UW In The News

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.

Trump Florida tweet: the attack on the recount is an attack on democracy

Quoted: “This is one of the most worrisome developments in U.S. politics in the past several years,” adds Jessica Weeks, a political scientist at the University of Wisconsin Madison.

How to get more woman CEOs

The researchers, University of Wisconsin’s Matthew J. Wiswall and Arizona State’s Basit Zafar, suggest that gender differences in preferences explain a quarter of the early-career wage gap.

Grant helps VA hospital connect veterans to agriculture

The training program consists of two tracks veterans can choose from: a two-year certificate program through the UW-Madison Farm and Industry Short Course, in partnership with the UW Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems; and a one-year and one semester technical diploma program through Madison College.

Political blogs by teenagers promote tolerance, participation and public debate

Diana Hess, dean of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s School of Education, found through her research that talking about political and social issues with people who hold opposing views can foster political tolerance, which can lead to better policy decisions in the future.

Dog receives organ donation from one of her puppies

Flegle, desperate to keep Star alive and healthy, considered dialysis and a kidney transplant — which is rare for dogs. A surgeon at the University of Wisconsin-Madison agreed to consider an organ transplant, but only if there was a familial match.

Children’s Books Get More Political and More Progressive

The Cooperative Children’s Book Center at the University of Wisconsin at Madison examines thousands of books for kids and teens published each year, and in 2015, it found that about 14 percent of American kids’ titles were about people who weren’t white.

Big studies give mixed news on fish oil, vitamin D

Quoted: “Those who peddle it promote it as good for everything,” but in this definitive test, vitamin D “showed a big nothing,” said Dr. James Stein, a heart specialist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He had no role in the studies or ties to the companies involved.

UW alum who fought in World War I helped create Veterans Day as national holiday for all vets

Even though Nov. 11 is commemorated as the date of the armistice ending World War I, it’s also a day to honor all veterans, thanks to a University of Wisconsin-Madison graduate.