UW In The News

Turning Piglets Into Personalized Avatars for Sick Kids

When Charles Konsitzke and Dhanu Shanmuganayagam first met, they were both just trying to get some peace and quiet. It was early 2014, and they were representing the University of Wisconsin-Madison at a fancy event to promote the university’s research to local politicians. After hours of talking to senators, Shanmuganayagam was fried, and went for a walk to clear his head. That’s when he bumped into Konsitzke, an administrator at the University of Wisconsin’s Biotechnology Center. They introduced themselves, and discussed their work. Shanmuganayagam said that he ran a facility that rears miniature pigs, which are genetically engineered to carry mutations found in human genetic disorders. Scientists can study the mini-pigs to better understand those diseases.

If we shrink national monuments, science will suffer

Allison Stegner, a researcher at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, studies packrat middens in the Bear’s Ears national monument. That might sound cute, but the research involves anything but fuzzy rodent gloves. These small mammals collect carnivore bones, coyote poop, and the regurgitations of raptors and owls. “It’s really charming,” says Stegner.

Stegner says that oil and gas mining pose a threat to the rare fossil beds in Bear’s Ears, which shed light on how different species once interacted. “I have no problem with multi-use land in any way, but I do have a problem with giving over this incredible place, that is so important culturally and scientifically, to [serve] the interests of a few people,” she says.

How big oil is tightening its grip on Donald Trump’s White House

Since April 2014, 35 of OIRA’s 712 meetings on proposed EPA regulations have been with API representatives – including a 2015 conference call with the institute’s president, Gerard, over ozone. The institute, along with the American Chemistry Council and ExxonMobil, ranked among the top 10 groups that met with OIRA from 2001 to 2011. Such encounters wield influence: a 2015 study by University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers found the agency was more likely to edit rules when lobbied by industry than by public interest groups. Rao’s office did not respond to requests for comment, but on its website OIRA notes it will meet with “any party interested in discussing issues on a rule under review”.

Eating Yogurt May Help Reduce Chronic Inflammation in Women, New Clinical Trial Reveals

Eating yogurt on a regular basis may help reduce measures of chronic inflammation in women and support a healthy digestive system, researchers from University of Wisconsin-Madison College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (UW-Madison) report in the British Journal of Nutrition.A new clinical study conducted independently by UW-Madison and funded by National Dairy Council (NDC) showed that eating 12 ounces of low-fat yogurt a day reduced several biomarkers of inflammation in both normal-weight and obese premenopausal women.

UW, VA study looks at fish oil to prevent Alzheimer’s disease

Now, a study at UW Health and the Madison’s Veterans Hospital is seeing if veterans with a parental history of Alzheimer’s might be helped by a high-dose, prescription variety of a common supplement: fish oil.

Stressed Out Kids Are More Likely to Become Bad Decision Makers

Around 15 years ago, University of Wisconsin-Madison psychologist Seth Pollak recruited a couple hundred children to study the relationship between childhood stress and certain immune system markers. “We had a whole range [of participants], from kids with really boring, stable, average lives all the way up to kids with severe child abuse, and neglect, and poverty, and really extreme childhood stressors,” Pollak says. He published his research in the esteemed journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

Making Fuel out of Thick Air

In a commentary in Nature, based on the study, Ive Hermans, chemistry professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, noted that the research “links homogeneous organometallic chemistry … with solid-phase (heterogeneous) catalysis, and illustrates the importance of understanding catalysts at the atomic scale.”In the study, the research team suggested that further research and testing will illuminate the mechanism and reaction pathways that will guide new methane conversion catalyst design.

Facebook Messenger Kids probably won’t ruin your children

“Giving parents control is likely to create contention,” says Heather Kirkorian, an associate professor of human development and family studies at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. “But, parental oversight is an important part of a healthy introduction to this kind of communication. Prohibiting social media can sometimes motivate kids to find unregulated channels which open them up to more risk. ”For many kids who have already usurped the COPPA restrictions and signed up for unrestricted apps, Facebook Messenger Kids will likely feel restrictive. But, as a first experience, the scaled down nature can be a boon. Kirkorian likened it to social media training wheels.

Video games improve cognitive health

A recent study led by the University of Wisconsin-Madison found that youngsters with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experienced improved balance after playing a specially designed video game.

Pushing Out Of Migrant Laborers Sparks Controversy In China

It’s unclear how many migrants will be evicted. Beijing has about 8 million of them. Yi Fuxian is a population expert at University of Wisconsin-Madison. He argues that the mass evictions aren’t really necessary because the Beijing migrant population has already peaked.

Look At These Guys, You Can Be Bigger Than Your Job Title

J.J. Watt has built himself into one of the NFL’s best players – already a three-time Defensive Player of the Year award winner – and one of its most marketable stars. He’s the gridiron version of Captain America with an underdog backstory as a non-scholarship walk-on player at the University of Wisconsin. But as  Editor-in-Chief of MMQB Peter King wrote: “Nothing J.J. Watt has achieved in his career, or might still achieve, will measure up to what he did for Houston.”

High-Stress Childhoods May Impair Weighing of Risk & Reward

Adults who experienced high-stress childhoods are less likely to notice when a potential loss or disaster is right around the corner, often getting themselves into health, legal or financial trouble that could have been avoided, according to a new study at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Pewaukee native and former Badgers standout J.J. Watt named Sports Illustrated’s Sportsperson of the Year

Pewaukee native and University of Wisconsin alumnus J.J. Watt, who’s been a beast on the field since he arrived in the National Football League, has been given an impressive honor for his work done off of it.

