Tag Biosciences
As honeybee colonies collapse, can native bees handle pollination?
With colony collapse disorder continuing to plague commercial beekeepers in many parts of the country, University of Wisconsin–Madison experts are studying whether native pollinators can supply the insect pollination needed to form many fruits.
Controls for animals’ color designs revealed
The vivid colors and designs animals use to interact with their environments have awed and inspired since before people learned to draw on the cave wall.
Regulatory network balances stem cell maintenance, differentiation
While much of the promise of stem cells springs from their ability to develop into any cell type in the body, the biological workings that control that maturation process are still largely unknown.
Greenhouse gas carbon dioxide ramps up aspen growth
The rising level of atmospheric carbon dioxide may be fueling more than climate change. It could also be making some trees grow like crazy.
Sweet corn story begins in UW–Madison lab
This week, scientists are revealing the genetic instructions inside corn, one of the big three cereal crops. Corn, or maize, has one of the most complex sequences of DNA ever analyzed, says University of Wisconsin–Madison genomicist David Schwartz, who was one of more than 100 authors in the article in the journal Science.
MathBio looks at ‘best picture’
If 2008’s inaugural MathBio Symposium was a big-picture look at collaboration, the focus of this year’s symposium is on the best picture.
War of the viruses: Could ancient virus genes help fight modern AIDS?
Almost 30 years into the AIDS epidemic, scientists have yet to find an effective vaccine against HIV, the virus that destroys the immune system and causes AIDS. HIV is perhaps the most adaptive virus ever seen, not only evading the immune system, but also antiviral medicines.
Snaring bigger bugs gave flytraps evolutionary edge
Carnivorous plants defy our expectations of how plants should behave, with Venus flytraps employing nerve-like reflexes and powerful digestive enzymes to capture and consume fresh meat. The evolutionary history of these botanical oddities is now a bit clearer, thanks to new work.
Scientists make multiple types of white blood cells directly from embryonic and adult stem cells
In an advance that could help transform embryonic stem cells into a multipurpose medical tool, scientists at the University of Wisconsin–Madison have transformed these versatile cells into progenitors of white blood cells and into six types of mature white blood and immune cells.
Curiosities: How long can bacteria live outside humans?
Bacteria have vastly different survival abilities, says Jeri Barak, an assistant professor of plant pathology at UW–Madison. Many species normally live in soil…