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Category Science & Technology

How plants adapt: Calcium waves help the roots tell the shoots

April 3, 2014

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

April 1, 2014

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

April 1, 2014

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

Winning images reveal the aesthetic side of UW science

March 25, 2014

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

March 24, 2014

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

March 21, 2014

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

March 20, 2014

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

Startup focuses on reliable, efficient cooling for computer servers

March 20, 2014

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

March 17, 2014

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

March 13, 2014

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

March 13, 2014

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

March 3, 2014

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

March 3, 2014

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

Seed dispersal gets a test in carved-out ‘habitat corridors’

February 24, 2014

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

February 21, 2014

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

February 21, 2014

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