UW In The News

Here’s how many trees are required to cool a city street

That’s why researchers at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, decided to start measuring. They strapped some sensors to a bike, and sent an able-bodied person around the city of Madison to test temperatures at regular intervals along blocks with varying levels of tree cover. They published their results Monday in the journal PNAS.

Throw Shade at Climate Change By Planting More Trees

And, according to a new study from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, they play a big role in keeping towns and cities cool.

Cottage Cheese Is the New Greek Yogurt

Quoted: “It’s a pretty straightforward cheese to make,” says John Lucey, a professor of food science at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Even so, the process is time-consuming and labor-intensive. It begins with creating the curd, the lumpy matter found in cottage cheese.

The NCAA women’s hockey trophy is coming home to Wisconsin

The No. 1 Wisconsin women’s hockey team won its fifth national championship Sunday with a 2-0 win over No. 2 Minnesota.

Wisconsin dairy farmers lean on creativity, innovation

University of Wisconsin-Madison professor Victor Cabrera wants to help farmers make better decisions through his project called Dairy Brain , which would collect and integrate data from all parts of the farm operation, then use artificial intelligence to analyze the findings and help farmers make smarter management decisions.

Most styrofoam isn’t recycled. Here’s how 3 startups aim to fix that

Andrea Hicks, an assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Wisconsin, Madison published a recent study that looked at the environmental impact of polystyrene through its life cycle.

Why the Peace Corps director thinks UW-Madison tops all schools in producing volunteers

Seventy-five Badgers — more than any other U.S. university — are currently serving a 27-month stint in developing countries promoting peace through community integration.

Report: Climate Change Brings Rising Temperatures, Extreme Weather To Great Lakes States

The Environmental Law & Policy Center commissioned the study by researchers from several universities, including Daniel Vimont, director of the Nelson Institute Center For Climatic Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Debunking the Capitalist Cowboy

Business schools fetishize entrepreneurial innovation, but their most prominent heroes succeeded because they manipulated corporate law, not because of personal brilliance. –Nan Enstad is the Robinson Edwards Professor of History at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and author of Cigarettes, Inc.: An Intimate History of Corporate Imperialism.

What Is the World to Do About Gene-Editing?

Quoted: This can be seen in what the University of Wisconsin bioethicist Alta Charo, an author of the 2017 NASEM report, both observes and endorses as the “yellow light” approach to regulating “technology [that] innovates faster than the regulatory system can adapt.”

Climate change is taking a toll on the $20 billion ski industry

Tonight’s spring equinox “supermoon,” explained in one chart

Quoted: 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 in the sky. This occurs about one in every 14 full moons, Jim Lattis, an astronomer at the University of Wisconsin Madison, notes.

The return of internet nationalism

Quoted: According to Paul Barford, an internet topology expert at the University of Wisconsin who worked on the Internet Atlas, Russia’s plan is almost certainly part of an attempt to defend itself against what he calls a “cyber cold war.”

UW-Madison scientists make key discovery on protein that’s a major focus of cancer research

New work by two University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers provides crucial insight into a major medical mystery: how a protein that normally protects cells from tumors is induced to abandon its mission.

UW scientists discover pathway behind common cancer gene

UW-Madison researchers have discovered one way a gene that usually protects against tumors can, when mutated, spur cancers of the breast, ovaries, lung and bladder.

Muslim Students Host Vigil for New Zealand Victims

Devastated, yet motivated to come together, Muslim University of Wisconsin students Mouna Algahaithi and Ali Khan hosted a vigil just 12 hours later with the Muslim Student Association at the Multicultural Student Center, where the staff were more than willing to provide space and services. The Assistant Director of Leadership and Involvement, Maria Ahmad, assisted in inviting University Health Services mental health counselors, as well. Over 50 staff, students, and community members from various religious backgrounds gathered to honor the fallen victims.

When America’s Love of the Open Frontier Hit a Wall

The first person to articulate the frontier thesis was a University of Wisconsin historian who was little regarded at the time, Frederick Jackson Turner.

Exposing Baby to Foods Early May Help Prevent Allergies

“There’s no reason to restrict early introduction to allergenic foods,” said a co-author of a new clinical report from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), Dr. Frank Greer. He’s a professor emeritus of pediatrics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Would You Give Your Kidney to a Stranger?

“She will donate her kidney. It will fly somewhere else in the country. Then that patient’s donor will have a kidney go on a plane to somewhere else,” UW Health transplant surgeon Dr. Josh Mezrich explained to “To the Best of Our Knowledge” host Anne Strainchamps.

Governors vs. senators: Hickenlooper, Inslee will test old theory

“In 2016, the Democrats had one of the most experienced candidates ever. That failed,” said Barry  Burden, a University of Wisconsin-Madison political scientist who has written about the advantages governors hold in presidential races. “That might cause the party to rethink the value of experience, and especially Washington experience.”

Wisconsin Farmers Expected To Take On More Debt Despite Improved Income

But Steven Deller, agricultural and applied economics professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said it won’t offset the 17.8 percent decline in farm income last year.

Insects could be an untapped source of new antibiotic drugs

“The insects are doing the searching for us,” added co-author of the study, Cameron Currie, a bacteriologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The Power and Science of Forgiveness

Quoted: In addition, as noted by Bob Enright, a psychologist at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, who has studied forgiveness for decades, true forgiveness includes empathy and compassion toward the injuring individual before you can forgive completely.

Fact-checking Bernie Sanders on a $15 minimum wage

Quoted: Timothy Smeeding, a professor of public affairs and economics at the University of Wisconsin, said the study is incomplete because it only counts the benefits and not the drawbacks.

Hiding in Plain Sight: PAC-Connected Activists Set Up ‘Local News’ Outlets

Quoted: The issue, according to Kathleen Bartzen Culver, the director for the Center of Journalism Ethics at the University of Wisconsin at Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication, is disguising conservative activism as journalism. “I have no problem with advocacy organizations creating content that reinforces the positions they take on public policy issues on the left, right or center. The issue comes in when they’re not transparent about that advocacy,” Culver told us via phone.

Wisconsin has nation’s highest rate of deadly falls among older adults

“It’s multi-factorial,” said Dr. Jane Mahoney, a UW-Madison geriatrician who has done extensive research on falls. “You add in alcohol, winter weather … reporting differences … those all play a role.”

North Carolina election fraud: Mitch McConnell’s dishonest spin

Quoted: “If the rationale were to prevent voter fraud, it would focus on absentee ballots,” said Barry Burden from the University of Wisconsin-Madison at the time. “The consensus is fraud is more common among mail ballots.”

Ancient poop is helping archaeologists understand a midwestern city’s demise

“In the ancient world, there were other places people could have moved that were more resource-rich,” says Sissel Schroeder, an anthropologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and co-author of the study. “In the modern world, we’re experiencing the same pressures but it’s becoming more difficult to find resource-rich areas that aren’t already occupied by humans.”

Should American Libel Law Be Revisited? 1 Political Scientist’s Take

Quoted: Howard Schweber, First Amendment expert and professor of political science and legal studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, recently spoke with Wisconsin Public Radio’s “Central Time” host Rob Ferrett about the case.

A Wisconsin runner won a Big Ten track championship while shouting encouragement to her teammate

The announcer called Alicia Monson the “fastest coach at this meet.”

Monson, a junior on the University of Wisconsin women’s track and field team from Amery, won the Big Ten championship in the 5,000 meters in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on Saturday, crossing the finish line in 16 minutes, 18.63 seconds.