UW In The News

UW Freshman from Door County Praises Bucky’s Tuition Promise

University of Wisconsin-Madison freshman Mackenzie Straub told the UW System Board of Regents on Friday, Feb. 8, that the new Bucky’s Tuition Promise program has made a big difference for her.

Defective Mitochondria Could Explain Neurological Impairment in Fragile X

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison had shown previously  that FMRP plays an important role in neuron development (maturation).

Northern lake ice loss threatens water, economies, culture

John Magnuson, a University of Wisconsin-Madison aquatic ecologist and limnologist, said warming temperatures take away an important piece of culture for people in the north.

What Happens If Russia Cuts Itself Off From the Internet

Quoted: “I’m absolutely sure that’s the case. It may not break from the perspective of their major infrastructure grinding to a halt, but that’s a risk that they’re taking,” says Paul Barford, a professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison who studies computer networking.

Financial Well-Being Is In Your Reach, Adviser Says

Quoted: Look at your previous month’s spending record, said Olive, a financial capability specialist who holds a joint appointment with the School of Human Ecology Center for Financial Security at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and UW-Extension.

This spud’s for you: A breeding revolution could unleash the potential of potato

Potato breeders doubted the approach was possible for tubers. “I was trained to believe that potatoes can’t be inbred,” says Shelley Jansky, a potato breeder with the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Madison.

Valentine’s Day: Why the heart icon looks nothing like a human organ

The heart shape was also used in images to illustrate the Sacred heart in association with nuns’ spirituality, according to Thomas Dale, medieval studies expert and professor of art history at University of Wisconsin-Madison.

This Scary Map Shows How Climate Change Will Transform Your City

Quoted: “Framing results in a digestible manner for the public sector, to inform policy, and for the scientific community, is notoriously difficult,” says University of Wisconsin–Madison climate scientist Kevin Burke, who wasn’t involved in the study.

A ‘Fountain Of Youth’ Pill? Sure, If You’re A Mouse.

Quoted: “A lot of what goes on here is really, really careful phrasing for what you say the thing is for,” said Charo, a law professor at the University of Wisconsin.

Trump Trade War Helps Push Farmers Into Record Number Of Bankruptcies

Quoted: “The problem is that both nations have stubborn leaders,” Mark Stephenson, director of dairy policy analysis at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, said at an agricultural forum last week in Madison.

The Milky Way is warped, but astronomers still aren’t sure why

And while the warping of the galaxy isn’t a new revelation, Elena D’Onghia, an astronomer at the University of Wisconsin who was not involved with the study, thinks it’s interesting how the team took advantage of the Cepheids in creating the new galactic map that can characterize the warp at a rather high accuracy.

Hot but not bothered: Warm soils favor microbes with small genomes

Quoted: Microbial evolution to a more streamlined state is often suggested as a route to small genomes, says Jo Handelsman, a soil microbiologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who was not involved in the new study.

Video games in Wisconsin classrooms

A new video game created at UW-Madison is helping teachers in Wisconsin generate excitement in the classroom.

Artist Spotlight: Lynda Barry

Indeed, Barry’s works are staples of comics studies courses and fixtures in my own personal comic library. With flamboyantly chaotic artwork that quickly destabilizes reader’s expectations, Barry continues to revolutionize how we think about comics as a medium for self-expression. The University of Wisconsin-Madison professor uses comics as a tool for discovery.

Artificial Intelligence Finds Ancient ‘Ghosts’ in Modern DNA

Quoted: The technique “is powerful because of its simplicity, but it leaves a lot on the table in terms of understanding evolution,” said John Hawks, a paleoanthropologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

1919: Hollywood’s Boom Year

The First World War radically changed the landscape of moviemaking. Before 1914, Europeans had dominated the booming industry — France, Italy, Germany and even Denmark had sent films across the globe.

Mr. Bordwell is a professor emeritus of film studies at the University of Wisconsin.

