UW In The News

Head Smart: Wisconsin Researchers Make Concussions a Priority

Quoted: “Wisconsin is known for collaborative, interprofessional concussion research,” says Traci Snedden, assistant professor and pediatric nurse practitioner at the UW-Madison School of Nursing.

UW researchers develop bandage that uses electrical impulses to speed wound recovery

University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers have developed a bandage that harnesses a body’s own energy to speed up wound healing through gentle electrical pulses.

China Halts Work by Team on Gene-Edited Babies

Quoted: There already are some rules that should have prevented what He says he did, said Alta Charo, a University of Wisconsin lawyer and bioethicist and a conference organizer.

Are We Ready to Listen to Sexual Assault Survivors Yet?

Quoted: According to Cecelia Klingele, a University of Wisconsin-Madison law professor, sexual violence reports that are only given to university officials—and not law enforcement—can only lead to suspensions and expulsions.

Wisconsin Democrats fear GOP redistricting end-around

Quoted: Removing the governor from redistricting would “fly in the face of the entire history of our state,” University of Wisconsin-Madison political scientist David Canon said.

Failed tax-cut experiment in Kansas should guide national leaders

Quoted: Analysis by Menzie Chinn, a professor of public affairs and economics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, found that after the enactment of the tax cuts, economic growth in Kansas fell well below its pre-Brownback trend and, by the spring of 2017, the rate of job growth in Kansas was not only lower than the rates in most of its neighboring states but less than half of the national average.

Scientists call for a halt to genetically editing embryos, rebuke Chinese researcher

“Having listened to Dr. He, I can only conclude that this was misguided, premature, unnecessary and largely useless,” said R. Alta Charo, a bioethicist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Chinese Scientist He Jiankui Rebuked By Colleagues Over Gene Experiments : Shots – Health News

Quoted: University of Wisconsin bioethicist Alta Charo, who helped organize the summit, issued an even harsher critique of He’s work, calling it “misguided, premature, unnecessary and largely useless.”

Rogue Scientist Says Another Crispr Pregnancy Is Under Way

Other members of the organizing committee were similarly skeptical. ”Having listened to Dr. He, I can only conclude that this was misguided, premature, unnecessary and largely useless,” Alta Charo, a bioethicist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison wrote in an email to WIRED.

Are digital technologies hurting our brain health? We asked 11 experts.

Quoted: “We’re all pawns in a grand experiment to be manipulated by digital stimuli to which no one has given explicit consent,” Richard Davidson, a neuroscientist at the University of Wisconsin, told us. But what are the results of the experiment?

Climate Report Warns Of Declining Agricultural Production, Biodiversity

Chris Kucharik, agronomy professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said frequent, heavy rains will make it more difficult for farmers to control runoff.

Behind an Effort to Fact-Check Live News With Speed and Accuracy

Quoted: Given the nuanced nature of fact-checking, identifying both the questionable statement and the context in which it was made, as Voyc is aiming to do, is key when verifying claims made on live news, says Dr. Lucas Graves, an associate professor at the University of Wisconsin Madison’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

4 Ways to Stay Motivated When You’re in a Rut

Quoted: Self-criticism “can lead to ruminative thoughts that interfere with our productivity, and it can impact our bodies by stimulating inflammatory mechanisms that lead to chronic illness and accelerate aging,” Dr. Richard Davidson, founder and director of the Center for Healthy Minds at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, told The Times earlier this year.

American Nazis and Nazi Sympathizers Have Been Around Since the 1930’s

Updated: “There were a shockingly high number of Americans who were not Nazis but felt sympathetic,” said Michels, a University of Wisconsin-Madison professor and author of Jewish Radicals.

UW-Madison scholarship covers tuition for 796 students. This is one freshman’s story.

Bucky’s Tuition Promise pledges to cover four years of tuition and fees — a total of $10,555 per year — for all incoming in-state freshmen whose families’ adjusted gross income is at or below $56,000, roughly the state’s median family income. Transfer students from Wisconsin meeting the same criteria will receive two years of tuition and fees.

