UW In The News

Is the coronavirus connected to climate change

Coronavirus quarantine: Why you don’t have to be productive right now

Quoted: “We can practice relaxing as we are walking, cleaning our house, doing the laundry,” says neuroscientist Richard J. Davidson, founder of the Center for Healthy Minds at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “We can also practice a little self-compassion at these times, recognizing that no one is perfect and not being too hard on ourselves for failing to accomplish something in the time we had originally planned, for example.”

Republicans tried to suppress the vote in Wisconsin. It backfired.

Quoted: It’s more likely that Democratic turnout benefited from the party’s presidential primary being on the ballot. And at a time when Americans are spending more time consuming news at home, the controversy over whether to hold the election may have actually wound up encouraging voters, said Barry Burden, director of the Elections Research Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Trump Has a Gut Feeling About What Covid-19 Means for 2020

Quoted: Barry Burden of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Amber Wichowsky of Marquette, co-authored “Economic discontent as a mobilizer: unemployment and voter turnout.” Burden described by email the complexity of political mobilization during an economic crisis:“Historically, unemployed individuals have voted at much lower rates than working people,” Burden said, but when unemployment “becomes widespread enough to be perceived as a communal concern rather than an individual predicament” it raises turnout.

Despite Obstacles, Democratic Turnout Surged In Wisconsin Supreme Court Race

Quoted: Barry Burden, University of Wisconsin-Madison political science professor, said that likely gave some Democrats more of an incentive to vote even if the race was all but decided.

Despite Obstacles, Democratic Turnout Surged In Wisconsin Supreme Court Race

Quoted: Barry Burden, University of Wisconsin-Madison political science professor, said that likely gave some Democrats more of an incentive to vote even if the race was all but decided.

Screen Time Is Replacing Playtime — and That’s Changing Kids’ Brains

Quoted: Action games are associated with improvements on a pretty broad range of perceptual and cognitive skills,” says C. Shawn Green, a psychologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who specializes in cognitive neuroscience.

Social-Distancing Rules—and Those That Flout Them—Spur Online Shaming

Quoted: And for this generation of teens, there is little precedent for this kind of threat. Most were born after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and haven’t experienced the type of disruption that would make them fearful of going about their regular lives, said Bradford Brown, a professor of human development at the University of Wisconsin in Madison who specializes in adolescents.

Voting by Mail Could Be What States Need. But Can They Pull It Off?

Quoted: In the 2016 presidential election, voters there cast some 145,000 absentee votes by mail; in Tuesday’s election, there were over a million. The state’s election officials regularly process high volumes of absentee ballots, but the last-minute cascade left them swamped, said Kenneth Mayer, a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin.

For Caregivers Of Children With Autism, COVID-19 Conditions Can Present Extra Challenges

Quoted: Sigan Hartley is a University of Wisconsin-Madison associate professor of human development and family studies and the 100 Women Chair for the School of Human Ecology. She’s also a Waisman Center investigator, whose research focuses on positive well-being in individuals with developmental disabilities and their family members.

Wisconsin Clerks Guarding Ballots for Days Before Counting

Quoted: Barry Burden, a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, called tampering a minor concern for clerks who already had processes for securing absentee ballots before election day.

The trouble with predicting how the coronavirus will spread.

Quote: As governments around the world try to predict the toll and duration of the coronavirus, they’re turning increasingly to a handful of forecasting models for answers. But many of the leading models differ drastically in their approach and methods. What do we need to know about these forecasts? And what are their limitations?Guest: Jordan Ellenberg, mathematics professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madiso

State Officials Developing Guidelines For Scarce Medical Equipment

Quoted: Dr. Norman Fost, a professor emeritus of pediatrics and bioethics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health, leads the Ventilator Allocation Advisory Workgroup. He said there was general agreement on having uniform guidelines within the state.

Covid-19 documentary to shed light on pandemic

Quoted: “The virus, people say sometimes, is a piece of bad news wrapped in protein. It is a vector for getting genetic information into a cell and that genetic information just contains a blueprint to make more viruses. They were able to tell that although this virus was new, it was closely related to the original SARS virus,” explained Professor Thomas Friedrich from University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Trump Hates Having Too Many Voters

Quoted: Except for the part where he had actually endorsed said judge in January. “And there were no polls,” added Barry Burden, the director of the University of Wisconsin Elections Research Center.

