UW In The News

Carpenter: How to Protect our Disappearing Bumble Bees

On March 21, the rusty-patched bumble bee, Bombus affinis, officially became the first bumble bee listed for protection under the Endangered Species Act. This designation recognizes this important pollinator’s precarious position in the face of multiple threats to its survival. It also provides some of the tools necessary to begin to reverse its decline.

These new lenses give you superhuman sight, let you see colors with greater clarity

Human beings are pretty darn versatile, but we still have plenty of limitations when it comes to the way we sense the world. Case in point are metamers: colors which appear to our eyes to be identical, but which are actually composed of slightly different wavelengths of light. While sensors can spot metamers with ease, our eyeballs just aren’t fine-tuned enough to spot the difference.

Is Kerrygold butter worth leaving America’s Dairyland of Wisconsin?

Noted: “It’s the most difficult (to judge) because the flavor profile is very, very light,” says judge Bob Bradley, a University of Wisconsin food science emeritus professor.

Borrowing from nature: UW-Madison scientists use plants to grow stem cells

To grow clusters of human stem cells that mimic organs in the lab and might be used someday in tissue implants, Bill Murphy, a UW-Madison professor of biomedical engineering, creates tiny scaffolds made of plastic or rubber.

Match day makes its way to UW Madison

MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) — As most people were looking for luck on St. Patrick’s Day, the students at the University of Wisconsin Madison’s School of Medicine and Public Health found it on Match Day.

Combined sciences paid off on Ecuador trip

MENOMONIE — If Damien Adamski hadn’t come to fully appreciate the “applied” aspect of his applied social science major at UW-Stout, he did by late January when he returned from Ecuador.Heading into his final semester, Adamski, of Eau Claire, and associate professor Tina Lee went on a research trip with a team of engineering students from UW-Madison. The UW-Madison students were finishing installation of a clean water system in the village of Tabuga, on the northwest coast.

Why It Matters That Trump Wants to Kill the NEA and NEH

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NEA and NEH money can also function as a multiplier. Many grant recipients use an agency’s seal of approval as a basis to solicit matching funds from charitable foundations, often at a rate of three private dollars for each federal dollar, according to Lea Jacobs, associate vice chancellor for research for arts and humanities at the University of Wisconsin at Madison.

UW faculty honored for distinguished teaching

A dozen UW-Madison faculty members have been honored by the university with the annual Distinguished Teaching Awards, awarded every year since 1953 to honor the best educators at the state’s flagship school.

Physicists Are Building a Dark Matter Experiment in an Abandoned Gold Mine

In an abandoned gold mine one mile beneath the town of Lead, South Dakota, engineers and physicists with the University of Wisconsin—Madison are working to build a chamber that holds 10 tons of liquid xenon. They hope that in the subterranean realms of the mine, where the experiment will be protected from solar particles and cosmic rays, they will be able to detect dark matter for the very first time.

Clyde Stubblefield among 3 getting honorary degrees at UW spring commencement

The late “Funky Drummer” Clyde Stubblefield, along with educator and philanthropist Tashia Morgridge and sociologist Cora Marrett, will be receiving honorary degrees in May from UW-Madison.

Patz: Climate change and chronic disease: twin perils and a golden opportunity to solve both

The global climate crisis presents enormous challenges to our current high-energy consuming lifestyle. Or does it?

UW-Madison scientists seek to improve health, environment with microbiome research

From diabetes, asthma and tooth decay to lake algae, dairy production and panda reproduction, UW-Madison researchers are studying how tiny bugs in our guts, our mouths and a variety of ecosystems help or harm.

Wisconsin researcher studies the cycle of poverty

In her nearly two decades of work at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s School of Social Work, Kristen Slack has dedicated her energy to uncovering the roots of poverty and finding solutions for those who need it most, particularly those who are the victims of child neglect.

Explore The Locations Of Every Fossil Ever Found With This Interactive Tool

Whether you’re an educator, or just have an interest in paleobiology as a hobby, this interactive fossil finding tool is incredible. The web tool was developed by engineers from the US Department of Geoscience at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and it contains all the data found in the Paleobiology Database. You can filter finds by geologic time filters, or zoom into specific areas of the world to narrow down your search.

