that turning off lights and buying energy-efficient appliances saves us money. Now, according to a new study by UW–Madison researchers, we know that saving energy also saves lives. Read More
Have microscope, will travel: New tech project links Madison, Boston scientists
Researcher Jan Huisken’s vision is to redesign a high-end optical microscope — normally big enough to fill an entire room — down to the dimensions of a suitcase, with minimal loss of power or precision. Read More
Researchers pinpoint cause of deadly Lake Michigan rip current
“No one in the world has ever documented this before,” said Chin Wu, professor of civil and environmental engineering. “Meteotsunamis are a new generation mechanism for rip currents.” Read More
UW team finds key to common cancer pathway in discovery that could unlock new therapies
A team led by UW cancer researchers discovered an unexpected regulator of the critical protein p53, opening the door to the development of drugs that could target it. Read More
UW–Madison researcher awarded “Make Our Planet Great Again” grant
Professor Carol E. Lee has just been awarded a grant from the French government to investigate the ability of plankton to evolve and adapt to a changing climate. Read More
Millar was math professor, noted UW–Madison research administrator
Terry Millar, who died March 9, was one of the world’s foremost researchers in computable model theory, and is remembered by UW colleagues as a mathematician with a mind that never hit pause. Read More
Master glassblower’s art, work on exhibit at Madison Children’s Museum
Tracy Drier wants to increase interest in scientific glassblowing as a career choice by demonstrating the precision and artistry involved in constructing these delicate, almost ice-like glass instruments. Read More
Light provides control for 3D printing with multiple materials
UW-Madison researchers realized that a one-vat, multiple-component approach — similar to a chemist's one-pot approach when synthesizing molecules — would be more practical than multiple reservoirs with different materials in 3D printing. Read More
UW alum masterminding next generation data storage: A solution to the datapocalypse?
In a meeting at the Weinert Center for Entrepreneurship at the Wisconsin School of Business, Hyunjun Park said the device will hold digital information in DNA – life’s evolution-perfected “data storage” molecule. Read More
Study confirms horseshoe crabs are really relatives of spiders, scorpions
UW–Madison evolutionary biologists hope their study helps firmly plant ancient horseshoe crabs within the arachnid family tree — "a major shift in our understanding of arthropod evolution.” Read More
THOR wrangles complex microbiomes into a model for improving them
A growing understanding of microbial communities and their influence on human health or crop productivity has led to the dream of changing these communities to produce benefits. New research addresses this head-on. Read More
Engineered microbe may be key to producing plastic from plants
With a few genetic tweaks, a type of soil bacteria with an appetite for hydrocarbons shows promise as a biological factory for converting a renewable — but frustratingly untapped — bounty into a replacement for ubiquitous plastics. Read More
Quantum science at UW–Madison joins exchange, invests in faculty and students
“By the investments we are making in quantum science and technology," says Steve Ackerman, "we are ... leading the way in concepts and technology that may revolutionize computing, communication, security and more.” Read More
Swimming microbes steer themselves into mathematical order
The movement of crowds of things too small to easily see — like single-celled organisms and filaments inside individual cells responsible for cell-division — is critically important to research in materials science, engineering and biochemistry. Read More
WARF bets big on new squad of drug hunters
“We are building a preclinical drug discovery organization,” says WARF Therapeutics Director Jon Young, who has worked in drug development at Merck Research Laboratories, Regulus Therapeutics and Celgene. Read More
Radiation-resistant E. coli evolved in the lab give view into DNA repair
Scientists in the University of Wisconsin–Madison Department of Biochemistry are blasting E. coli bacteria with ionizing radiation once a week to watch evolution happen in real time as the bacteria become radiation resistant. Read More
Ancient poop helps show climate change contributed to fall of Cahokia
A study provides a direct link between changes in Cahokia’s population size as measured through a unique fecal record and environmental data showing evidence of drought and flood. Read More