Category Science & Technology
How plants adapt: Calcium waves help the roots tell the shoots
For Simon Gilroy, sometimes seeing is believing. In this case, it was seeing the wave of calcium sweep root-to-shoot in the plants the University of Wisconsin–Madison professor of botany is studying that made him a believer. Read More
Oldest bit of Earth’s crust among attractions at Geology Museum open house
It promises to be a trip through geologic time: from a look at the oldest piece of Earth's crust, to the earliest smells on our planet, to a recently crash-landed Martian meteorite. Read More
Monkey caloric restriction study shows big benefit; contradicts earlier study
The latest results from a 25-year study of diet and aging in monkeys shows a significant reduction in mortality and in age-associated diseases among those with calorie-restricted diets. The study, begun at the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1989, is one of two ongoing, long-term U.S. efforts to examine the effects of a reduced-calorie diet on nonhuman primates. Read More
Science on Tap sparks UW, Northwoods dialogue
University of Wisconsin–Madison researchers are highlighting the university’s impact more than 200 miles away from campus through a series of conversations involving community members on topics ranging from carnivore conservation to climate change. Read More
Winning images reveal the aesthetic side of UW science
From the frumpish mug of an oyster toadfish to delicate crystalline “flowers” of cobalt pyrite, 12 winners of the 2014 University of Wisconsin–Madison Cool Science Image contest were announced today, Tuesday, March 24. Read More
‘Stem cell tourism’ takes advantage of patients, says law professor
Desperate patients are easy prey for unscrupulous clinics offering untested and risky stem cell treatments, says law and bioethics Professor Alta Charo of the University of Wisconsin–Madison, who is studying "stem cell tourism." Read More
Researchers discover new way to make muscle cells from human stem cells
As stem cells continue their gradual transition from the lab to the clinic, a research group at the University of Wisconsin–Madison has discovered a new way to make large concentrations of skeletal muscle cells and muscle progenitors from human stem cells. Read More
New Milky Way portrait to be on Town Center media wall
The dramatic new infrared picture of the plane of our galaxy will be viewable for the next week on the large media wall in the Town Center of the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery on the UW–Madison campus. Read More
Dramatic new portrait helps define Milky Way’s shape, contents
Using more than 2 million images collected by NASA’s orbiting Spitzer Space Telescope, a team of Wisconsin scientists has stitched together a dramatic 360-degree portrait of the Milky Way, providing new details of our galaxy’s structure and contents. Read More
Startup focuses on reliable, efficient cooling for computer servers
In a dark, windy room on the top floor of Engineering Hall on the University of Wisconsin–Madison campus, racks of computers are processing information for a college that relies, like all technical fields, on massive computing power. The noise comes from multiple fans located inside each computer case and from the large air conditioner that drives currents through the room to remove waste heat from the processors. Read More
In the lab, scientists coax E. coli to resist radiation damage
Capitalizing on the ability of an organism to evolve in response to punishment from a hostile environment, scientists have coaxed the model bacterium Escherichia coli to dramatically resist ionizing radiation and, in the process, reveal the genetic mechanisms that make the feat possible. Read More
Study suggests potential association between soy formula and seizures in children with autism
A University of Wisconsin–Madison researcher has detected a higher rate of seizures among children with autism who were fed infant formula containing soy protein rather than milk protein. Read More
Small scale, large potential: An expert weighs in on the future of microfluidics
More than a decade ago, David Beebe wrote that the field of microfluidics had the potential to significantly change modern biology. Now Beebe, an expert in the field, has written a high-level perspective on the state of microfluidics for the journal Nature. Read More
Stem cell advance yields mature heart muscle cells
A team of University of Wisconsin–Madison researchers has induced human embryonic stem cells (hESC) to differentiate toward pure-population, mature heart muscle cells, or cardiomyocytes. Read More
Sardis dig yields enigmatic trove: ritual egg in a pot
Sardis has given up another treasure in the form of two enigmatic ritual deposits, which are proving more difficult to fathom than the coins for which the city was famous. Read More
UW-Madison a partner in national effort to retool U.S. manufacturing
Contributing expertise in such areas as advanced manufacturing, controls and high-performance computing, the University of Wisconsin–Madison will play a key role a $320 million initiative to create and apply cutting-edge technologies to advance U.S. global competitiveness in manufacturing. Read More
‘Greener’ aerogel technology holds potential for oil and chemical clean-up
Cleaning up oil spills and metal contaminates in a low-impact, sustainable and inexpensive manner remains a challenge for companies and governments globally. But a group of researchers at UW–Madison is examining alternative materials that can be modified to absorb oil and chemicals. Read More
Seed dispersal gets a test in carved-out ‘habitat corridors’
Field ecologists go to great lengths to get data: radio collars and automatic video cameras are only two of their creative techniques for documenting the natural world. So when a group of ecologists set out to see how wind moves seeds through isolated patches of habitat carved into a longleaf pine plantation in South Carolina, they twisted colored yarn to create mock seeds that would drift with the wind much like native seeds. Read More
New, inexpensive production materials boost promise of hydrogen fuel
Generating electricity is not the only way to turn sunlight into energy we can use on demand. The sun can also drive reactions to create chemical fuels, such as hydrogen, that can in turn power cars, trucks and trains. Read More
‘Cabinet of curiosities’ captures nature through work of artists and scientists
Of all the places Sierra Swenson expected to end up during her first semester at college, precious few were lined with jars full of preserved reptiles. Read More