Epic recruiters come to UW looking for engineers and English majors alike

Annika Collier took more classes about Swedish than she did in computer science while attending the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In the seven years she’s worked at Epic Systems, the giant Verona-based company that specializes in complex medical software, that’s never been an issue, she told a small room of UW students at the Union South.

Catching up with little girl who needed a kidney and her teacher who gave the life-saving gift

Video story about living donor donation at UW Health.

Badgers football: Wisconsin reveals plans for ‘Camp Randall 100’ celebration

University of Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez said he peers out his office window “about every day” to reflect on how much Camp Randall Stadium has developed since he took over as the football program’s coach in 1990.

Campus leaders dedicate Black Cultural Center at conclusion of Black History Month

Nearly two years after students demanded greater diversity and inclusion at UW-Madison, the Black Cultural Center was dedicated to “voices from the future,” as Hazel Symonette said, in a ceremony Tuesday.

What happened when UW Hospital cafeteria made eating healthy easier?

It started with the removal of sugar-sweetened drinks and deep-fat fryers back in 2014.Poof! They were gone. But the culinary staff for the University of Wisconsin Hospital system were just getting started. By the time they were done with a major overhaul of their cafeterias’ food offerings, healthy salads, alternative grains, ethnic specialties and local farm-fresh fruits and vegetables would rule the day, and the plate, for the system’s nearly 15,000 employees and other diners.

‘Fake News’ Is Also Plaguing the World of Science

Noted: “The new media environment has allowed this type of information to be disseminated,” Dominique Brossard, PhD, a life sciences communication professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who spoke at the conference, told Healthline.

Amazon Deforestation, Once Tamed, Comes Roaring Back

Quoted: Holly Gibbs, an expert in tropical deforestation and agriculture at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, called the 2030 deadline interpretation devastating. “If we were to wait until 2030,” Ms. Gibbs said, “there would be no forest left.”

2 UW scientists win Sloan Fellowships

Two UW-Madison professors have been selected to received Sloan Research Fellowships, one of the more prestigious awards young researchers can get.

UW-Madison Program For Future Entrepreneurs Skyrockets

The University of Wisconsin-Madison is trying to better teach students how to become entrepreneurs. It comes at a time when the state fares poorly in national rankings for its lack of business startups.

UW-Madison Program For Future Entrepreneurs Skyrockets

The University of Wisconsin-Madison is trying to better teach students how to become entrepreneurs. It comes at a time when the state fares poorly in national rankings for its lack of business startups.

Badgers sports: Former Wisconsin running back James White visits Madison after Super Bowl win

Exactly two weeks after James White scored the game-winning touchdown for the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LI, it’s still hard for him to explain everything that’s happened.

In Donald Trump era, UW prof’s rural Wisconsin insights gain national prominence

Kathy Cramer’s journey to the center of the political landscape began with road trips to corners of Wisconsin many people only drive through — if they drive there at all.

People Of Color Accounted For 22 Percent Of Children’s Books Characters In 2016

Two decades ago only about 9 percent of children’s books published in the U.S. were about people of color. Things have changed since then, but not by much. On Wednesday, the Cooperative Children’s Book Center at the University of Wisconsin, Madison’s Education School revealed that in 2016, it counted 427 books written or illustrated by people of color, and 736 books about people of color out of about 3,400 books it analyzed. That adds up to 22 percent of children’s books.

Study: Hate Groups Increase In US, Wisconsin

Quoted: Pamela Oliver, a University of Wisconsin-Madison professor, said divisive political speech has a trickle-down effect, and the 2016 presidential campaign could have contributed to the uptick.

From rhetoric to media to neuroscience, lying gets another look in the age of Trump

Quoted: “I’m very, very careful with the word lie, because it does imply intent, and sometimes when people share a falsehood they’re not necessarily intending to lie,” says Kathleen Bartzen Culver, director of the Center for Journalism Ethics at the University of Wisconsin. “What concerns me most right now is whether we’ve come to a point where people don’t necessarily believe there is a truth anymore.”

Happ named to Wooden Award Late Season Top 20 list

Ethan Happ of the No. 7 Wisconsin men’s basketball team has been named to the John R. Wooden Award Late Season Top 20 list, as announced by the Los Angeles Athletic Club on Wednesday.