How to Avoid Misinformation About COVID-19

If you’ve found yourself unsure whether a soundbite or headline you saw or shared was true, know that you’re not alone, says Dietram Scheufele, a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who studies science and political communication.

How Wisconsin’s election disenfranchised voters in the coronavirus pandemic

“As the weeks wore on, the legislature dug into that position, allowing no accommodations, no flexibility for voters, and the governor slowly moved to the opposite side,” University of Wisconsin-Madison political science professor Barry Burden told Vox.

Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders and No Decision in Wisconsin, Yet

Quoted: “There will be lingering concerns no matter how the election is run,” says Barry Burden, a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “It’s just not possible to run an ideal election in a public health pandemic. Who’s complaining about it will vary depending on what is done.”

Bharat Biotech: Hope to get nasal vaccine against Covid-19 into market in 12-18 months: Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech

Q When did you start work on a new vaccine and what is the status of the research?

A. We began work on the new vaccine, CoroFlu, in February this year. CoroFlu builds on cutting-edge technology from an influenza vaccine already being developed by US company FluGen, and based on research at the University of Wisconsin, Madison (UWM). Because CoroFlu is based on a flu vaccine, our team hopes to protect patients from both the flu virus and the novel coronavirus at the same time.

3D printing faces hurdles in coronavirus response

Quoted: Tim Osswald, a professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an expert on the technology, told The Hill that 3D printing speeds up manufacturing much more than traditional production methods.

Wisconsin is scheduled to vote today. How will the pandemic affect turnout?

On Tuesday, April 7, Wisconsin is scheduled to vote. With the coronavirus still raging, state lawmakers of both parties have for weeks been urging voters to cast ballots early or absentee to help contain the pandemic.

-Michael Wagner, Katerine Cramer, Dhavan Shah, Lewis Friedland

Cafeteria workers are risking their health to feed vulnerable students

The pandemic has shown us just how important “lunch ladies” are, and we owe it to them to remember this lesson when school is back in session.

-Jennifer Gaddis is an assistant professor in the Department of Civil Society & Community Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the author of The Labor of Lunch: Why We Need Real Food and Real Jobs in American Public Schools.

When stress hits you like a slap in the face, how do you respond?

“Build in cues to remind yourself to be intentional about practicing mindfulness,” said Richard Davidson, director of the Center for Healthy Minds at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Examples include glancing at a photo of loved ones on your desk or sticking an inspiring phrase (“I’ve got this!”) on your computer monitor.

UW-Madison scientists developing coronavirus vaccine

Researchers with the University of Wisconsin – Madison are teaming with Madison-based company FluGen and Hyderabad, India-based Bharat Biotech.

Cafeteria workers are risking their health to feed vulnerable students

The pandemic has shown us just how important “lunch ladies” are, and we owe it to them to remember this lesson when school is back in session.Jennifer Gaddis is an assistant professor in the Department of Civil Society & Community Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the author of The Labor of Lunch: Why We Need Real Food and Real Jobs in American Public Schools.

What To Do If Someone In Your Household Tests Positive For COVID-19. Expert Answers Your Questions | Wisconsin Public Radio

Quoted: WPR’s WHYsconsin has received numerous questions about how to care for someone with COVID-19. WPR’s Melissa Ingells recently spoke with Patrick Remington, a physician and emeritus professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health, to answer your questions.

FluGen, UW-Madison researchers developing COVID-19 vaccine

Researcher: We Can Reframe Social Distancing As An Act Of Kindness

Quoted: Richard Davidson, a professor of psychology and psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the founder and director of the Center for Healthy Minds, says that in this time of unusual challenges, we have also been cut off from many of our usual coping techniques.

Map Reveals Hidden U.S. Hotspots of Coronavirus Infection

The mapping team initially used data from a crowd-sourced tracker of county-level cases and validated them with estimates from state health departments. The researchers have since incorporated data from several other sources, and they are partnering with their colleagues at the University of Wisconsin–Madison to authenticate that information.

The Safety Net Got a Quick Patch. What Happens After the Coronavirus?

Quoted: Despite the declines, child poverty in the United States remains higher than in most similar countries. About 17.2 percent of American children live on less than half the median income, said Timothy Smeeding, an economist at the University of Wisconsin, citing data from Luxembourg Income Study.