‘Blue collar’ UW student wins scholarship to study in England

A UW-Madison graduate focusing on breaking down voting barriers has been selected as one of 43 students in the U.S. to receive the Marshall Scholarship to study in the United Kingdom.

Help For Holiday Stress

MADISON, Wis. – With family gatherings, shopping and holiday parties, this can be a very joyful season. But the holidays often include a lot of stress, which can put a damper on the joyful parts. Some of the stress is unnecessarily self-inflicted, says Christine Whelan, a clinical professor in the Department of Consumer Science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Human Ecology.

Rachel Rose’s journey from the University of Wisconsin to Star Wars

When we look for LiveBIG stories, we look for people who create innovation, impact and inspiration in the fields of science, the arts or philanthropy. Most projects check at least two of those boxes, some even check four, but University of Wisconsin alum Rachel Rose’s work behind-the-scenes on the new Star Wars films checks all of them.

Supermoon 2017: how to watch (and why)

A supermoon is when these two cycles match up, and we have a full moon that’s near its perigee. The result is that the full “super” moon appears slightly larger and slightly brighter to us in the sky. This occurs about one in every 14 full moons, Jim Lattis, an astronomer at the University of Wisconsin Madison, notes.

The Unspoken Health Effects of the Republican Tax Bill

Barbara Wolfe, a professor of population-health sciences at the University of Wisconsin, explained to me that this is what economists call an income-inequality hypothesis: Your health is influenced not only by your own level of income, but by the level of inequality where you live. Sociologists have described a similar socioeconomic-inequality hypothesis: As socioeconomic disparities grow, overall health metrics decline.

Officer Zen-dly

When UW-Madison psychology researcher Dan Grupe launched a pilot study examining the effects of mindfulness-based training on a small group of Madison police officers, his biggest question wasn’t whether the program would help officers better cope with job stress. It was whether police officers would buy into training that involved yoga, meditation and talking about their feelings.

Representing big ideas in word bubbles

For a uniquely ambitious father-son bonding project, Steven and Ben Nadler pooled their talents. The duo with Madison roots wrote and illustrated, respectively, a history of 17th-century philosophy. “Heretics! The Wondrous (and Dangerous) Beginnings of Modern Philosophy”—published in  graphic novel form—melds the extensive scholarship of Steven, the elder Nadler, and the younger Nadler’s whimsical visual style.

Wisconsinites Head To Shopping Centers For Black Friday

Noted: Sales in Wisconsin are expected to keep pace with national numbers, or exceed them slightly, according to Jerry O’Brien, executive director of the Kohl’s Center for Retailing at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Q&A: Leslie Orrantia forges relationships between UW-Madison and community

Leslie Orrantia was not yet director of community relations for UW-Madison in April 2016, when leaders of Madison’s communities of color demanded accountability from Chancellor Rebecca Blank and then-Police Chief Susan Riesling for what they felt was poor treatment of minority students on campus.

Know Your Madisonian: UW-Madison professor examines abrupt ecosystem changes

In the summer of 1978 when Long Island native Monica Turner was an undergraduate at Fordham University, she volunteered as a naturalist in Yellowstone National Park.

FCC Rule Rollback Makes It Easier To Buy And Sell Media Outlets

NPR’s Kelly McEvers talks with University of Wisconsin-Madison Professor Lewis Friedland about the FCC’s decision to roll back rules that aim to curb single media companies’ control of local news.

Q&A: Leslie Orrantia forges relationships between UW-Madison and community

Leslie Orrantia was not yet director of community relations for UW-Madison in April 2016, when leaders of Madison’s communities of color demanded accountability from Chancellor Rebecca Blank and then-Police Chief Susan Riesling for what they felt was poor treatment of minority students on campus.

A pleasant picture for baby boomers: Lower risk of macular degeneration

“It may have something to do with the cumulative impact of a lot of gains in health care, in terms of preventing and treating childhood infections, and improved maternal and child health,” said Karen Cruickshanks, a UW-Madison epidemiologist who led the study, published Thursday in the journal JAMA Ophthalmology.

Republicans used to support free trade. Then Trump happened.

Quoted: “These shortcuts can be political ideology; it could be religiosity, deference to scientific authority,” says Dominique Brossard, a psychologist who studies public opinion at the University of Wisconsin. “People don’t see themselves as being irrational doing this.”

We may know why Jupiter’s Great Red Spot is red instead of white

Noted: The red material Carlson made “has optical properties that are an excellent match to the spectrum of the Great Red Spot,” says Larry Sromovsky of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. By adjusting particle size and concentration, their model could match the visible spectra of other reddish clouds on Jupiter, unlike Loeffler’s material.

How a Wisconsin undergrad is introducing the world to astrobotany

Fictional astronaut Mark Watney’s creatively old-fashioned method of growing nutritious, life-sustaining potatoes in the soil of another planet in the film The Martian was for most people their first exposure to elements of the field of astrobotany.

Leckrone’s Legacy at Camp Randall Stadium

Over the past 100 seasons at Camp Randall Stadium, few people have had as much of a lasting impact on the game day atmosphere as UW marching band director Mike Leckrone. After 49 years at the university, he has helped create traditions and familiar sights and sounds for Badgers fans attending a home football game.