Syndicated to: Wisc.edu
Project prepares collection for 21st-century challenge of invasive species
At the Wisconsin State Herbarium, director Kenneth Cameron is spearheading a new, three-year project to “digitize” images and data on aquatic and wetland plants, mollusks and fish from the Great Lakes basin. The $2.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation will also be disbursed to natural history museums at UW campuses in Stevens Point, Milwaukee and La Crosse, and in every other Great Lakes state. Together, these institutions expect to digitize 1.73 million specimens related to Great Lakes invasives. Read More
Former Gov. Thompson to give Offner Lecture Sept. 30
Former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson will give this year's Paul Offner Lecture on Tuesday, Sept. 30, at 5:30 p.m. at the Pyle Center, 702 Langdon Street. Read More
Yogic breathing shows promise in reducing symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder
One of the greatest casualties of war is its lasting effect on the minds of soldiers. This presents a daunting public health problem: More than 20 percent of veterans returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have post-traumatic stress disorder, according to a 2012 report by RAND Corp. Read More
Wisconsin Science Festival to celebrate scientific discovery, community
Thousands of visitors, young and old, will have the chance to indulge their “inner scientist” during the 2014 Wisconsin Science Festival, with more than 20 communities statewide joining Madison in the event. Now in its fourth year, the festival will be held from Oct. 16-19. Read More
Census Bureau Research Data Center to be established at UW–Madison
The potential for interdisciplinary research is about to expand considerably throughout the state of Wisconsin, thanks to Census Bureau approval for construction of a branch Research Data Center, or RDC, on the University of Wisconsin–Madison campus. Read More
Campus community reading ‘I Am Malala’ as semester begins
Malala Yousafzai became a household name for defying the Taliban and campaigning for girls in Pakistan to have the right to an education. Now readers across the UW–Madison campus, including students in dozens of courses in multiple disciplines, will discover the inspiration behind her mission and the rich and complicated history of her home country. Read More
Open house weekend to reopen Memorial Union’s west wing
After two years of construction, Memorial Union’s west wing will celebrate its reopening with an open house weekend highlighting the new and renovated spaces and the annual Madison World Music Festival with BANDALOOP. Read More
Cool Science Image collection debuts at McPherson Eye Research Vision Gallery
The winning images from the 2014 Cool Science Image (CSI) contest will be on display beginning Sept. 2 at the Mandelbaum & Albert Family Vision Gallery, part of the McPherson Eye Research Institute. Read More
In directing stem cells, study shows context matters
In a new study, a team of researchers from the University of Wisconsin–Madison has added a new wrinkle to the cell differentiation equation, showing that the stiffness of the surfaces on which stem cells are grown can exert a profound influence on cell fate. Read More
New motor under development by UW–Madison spinoff
A tabletop motor using an entirely new driving principle is under development at the headquarters of C-Motive Technologies, a startup business that is commercializing technology from the College of Engineering at UW–Madison. Read More
PSL: Still making amazing instruments after all these years
A century ago, physicists used a tabletop “cloud chamber” to explore the motion of otherwise invisible particles. Today, they need giant machines to explore the bizarre frontiers of modern physics. And significant components of the most important modern physics experiments in China, Switzerland, the United States and the South Pole can trace their roots to a lab across the road from a cornfield near Stoughton, Wisconsin — the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Physical Sciences Laboratory, or PSL. Read More
UW-Madison places high in numerous recent rankings
Once again, the University of Wisconsin–Madison has been recognized in a number of recent college rankings, with honors for both campus life and academics. Read More
Badger Volunteers fall registration opens
UW-Madison students are being invited to register for the largest volunteer program on campus. Badger Volunteers, a program through the UW’s Morgridge Center for Public Service, is designed to foster deeper connections between students and community partners by establishing a consistent, semester-long relationship. Read More
Campus does anything but cease in the summer
The University of Wisconsin–Madison is host to boundless opportunities, happenings, changes and more — even when school’s out for the summer. Whether you were around to experience some of the new developments yourself, or taking a break from the everyday bustle of campus life, there was no shortage of activity at the university over the summer. Read More
New tradition welcomes students to Camp Randall, captures a “W” snapshot
Camp Randall won’t host its first football game of the season until Saturday, Sept. 6, but its field will see plenty of action a couple of days before kickoff. This Thursday, Sept. 4, first-year students will meet at Camp Randall from 5:30-7:30 p.m. to take part in a slew of activities, including the main attraction — when they will flow onto the field to form the shape of the UW’s Motion W for an ambitious snapshot. Read More
A touching story: The ancient conversation between plants, fungi and bacteria
The mechanical force that a single fungal cell or bacterial colony exerts on a plant cell may seem vanishingly small, but it plays a heavy role in setting up some of the most fundamental symbiotic relationships in biology. In fact, it may not be too much of a stretch to say that plants may have never moved onto land without the ability to respond to the touch of beneficial fungi, according to a new study led by Jean-Michel Ané, a professor of agronomy at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Read More