‘Black girl joy’ is at the heart of this new children’s picture book

McDaniel’s book is impressive because it uses one hand gesture to showcase a wide range of feelings and scenarios. It humanizes the black girl experience, a rare thing for children’s literature. The Cooperative Children’s Book Center, a research library at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Education, found that only 340 of the 3,700 books it received in 2017 from U.S. publishers had “significant African or African American content/characters.”

Task Force Takes On Flooding In Dane County

The new report comes from a technical work group comprised of people from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, the city of Madison, Dane County and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Q&A: Danielle Yancey works to recruit and retain more Native American health professionals

In Wisconsin, Native Americans suffer from sharp health disparities, including higher rates of heart disease, cancer mortality and death and hospitalization from diabetes than the collective Wisconsin population.

Climate Change Could Leave Thousands of Lakes Ice-Free

With temperatures hitting record lows in the midwest last week, John Magnuson, an aquatic ecologist at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and a co-author on the Nature study, warned that it’s important to understand that the loss of lake ice won’t happen all at once.

Medication Denied: Wisconsin Bill Would Make Insurance Appeals Easier

Quoted: Zgierska’s an associate professor with the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health and is also on the board of the Wisconsin Society of Addiction Medicine.

Extreme Cold Could Impact Wisconsin Fruit, Alfalfa Crops

Amaya Atucha, fruit crop specialist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said grapes, apples and other fruits grown in the state aren’t used to the frigid temperatures brought by last week’s polar vortex.

Microbes hitched to insects provide a rich source of new antibiotics

Cameron Currie, a University of Wisconsin-Madison professor of bacteriology, has shown that some of these insect-associated microbes provide their hosts with protection against infections, suggesting that insects and their microbiomes may be a rich new source of antibiotics for use in human medicine.

Experts Predict Another Challenging Year for Dairy Farmers

Milk prices paid to farmers are expected to be better this year but not by much, University of Wisconsin dairy economist Mark Stephenson said. He predicts an increase of about a $1 per hundredweight, or hundred pounds of milk.

CRISPR And Human Embryo Experiments Underway In The U.S. : Shots

“This is valid research, and I think it’s important research,” says R. Alta Charo, a bioethicist at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. “It has value not only for the possible use in the future for some number of conditions that would involve a live birth, but it has value for basic understanding of embryology, basic understanding of development,” Charo says.

When Super Bowl fans eat a billion chicken wings, the world eats the leftovers

U.S. and Canadian farmers will often export chicken wings with the flappers still attached to Asian markets such as Hong Kong, Thailand and Cambodia. Those markets have more of an appetite for the wingtips, according to Ronald Kean, an expert in poultry production at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

‘When Death Becomes Life’ Review: Doctors and Donors

Dr. Mezrich’s book braids unflinching medical history with frank clinical memoir. A transplant surgeon at the University of Wisconsin, he got his first inkling of his future vocation when he volunteered in medical school for the New York Firefighters Skin Bank, “an ‘elite’ group that would head out in the middle of the night to skin dead people.” The scare quotes around “elite” and the brazen verb “to skin” are typical of Dr. Mezrich’s rueful candor.

Early-Voting Laws Probably Don’t Boost Turnout

Meanwhile, a more recent study by political scientists at the University of Wisconsin, Madison discovered that, when not accompanied by other reforms, early voting actually leads to lower turnout — perhaps because the social and campaign-driven pressure to vote is not as focused as it is when voting must all occur on a single day.

Thinking like a doula: “Birth coaches” negotiate the roles of everyone in the birthing suite

Amy Gilliland believes that a positive birth experience has a lasting effect on the lives of both mother and baby. Gilliland should know: As a research fellow in the U.W.-Madison’s School of Human Ecology, she studies and teaches about the psychological needs of people during the birth experience.

How working from home helps the environment

Quoted: “Anything that reduces vehicle miles helps improve air quality and reduce emissions of the greenhouse gases that cause global warming,” said Jack Williams, a professor who researches global climate change in the Department of Geography at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.