UW In The News

Scheufele and Brossard: Can Bill Nye – or any other science show – really save the world?

Netflix’s new talk show, “Bill Nye Saves the World,” debuted the night before people around the world joined together to demonstrate and March for Science. Many have lauded the timing and relevance of the show, featuring the famous “Science Guy” as its host, because it aims to myth-bust and debunk anti-scientific claims in an alternative-fact era.

Wisconsin’s Lauren Carlini: “I’m so excited to see what’s ahead”

Lauren Carlini is having a blast. In May she’ll graduate from the University of Wisconsin and move to Anaheim to train with the USA national team.

UW Study Finds Road Salt Is Changing Salinity Of Freshwater Lakes

Central Time talks to Hilary Dugan, a UW-Madison researcher, about a recent study showing that our freshwater lakes are getting saltier due to road salt used during winter months.

Aldo Leopold broadcasts recreated and other events planned across the state to celebrate Earth Day

Radio broadcasts by famed Wisconsin conservationist Aldo Leopold 80 years ago have been recreated as part of this year’s Earth Day celebration.

Former Badger Hayes talks mental wellness with local teens

Nigel Hayes is known for his sense of humor, but joking about serious topics is something he doesn’t tolerate.

Teaching science by asking, ‘What do you want to know’ and ‘How can you answer that?’

Twice a month, former and current UW-Madison students trek to little Mazomanie Elementary School here to help students experience what it’s really like to work as a scientist.The adults are members of Biocore Outreach Ambassadors, a student organization that is an outgrowth of the Biology Core Curriculum honors program at UW-Madison. The program, which is typically open to students beginning in their sophomore year, engages students in “inquiry-based science,” in which students ask questions, search for solutions, test hypotheses and evaluate outcomes.

“Pokemon Go” Players May Be Happier, Friendlier, & More Physically Active Than Those Who Aren’t Catchin’ ‘Em All

If you spent a significant portion of last summer knocking into lampposts in pursuit of a wiley Bulbasaur, cursing wildly because you walked five miles to hatch an egg that turned out to be a dingy-old Pidgey, or patiently explaining to your parents that you are indeed a single 25-year-old playing a video game on her phone and yes, you do believe this is time well-spent, I have good news for you. This week, researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison released a study which suggests “Pokemon Go” players are happier, friendlier, and more physically active than their non-”Pokemon Go” playing peers (or, Poke-muggles, as I have been repeatedly asked to stop calling them).

UW vollleyball star Lauren Carlini wins Sullivan Award

Lauren Carlini, the only four-time All-American in University of Wisconsin volleyball history, was named the 2017 AAU James E. Sullivan Award winner on Tuesday night at the New York Athletic Club.

Pokemon Go players are happy people, UW-Madison research suggests

New research from the University of Wisconsin-Madison suggests not only are Pokémon Go players walking more, they’re happy people.

Summit aims to increase Latino enrollment at UW-Madison

Video: UW-Madison wants to increase diversity in its enrollment by inviting Latino students to campus Wednesday and Thursday.

Schneider: Desmond’s ‘Evicted’ is a flawed masterpiece

When University of Wisconsin-Madison graduate Matthew Desmond won a Pulitzer Prize for general nonfiction Monday, it came as no surprise to anyone who has read his 2016 book “Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City.”

Your Most Distant Animal Relative Is Probably This Tiny Jelly

For years, a debate has raged among scientists as to which ancient creature represents the first true animal, sponges or jellies. Using a new genetic technique, a collaborative team of researchers has concluded that ctenophores—also known as comb jellies—were the first animals to appear on Earth. It’s an important step forward in this longstanding debate, but this issue is far from being resolved.

Desmond wins Pulitzer for book based on Milwaukee research

Matthew Desmond, who earned his master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, on Monday won the Pulitzer Prize in General Nonfiction for a book based on research conducted in Milwaukee.

UW-Madison launches STEM Diversity Network

UW-Madison has launched the STEM Diversity Network, a website collecting resources on science, technology, engineering and math to boost recruitment, retention and success of people of diverse backgrounds working and studying in those fields.

Artist/scientist Peter Krsko bends nature to his will

Ask Peter Krsko to define the art he creates and he might pull a wasp comb out of his backpack and draw attention to its hexagonal cells.

10 Universities Spending Billions on R&D

The University of Wisconsin-Madison spent nearly $1.1 billion on R&D in 2015.

3 UW students win prestigious Goldwater scholarships

The university said by news release that Cory Cotter, Emily Jewell and Lucas Oxtoby were winners of the scholarship, while Elizabeth Penn was selected as an honorable mention.

Turning Negative Thinkers Into Positive Ones

Noted: Negative feelings activate a region of the brain called the amygdala, which is involved in processing fear and anxiety and other emotions. Dr. Richard J. Davidson, a neuroscientist and founder of the Center for Healthy Minds at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, has shown that people in whom the amygdala recovers slowly from a threat are at greater risk for a variety of health problems than those in whom it recovers quickly.

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.