Category Science & Technology
Discovery of a highly efficient catalyst eases way to hydrogen economy
Hydrogen could be the ideal fuel: Whether used to make electricity in a fuel cell or burned to make heat, the only byproduct is water; there is no climate-altering carbon dioxide. Read More
The science of stereotyping: Challenging the validity of ‘gaydar’
"Gaydar" - the purported ability to infer whether people are gay or straight based on their appearance - seemed to get a scientific boost from a 2008 study that concluded people could accurately guess someone's sexual orientation based on photographs of their faces. Read More
Josh Medow: Critical care for the brain
At Joshua Medow's first job, in the Neurocritical Intensive Care Unit at UW Hospital and Clinics, he saves lives. His patients have endured strokes, car accidents and shootings. Read More
Family tree for orchids explains their astonishing variability
Orchids, a fantastically complicated and diverse group of flowering plants, have long blended the exotic with the beautiful. Most species live on trees, often in remote, tropical mountains. Their flowers can be strange - one even flowers underground, and many species deceive their pollinators into thinking they are good to eat. Read More
Ned Kalin wins Anna-Monika Prize for neuroscience research
Ned Kalin, chair of psychiatry at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health, will receive a major award this week at a conference in Amsterdam for his work in uncovering the signature of anxiety and depression in the brain. Read More
Flu study, on hold, yields new vaccine technology
Vaccines to protect against an avian influenza pandemic as well as seasonal flu may be mass produced more quickly and efficiently using technology described today (Sept. 2) by researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the journal Nature Communications. Read More
UW-Madison researcher selected for national workforce, higher ed board
Angela Byars-Winston describes herself this way: “I’m a social scientist in an M.D. world.” She’s a trained vocational psychologist — someone who studies and practices the psychology behind how people choose and are successful in careers —and an associate professor in the UW–Madison School of Medicine and Public Health. Read More
Morgridge Institute selects Pagliarini to lead campus metabolism initiative
Dave Pagliarini, a University of Wisconsin–Madison associate professor whose departmental home put metabolism research on the map worldwide, will help define the future of Wisconsin metabolism science as a lead investigator at the Morgridge Institute for Research. Read More
An ounce of prevention: Research advances on ‘scourge’ of transplant wards
The fungus Cryptococcus causes meningitis, a brain disease that kills about 1 million people each year - mainly those with impaired immune systems due to AIDS, cancer treatment or an organ transplant. It's difficult to treat because fungi are genetically quite similar to humans, so compounds that affect fungi tend to have toxic side effects for patients. Read More
UW-Madison engineers contribute expertise to Oshkosh Corporation
When mechanical engineering Professor Dan Negrut took his first ride in Oshkosh Corporation’s new, highly mobile armored truck in July, he marveled at the vehicle’s capabilities. Read More
Communities have turned to water resources program for 50 years
Lake Marion is a shallow sliver of a lake on the edge of Mazomanie, Wisconsin. Created in the 1850s by a dam that fed a nearby mill, the lake has become a valuable aquatic habitat and a popular bass fishing spot for locals. Read More
Boundless Together: The research behind the commercial
A new commercial for UW–Madison will premier during the season-opening Badger football game on Aug. 5. Learn more about the cutting-edge research highlighted in the spot. Read More
Wireless microcamera clusters broaden laparoscopic imaging
A revolutionary integrated imaging system under development at the University of Wisconsin–Madison could significantly advance laparoscopy, a minimally invasive surgical procedure that, over the last half century, has seen only incremental improvements in imaging. Read More
New data from Antarctic detector firms up cosmic neutrino sighting
Researchers using the IceCube Neutrino Observatory have sorted through the billions of subatomic particles that zip through its frozen cubic-kilometer-sized detector each year to gather powerful new evidence in support of 2013 observations confirming the existence of cosmic neutrinos. Read More
Fall Competition aims to set standard for research excellence
In addition to the recently announced UW2020 research funding initiative, the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Education is continuing its longstanding Fall Competition for research funding. Read More
Novel Morgridge technology may illuminate mystery moon caves
It's widely believed that the moon features networks of caves created when violent lava flows tore under the surface from ancient volcanoes. Some craters may actually be "skylights" where cave ceilings have crumbled. Read More
Apes may be closer to speaking than many scientists think
Koko the gorilla is best known for a lifelong study to teach her a silent form of communication, American Sign Language. But some of the simple sounds she has learned may change the perception that humans are the only primates with the capacity for speech. Read More
More details on origin of world’s favorite beer-making microbe
The crucial genetic mashup that spawned the yeast that brews the vast majority of beer occurred at least twice - and both times without human help - according to a University of Wisconsin–Madison study published Aug. 11 in the journal Molecular Biology and Evolution. Read More
Proposed ban on fetal tissue would halt lifesaving research, scientists say
A bill before the State Assembly aimed at banning the scientific use of fetal tissue would halt work that could alleviate or end the suffering… Read More
Discovery in growing graphene nanoribbons could enable faster, more efficient electronics
Graphene, an atom-thick material with extraordinary properties, is a promising candidate for the next generation of dramatically faster, more energy-efficient electronics. However, scientists have struggled to fabricate the material into ultra-narrow strips, called nanoribbons, that could enable the use of graphene in high-performance semiconductor electronics. Read More