Tag Biology
Scientists connected fragments of pine savanna and new species keep showing up
A new study connecting small, restored patches of savanna to one another demonstrates a hopeful strategy in efforts to conserve plant and animal species confronting fragmented and shrinking habitats.
Making biominerals: nature’s recipe is old, evolved more than once
In recent years, scientists have teased out many of the secrets of biomineralization, the process by which sea urchins grow spines, mollusks build their shells…
Heat kills invasive jumping worm cocoons, could help limit spread
New research is good news for ecologists and horticulturalists who are working to slow or stop the spread of the worms. But little remains known about the life cycle of these damaging invaders or how to stop them.
Resilience of Yellowstone’s forests tested by unprecedented fire
Monica Turner and her team describe in a new study what happens when areas of Yellowstone National Park — adapted to recurring fires every 100 to 300 years — instead burn twice in fewer than 30 years.
H3N2 viruses mutate during vaccine production but new tech could fix it
UW-Madison researchers describe a new cell line that enables better growth of H3N2 for vaccine use. The virus is also far less likely to mutate during production using this cell line, improving the chances of a match between vaccine and circulating influenza viruses.
Have microscope, will travel: New tech project links Madison, Boston scientists
Researcher Jan Huisken’s vision is to redesign a high-end optical microscope — normally big enough to fill an entire room — down to the dimensions of a suitcase, with minimal loss of power or precision.
UW–Madison researcher awarded “Make Our Planet Great Again” grant
Professor Carol E. Lee has just been awarded a grant from the French government to investigate the ability of plankton to evolve and adapt to a changing climate.
UW alum masterminding next generation data storage: A solution to the datapocalypse?
In a meeting at the Weinert Center for Entrepreneurship at the Wisconsin School of Business, Hyunjun Park said the device will hold digital information in DNA – life’s evolution-perfected “data storage” molecule.
Study confirms horseshoe crabs are really relatives of spiders, scorpions
UW–Madison evolutionary biologists hope their study helps firmly plant ancient horseshoe crabs within the arachnid family tree — "a major shift in our understanding of arthropod evolution.”
Steve Miller, Tom Brock to receive honorary degrees
This year’s recipients of honorary degrees from UW–Madison are both rock stars — one literally, the other in microbiology. The honorees are Steve Miller, a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, and Thomas Brock, who helped usher in modern molecular biology.
Citizen science monitoring program Journey North finds home at Arboretum
Journey North has more than 60,000 registered participants in the United States, Canada and Mexico. People report sightings from the field, view maps, take photographs and submit observations.
With fire, warming and drought, Yellowstone forests could be grassland by mid-century
“It’s terrifying in some ways,” says Monica Turner, who has been researching in Yellowstone for decades. “We are not talking many years away. Today’s college students will be mid-career. It feels like the future is coming at us fast.”
Venom shape untangles scorpion family tree
It’s the first time that the shape of molecules has been used in place of anatomy to organize evolutionary relationships, suggesting new ways to disentangle the many complicated family trees found throughout nature.
Researcher wins “high risk, high reward” NIH grant
Jan Huisken is part of an ambitious project to develop a complete cellular blueprint of zebrafish development, from the first ball of cells to an adult fish. The project could have great benefit to regenerative biology.
Researchers find value in unusual type of plant material
UW-Madison scientists have shown that a recently-discovered variety of lignin, catechyl lignin (C-lignin), has attributes that could make it well-suited as the starting point for a range of bioproducts.
Combining on and off switches, one protein can control flowering in plants
With Wisconsin's short growing seasons, reducing a plant’s life cycle and completing the season earlier "could be very important for many crops.”
Finding a weak link in the frightful parasite Schistosoma
More than 250 million people, mostly in Africa and Asia, have schistosomiasis, which kills an estimated 280,000 each year. “We don’t get that many aha! moments in our lives as scientists,” says a researcher. “This was one of them.”
Dynamic modeling helps predict the behaviors of gut microbes
A first step toward understanding how to manipulate the properties of the gut ecosystem could allow scientists to design a probiotic that persists in the gut, or tailor a diet to positively influence human health.
High-powered microscopy coming to a scientist near you
A portable light-sheet microscope that shrinks to the weight and dimensions of a packed suitcase can be mailed to a lab anywhere in the world, configured remotely by Morgridge Institute for Research engineers to run experiments.
Study of inflammation’s link to diseases wins NIH grant
Inflammation "is likely implicated in almost every disease,” says researcher David Beebe — including cancer, cardiovascular conditions and autoimmune diseases.