UW-Madison free tuition program could be game-changer for farm families

A new University of Wisconsin–Madison program that provides free tuition for students from low- and moderate-income households comes at a good time for families struggling with the consequences of a depressed farm economy.

UW remains sixth in R&D spending, survey shows

California isn’t built for 21st century wildfires

Quoted: “You get this very different fire dynamic once it gets into a heavily populated area,” said Anu Kramer, a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who co-authored the research upon which the estimate is based. “You have cars on fire, propane tanks exploding, and burning houses radiating a lot of heat, which can contribute to neighboring houses igniting. That’s very different from trees and shrubs burning in a forest.”

Butter is back, just in time for the holidays

Quoted: “We’ve gone up more than a pound per person,” said Robert Crop, Professor Emeritus and Dairy Marketing Specialist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

It’s Been 30 Years Since Lunchables Were Invented

Quoted: Whatever the effect of Lunchables’ nutrition experiments, the brand’s reign remains unchallenged. Andrew Ruis, a researcher at the University of Wisconsin at Madison and the author of Eating to Learn, Learning to Eat: The Origins of School Lunch in the United States, thinks the product has done so well because of how it fits into families’ days.

How California Cities Can Improve Wildfire Prevention

According to statistics from researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and elsewhere, as of 2010, more than 30 percent of California’s housing stock was in the WUI.

For Some Students, Learning Is More Personal, Comes With Fewer 1-Size-Fits-All Assignments

Quoted: There is no one set of ideas or methods that is universal, many districts implement methods they’ve created and tailored to meet their goals, said Richard Halverson, a professor of educational leadership and policy analysis at at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who researches the use of technology in education.

The final march: Mike Leckrone’s 50 years directing at UW-Madison football games nears end

Nostalgia has laced much of Leckrone’s last football season: In the back of his mind and in his assistants’ and students’ minds is a ticking clock, counting down the days, the rehearsals, the games he has left.

Americans Are Moving Closer to Nature, and Into Fire Zones

Quoted: It isn’t easy to generalize why people are moving into these regions, said Anu Kramer, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

California wildfires: steps for evacuation and preparation

Even as the risk of extreme wildfires rises, more people are choosing to live in harm’s way. The number of homes across the country built in WUI areas increased by 41 percent between 1990 and 2010, according to U.S. Forest Service research headed by the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s SILVIS Lab. While living away from bustling cities and closer to undeveloped landscapes has an appeal for many homeowners, it carries an inherent set of risks.

The Future Of Learning? Well, It’s Personal

Quoted: “At the beginning of a fad there’s a naming problem,”Rich Halverson says. He’s an education professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who has spent the last few years traveling around the country to see personalized learning in action at public schools.

Florida’s Senate Recount Won’t Be Easy

Quoted: Hand recounts matter because machine recounts are likely to produce roughly the same results as initial counts, says Barry Burden, the director of the Elections Research Center at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Computers—optical scanners for ballots—are consistent: They don’t miscount or mishear numbers, but they also don’t do a good job of discerning voter intent.

Your Children’s Yellowstone Will Be Radically Different

By the end of the century, “the weather like the summer of ’88 will likely be there all the time rather than being the very rare exception,” said Monica G. Turner of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Wildfire Engulfed Yellowstone 30 Years Ago. Its Recovery Could Predict The Future of the West

A total of just over 1,240 square miles would burn that year — more than a third of the park — and although news reports at the time marked Yellowstone as destroyed, that hasn’t been the case. In the 30 years since, Turner, now at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, has amassed a considerable amount of data and scores of papers.

How Parents Teach Smart Spending With Apps, Not Cash

Quoted: Some say that since the use of cash is waning, at least for larger purchases, children need to learn about money in that context. “That’s the world they’re in,” said J. Michael Collins, faculty director of the Center for Financial Security at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.