UW In The News

An unintended consequence of the GOP tax law: bigger pensions for some

Because of the new tax law, many companies got more serious about saving for retirement last year. According to a new study from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the GOP tax bill likely led some companies to increase their defined-benefit pension contributions in 2017.

UW makes worldwide reputation list again

UW-Madison has once again been recognized as one of the world’s top learning institutions.

Studies of space, hearing and DNA attract $1 million awards

Three researchers share the neuroscience prize for studying how we hear: A. James Hudspeth of the Rockefeller University in New York, Robert Fettiplace of the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and Christine Petit of the College of France and the Pasteur Institute in Paris. They provided insights into how cells of the inner ear transform sound into electrical signals the brain can interpret.

Avoiding GMO food might be tougher than you think

Quoted: The USDA only just announced how they would require manufacturers to disclose GM ingredients, though the law was enacting back in 2016, and the new rules don’t use the term “GMO” or even “GM.” Instead, they opt for “BE” or “bioengineered,” perhaps to avoid using loaded terminology. “I’m not sure how much people will know that term,” says Dominique Brossard, a communications professor at University of Wisconsin-Madison specializing in life science issues like GMOs. “I don’t think it’s going to be very easy for people to find out [which foods are genetically modified].”

Our lives depend on carbon capture. But the tech is far from ready.

Meeting the climate goals of the Paris Agreement is going to be nearly impossible without removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

-Gregory Nemet is an associate professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Trump applying 19th-century remedies to 21st-century problems

Is it a trade dispute with China, or is it a trade war? If the latter, is it on hold, or not? The flip-flops in America’s trade relationship with China are coming in ever more frequently, as President Trump issues and rescinds threats.

-Menzie Chinn is a professor of public affairs and economics at the University of Wisconsin. His research examines the empirical and policy aspects of macroeconomic interactions between countries.

For love of country

Emmanuel Urey could not read until he was a teenager. He grew up in a tiny, impoverished and embattled village called Gormue in an isolated part of Liberia. Only when he and his family fled to Guinea to escape the civil war destroying his country did Urey finally have access to a school.

Is Mental Illness Hereditary?

In 2013, a study funded by the National Institute of Health found that five mental disorders — autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), bipolar disorder, major depression and schizophrenia — share genetic roots. And in 2015, researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison studied a family of rhesus monkeys and concluded the risk of developing anxiety is passed from parents to their children.

New Study Connects Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorder To Higher Risk Of Other Health Issues

New research from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Waisman Center found that adults living with autism spectrum disorder may face a higher risk of developing certain health issues — like cardiovascular, respiratory and digestive problems — than the rest of the population.

Further proof that triclosan is bad for us: the common ingredient in toothpaste and soaps has been linked with colon cancer and gut inflammation

Our team and researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison used germ-free mice—which have absolutely no bacteria in their gut—and found that feeding triclosan to these animals had no effect. This finding suggests that the harmful effects of triclosan are due to changes in the microbiome.

Estonia Is About To Roll Out Free Public Transport Across The Whole Country

Quoted: “It makes sense to have free public transport paid for by taxation, as it’s beneficial for the whole of society, not only those who use public transportation,” says João Peschanski, a researcher at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who has examined free public transit systems around the world.

Morgridge Institute launches virology center

The concept of a thousand-year rainstorm is legitimate but limited. Here’s what you should understand about it

Quoted: A 1,000-year rain event, as its name implies, is exceptionally rare. It signifies just a 0.1 percent chance of such an event happening in any given year. “Or, a better way to think about it is that 99.9 percent of the time, such an event will never happen,” explained Shane Hubbard, a meteorological researcher at University of Wisconsin’s Space Science and Engineering Center.

Starbucks closed more than 8,000 stores for an afternoon of bias training. Will it work?

Quoted: The short answer: It’s hard to say. One of the biggest problems with bias training is that so few people have evaluated whether it’s effective, said Patricia Devine, a professor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison who focuses on how to manage prejudice in society. Some studies have also found that, when done the wrong way, these kinds of trainings can actually make the problem worse.

Major Decisions Remain On The U.S. Supreme Court’s Docket For June

Quoted: Through the end of June, justices are expected to hand down decisions on 29 more cases, said Ryan Owens, a professor of political science and affiliate law faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The next opinion day is scheduled for Monday, June 4, Owens said, and decisions will likely come every other day after that.

