UW In The News

You’ve Got Whale

Featured: Eavesdropping on non-human communication: Simon Gilroy – Professor of botany, University of Wisconsin, Madison. His video of glowing green caterpillar-munched plants can be viewed here.

Young voters could tip the balance in U.S. midterm elections

Quoted: “They could be the factor that ends up tipping the election,” explained Barry Burden, a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

What if Everyone Voted?

Quoted: “Sadly, I think the Bush v. Gore decision back in 2000 was the big bang that began this process,” said Barry Burden, who directs the Elections Research Center at the University of Wisconsin

As More Democrats Embrace ‘Progressive’ Label, It May Not Mean What It Used To

Quoted: “There’s a long-standing strand of thinking in Wisconsin that big business can be harmful,” said Barry Burden, a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Care for the environment has become a campus selling point to families

Across Wisconsin, universities are banning plastic straws, nonrecyclable takeout containers and plastic bags in campus dining halls. They are composting food scraps and collecting uneaten food for food pantries. And they are supporting local food growers or tending campus gardens to reduce the distance food travels.

Wisconsin’s Gubernatorial, U.S. Senate Candidates Saying Little About Climate Change

Quoted: Scientists say the public doesn’t have to imagine what might happen if climate change isn’t addressed. Communities across Wisconsin witnessed the effects this past summer, according to Paul Robbins, director of the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.”The changes are increased precipitation in extreme weather events like the kind we saw … down in this part of the state. I mean, really gully washers,” Robbins said. “Two inches or more or 4 inches or more in a 24-, 48-hour period. We had 15 inches of rain.”

The Words of a Young Jewish Poet Provoke Soul-Searching in Lithuania

In July, I accompanied Freund, of the University of Hartford, and two geoscientists, Harry Jol, from the University of Wisconsin, and Philip Reeder, from Duquesne University, to find Matilda’s final resting place.

Some Universities Work to Ensure an Inclusive Future by Acknowledging Their Inequitable Pasts

In recent years, some colleges and universities have set out on the long path of addressing their historic ties to systems rooted in white supremacy, including slavery, the Confederacy, and hate groups. Against the backdrop of a resurgence in white nationalism, this work has only grown in urgency and significance. At the same time, many institutions have deepened their commitment to atoning for their past by working to build a more inclusive future.

U.S. Dairy Farmers Get Little Help From Canada Trade Deal

The new arrangement with Canada likely won’t pull U.S. dairy farmers out of the ditch, said Mark Stephenson, director of dairy policy and analysis at the University of Wisconsin.

What Is Lucid Dreaming?

Quoted: But based on the research to date attempting to track prevalence of lucid dreaming, estimates are that somewhere around 50 to 80 percent of people have had a lucid dream in their lifetime, notes Benjamin Baird, a research scientist at Wisconsin Institute for Sleep and Consciousness at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who studies lucid dreams. “Some people have lucid dreams more frequently naturally. Some people never have lucid dreams,” he says. “For most people, they occur very infrequently.”

As Wisconsin Farmers Finish Harvest, Mold Could Impact Corn, Soybean Profits

“On paper, there’s a lot of grain out there, in these fields that are harvesting that haven’t been flooded out,” said Paul Mitchell, director of the Renk Agribusiness Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “The big question is how good is (the grain) and is it all usable.”

The task: design a high school for 21st century blue-collar America

Quoted: Julie Underwood, dean of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s School of Education, says exposing kids to careers through programs like the one in Janesville is important so long as it doesn’t come at the expense of other educational services.

Climate change impact: Study finds mental health issues will increase

Quoted: “The most important point of this [new] study is that climate change, indeed, is affecting mental health, and certain populations (women and the poor) are disproportionally impacted,” Jonathan Patz, a professor and director of the Global Health Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who was not involved with the study, told CNN.

Why we’re so fixated on bringing back the woolly mammoth

Quoted: “De-extinction just provides the ultimate ’out’,” Stanley Temple, a wildlife biologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, told BBC Newsbeat in 2015. “If you can always bring the species back later, it undermines the urgency about preventing extinctions.”

