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Category Science & Technology

“Happy Days Study” meets the microbiome

August 6, 2015

For almost 60 years, the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (WLS) has closely followed the life course of roughly a third of Wisconsin high school graduates from the class of 1957. Read More

UW leading $2.6 million effort to improve solar power plants

August 5, 2015

The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded $2.6 million to a research collaboration led by University of Wisconsin–Madison engineering physics research Professor Mark Anderson that aims to advance the technology of utility-scale concentrating solar power (CSP) plants. Read More

Student organic seed enthusiasts to gather in Madison

August 4, 2015

While organic foods are popular among consumers, the organics segment remains a lonely field for future plant breeders. At many of the universities that offer graduate programs in plant breeding, for instance, there are only a handful of students focused on developing better fruit, vegetable and field crop varieties for organic farming systems. Read More

UW–Madison grad student wins HHMI international fellowship

August 4, 2015

Yei Hwan Jung, a graduate student in the lab of University of Wisconsin–Madison electrical and computer engineering Professor Zhenqiang “Jack” Ma, has been named an International Student Research Fellow by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI). Read More

Obama taps UW–Madison biochemist to head science medal panel

August 4, 2015

President Barack Obama has named University of Wisconsin–Madison biochemistry Professor Judith Kimble to chair the President’s Committee on the National Medal of Science. Read More

UW engineers use ‘CRISPR’ technology to locate crucial protein in stem cell survival

August 3, 2015

In a multidisciplinary effort, a team of University of Wisconsin–Madison engineers has identified a protein that is integral to the survival and self-renewal processes of human pluripotent stem cells (hPSC). Read More

UW 2020: New VCRGE program to support early stage research

July 28, 2015

In an effort to create a dynamic new funding mechanism for bold research ideas, ideas with potential to drive significant discoveries, the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Education (VCRGE), with support from the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF), is teeing up a new program to seed potentially groundbreaking research. Read More

UW study shows how a kernel got naked and corn became king

July 27, 2015

Ten thousand years ago, a golden grain got naked, brought people together and grew to become one of the top agricultural commodities on the planet. Read More

Cages offer new direction in sustainable catalyst design

July 23, 2015

University of Wisconsin–Madison engineers have developed a new approach to structuring the catalysts used in essential reactions in the chemical and energy fields. The advance offers a pathway for industries to wean themselves off of platinum, one of the scarcest metals in the earth's crust. Read More

Researchers pinpoint where the brain unites our eyes’ double vision

July 23, 2015

If you have two working eyes, you are live streaming two images of the world into your brain. Your brain combines the two to produce a view of the world that appears as though you had a single eye - like the Cyclops from Greek mythology. Read More

Keeping up that positive feeling: the science of savoring emotions

July 22, 2015

Savoring a beautiful sunset and the positive emotions associated with it can contribute to improved well-being, according to research. But why and how are some people better than others in keeping the feeling alive? Read More

Words jump-start vision, psychologist’s study shows

July 21, 2015

Cognitive scientists have come to view the brain as a prediction machine, constantly comparing what is happening around us to expectations based on experience - and considering what should happen next. Read More

Molecular fuel cell catalysts hold promise for efficient energy storage

July 15, 2015

In the quest for better, less expensive ways to store and use energy, platinum and other precious metals play an important role. They serve as catalysts to propel the most efficient fuel cells, but they are costly and rare. Read More

Nanoscale light-emitting device has big profile

July 13, 2015

University of Wisconsin–Madison engineers have created a nanoscale device that can emit light as powerfully as an object 10,000 times its size. It's an advance that could have huge implications for everything from photography to solar power. Read More

As giant physics machine restarts, essential role for UW continues

July 10, 2015

University of Wisconsin–Madison takes pride in the process of "sifting and winnowing, by which alone the truth can be found." So it makes poetic sense, says Wesley Smith, that he, as a UW–Madison physicist, is overseeing the ultrafast sifting and winnowing procedure for the CMS (compact muon solenoid) experiment, one of two general purpose detectors at history's largest scientific project, the Large Hadron Collider. Read More

Gift to Morgridge Institute ‘Fab Lab’ to boost medical device innovations

July 8, 2015

A gift to the Morgridge Institute for Research will help spur medical device innovations coming directly from doctors - the people who know firsthand where the advances are needed. Read More