Wisconsin Milk Production Slows As Tough Prices, Snowy Spring Take A Toll On Farms

Quoted: Bob Cropp, professor emeritus at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said the slowdown in milk production is good for milk prices, which have remained at low levels for the last three years thanks to an abundance of milk on the market.

Resilience is the new happiness

For adults, developing resilience might make all the difference between keeping a job or burning out. A small May 2018 study from researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Center for Healthy Minds, published in Frontiers for Psychology, found that as little as two weeks of “compassion meditation” made subjects more resilient in the face of human suffering, meaning they were able to look at struggle non-judgmentally and respond with compassion rather than becoming distraught themselves.

University of Wisconsin researchers study bats, mosquitoes

A recently published study by University of Wisconsin researchers found the bats they studied ate 17 different types of mosquitoes, including nine that are potential carriers of the West Nile Virus.

Demand For Wisconsin Farm Land Remains Strong

Quoted: “That surprised me,” said Arlin Brannstrom, associate professor emeritus at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “I thought there would be some dampening in that enthusiasm for land ownership given the weak prices we’ve seen for agricultural commodities, in particular milk. But I think there’s still a lot of demand.”

How to be happy without earning more

Hsee says that research with University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Bowen Ruan and Zoe Y. Lu reveals a nuance in the relationship between curiosity and happiness.

Chancellor Rebecca Blank: Wisconsin and the future of undergraduate education

Public education has been one of our greatest success stories as a nation.Our country pioneered in making public elementary and high schools available to all children and created land-grant public universities that made college possible for citizens from all backgrounds.

A mesmerizing story

Shawn Francis Peters couldn’t believe his luck. After writing 2012’s The Catonsville Nine: A Story of Faith and Resistance in the Vietnam Era (Oxford University Press), the instructor in UW-Madison’s Integrated Liberal Studies Program was searching for an intriguing Upper Midwest-based true-crime subject when Harry Hayward entered his life.

Attention, America: We’ve All Been Saying Gerrymander Wrong

Barry Burden, director of the University of Wisconsin’s Elections Research Center , finds his students and fellow academics puzzled when he uses the hard G in speeches and lectures. “Sometimes a person will ask, ‘What word did you just say? What is that word?’” Mr. Burden said.

Why Facebook will never die

Quoted: “Almost everybody comes back,” says Catalina Toma, associate professor of communication science at the University of Wisconsin. “Social networking sites tap into what makes us human: we like to connect with others.”

The 10 best cities for new grads starting out

Madison is #1. Wisconsin’s capital has lots of young educated adults, in part because it’s home to the state’s flagship campus, the University of Wisconsin. Combined with its low unemployment rate and high percentage of workers in management, business, science or arts jobs, Madison vaults to the top. Though its median income for those 25 and older with bachelor’s degrees, $46,275, is average among other cities in the top 10, the median gross rent, $981, is relatively affordable. As a result, rent as a percentage of income, 25%, is among the lowest in the top 10, and about average for all cities in this analysis.

Structural Dynamics Challenges in Launch

Matt Allen, Associate Professor in Engineering Physics at UW-Madison, discusses the physics behind rocket design. Allen highlights the structural dynamics, the vibration limits, and the amount of engine thrust that is necessary to successfully launch a spacecraft into space.

New study suggests future hurricanes will be slower and wetter as Earth warms

Quoted: Hurricane Harvey made landfall in Texas on Aug. 26, 2017, and lingered in the region for nearly a week. As much as 60 inches of rain fell in the storm, setting a U.S. rainfall record. More than 20 inches of rain fell across about 29,000 square miles. No storm rivals Harvey, said Shane Hubbard, a researcher at the University of Wisconsin who made and mapped that calculation.

Don Blankenship Announces Third-Party Bid for West Virginia Senate Seat

Quoted: “It looks to me like West Virginia intended for there to be a ban on sore losers, including in legislation this year. It looks like they were intended to stop someone like Blankenship,” said Barry C. Burden, the director of the Elections Research Center at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. “However, the law is not written perfectly.”

McDonald’s is being sucked into the movement to ban plastic straws

Quoted: Tom O’Guinn, a University of Wisconsin expert on consumer behavior, said packaging issues aren’t enough to sway diners’ decisions on where to eat.”The average American doesn’t care lot about this,” he said. “People don’t want to sit there and think, ’Gee, this is a slight improvement in packaging.’”

Why You Should Stop Being So Hard on Yourself

Quoted: “Self-criticism can take a toll on our minds and bodies,” said Dr. Richard Davidson, founder and director of the Center for Healthy Minds at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he also teaches psychology and psychiatry.