UW In The News

At UW-Madison, 500 scientists studying stem cells 20 years after discovery

Randolph Ashton is using human embryonic stem cells to grow neural tubes, which give rise to the brain and spinal cord.

Human stem cell science has come a long way in 20 years

In November of 1998, a developmental biologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison named James Thomson described the first successful derivation and culturing of human embryonic stem cells in the journal Science. Now, a new paper is exploring how much stem cell science has grown in the time since it was first introduced 20 years ago.

Voting rights: Will your ballot count?

Quoted: “The argument that there’s massive voter impersonation, fraud… It is demonstrably untrue,” said Kenneth Mayer of the Elections Research Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Dairy farmers increasingly closing shop after years of low milk prices

With the downturn expected to stretch into a fifth year, many farmers already have eaten through their financial cushion, said Mark Stephenson, director of dairy policy analysis at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Without a Proof, Mathematicians Wonder How Much Evidence Is Enough

Noted: “It’s sort of the best possible way of describing rational solutions for these curves,” said Bjorn Poonen, a mathematician at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a co-author of the model along with Park, John Voight of Dartmouth College, and Melanie Matchett Wood of the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Why do we have a 30-year mortgage, anyway?

Then came the Federal Housing Administration, which insured mortgages against default and set new standards for those loans. Hello, 15-year mortgage. “And then basically the FHA kind of keeps pushing it to 20 years, and then 25, and then 30,” said Andra Ghent, who teaches real estate finance at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

On the eve of the midterms, America’s heartland is as divided as ever

Quoted: In the state capital of Madison, Prof. Barry Burden of the University of Wisconsin gives the lay of the political land.“I think a lot of the things we’re seeing on the ground in Wisconsin look like what we’re seeing nationally,” he explained.

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker Vies for a Third Term

Quoted: “Walker is really moderating: all of a sudden he’s for things he’s literally suing the federal government over,” says Mike Wagner, a political scientist at the University of Wisconsin. “It’s a smart campaign move given the way public opinion in Wisconsin has shifted. But it’s a tough argument for him to make.”

20 years after the growth of human embryonic stem cells at UW, science faces new frontiers

For months, James Thomson rose at 5 in the morning, hours before his day job, and hustled off to a secret scientific project in a lab next to the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s in vitro fertilization clinic. His chest felt tight, as if he’d been holding his breath, worrying constantly.

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.