In the 2018 midterms, many more people are running — and far more seats are contested — than we’ve seen for a generation.

The 2018 elections differ from previous midterms in so many ways. And one, at least, is a good sign for democracy: Many more people are running for office this time around.

Barry Burden (@bcburden) is professor of political science and director of the Elections Research Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Report Calls For Capturing Carbon To Combat Climate Change. How Would That Work?

Here & Now’s Robin Young speaks with Gregory Nemet, professor of public affairs and environmental studies at the La Follette School of Public Affairs at the University of Wisconsin Madison.

UW-Madison Works With Brewing Company on Wild Lager

A Wisconsin brewing company and the University of Wisconsin-Madison are working together to create the first wild lager brewed in North America, according to a company official.

Democrats Want to Beat Scott Walker. But the Wisconsin Economy Is a Hurdle.

“It’s hard to argue we need a change economically as people are doing well,” said Noah Williams, director of the Center for Research on the Wisconsin Economy at the University of Wisconsin — Madison.

Go Big Read author Dan Egan to speak at UW

Dan Egan, author of “The Death and Life of the Great Lakes” will speak at the University of Wisconsin-Madison on Oct. 16.

Is Scott Walker’s winning streak nearing an end? Wisconsin race poses challenge

Quoted: “Unemployment is lower than the national average, the tax cuts have gone over well, but, he has benefitted in the past when he has had President Obama to run against as a foil,” Barry Burden, a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin, told Fox News.

Beautiful science of small world showcased in video competition

Elizabeth Haynes and Jiaye He from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, US, shot the winning video of the developing zebrafish over 16 hours using selective plane illumination microscopy.

President’s Oak Lives on at UW-Madison

UW-Madison’s oldest tree, cut down three years ago, is getting another lease on life. In 2015, UW-Madison had to say goodbye to the President’s Oak. It was the oldest tree on campus, estimated to be around 300 years old.

Plan Would Pay Hunters To Shoot More Deer With CWD

Quoted: But some are skeptical of the idea of trying to pay hunters to reduce the prevalence of CWD would work. Mike Samuel is an emeritus professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He said the first problem with Foy’s plan is a lack of data.

Spoiler alert: How to read those ‘sell by’ and ‘use by’ labels on food

“Freezing is an excellent way to halt the aging process and extend the life of foods that might otherwise go bad or get thrown away,” says Tyler Lark, a food-waste researcher at Gibbs Land Use and Environment Lab at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Frozen foods won’t go bad, because bacteria and other pathogens can’t grow in frozen temperatures.

All In Your Mind: How mindful and meditative practices are gaining mainstream momentum

Quoted: Cortland Dahl, a research scientist for the Centre for Healthy Minds at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, says there is a scientific reason that meditation helped Ravindran. “As a skill, we can actually train the mind and train ourselves to intentionally notice the positives in any particular interaction or moment,” Dahl said.

As global temperatures rise, so will mental health issues, study says

Quoted: Dr. Jonathan Patz, a professor and director of the Global Health Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said the study is consistent with recent work by other scientists, including his own recent research on heat waves and hospital admissions in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, over a 17-year period, he said. Patz and his co-authors found that high temperatures impacted admissions for self-harm, including attempted suicide.

An Ancient Ant-Bacteria Partnership to Protect Fungus

“If the fungus dies, the ants die,” said Cameron Currie, a microbial ecologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who studies the fungal-farming ants and their mutually beneficial relationships with other species.

Bear hibernation is a superpower, but it comes with a cost

Quoted: “I always call this the magical time of year,” Hannah Carey, who researches the physiology of hibernating animals at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s School of Veterinary Medicine, said in an interview.

COLD WEATHER WARNING: Freezing temperatures to be more common ‘extreme events’ coming

Scientists from Rutgers University-New Brunswick and the University of Wisconsin-Madison examined precipitation data from 17 stations in the US and found dry or wet spells lasting four or more days occurred more frequently in recent decades.

Memorial Union celebrates 90th anniversary

The Memorial Union, a Madison staple since 1928, first opened its doors exactly 90 years ago Friday.