Tag Biosciences
Meditation may fine-tune control over attention
Everyday experience and psychology research both indicate that paying close attention to one thing can keep you from noticing something else.
New technique dissects stem cells’ picky likes, dislikes
Whether their goal is to create therapies or simply investigate how organisms develop, stem cell researchers face what is perhaps one of biological science's toughest assignments: keeping their tiny research subjects under control.
Arming the fight against resistant bacteria
In 1928, Alexander Fleming opened the door to treating bacterial infections when he stumbled upon the first known antibiotic in a Penicillium mold growing in a discarded experiment.
Healing chronic wounds through use of nanoscale surfaces
It’s both costly and frustrating when doctors are unable to heal persistent wounds, such as diabetic ulcers or pressure sores in patients with limited mobility. Traditional treatments are often less than satisfactory. But thanks to funding from the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery seed grant program, UW–Madison researchers have been freed to explore a novel and revolutionary approach to coaxing persistent wounds to heal.
Team seeks to add advanced microlenses to technology
Most of us peer through lenses every day, but the “microlenses” devised by engineering professors Hongrui Jiang and Dave Beebe aren’t nearly so ordinary. Made of liquid and designed to be self-adjusting, these tiny lenses are a breed apart from their counterparts in eyeglasses and cameras.
Lake districts serve as prisms of environmental change
Two vastly different Wisconsin lake districts - one in a dynamic agricultural and urban setting, the other in a forested and much less developed region of the state - are proving their value as sentinels of regional environmental change, according to a new report.
Gene that governs toxin production in deadly mold found
For the growing number of people with diminished immune systems - cancer patients, transplant recipients, those with HIV/AIDS - infection by a ubiquitous mold known as Aspergillus fumigatus can be a death sentence.
Fishing for new anti-inflammatory, cancer drugs
Though cell movement and migration in the body play a central role in mediating injury and disease, including inflammatory responses and cancer metastasis, drugs designed to stifle cells’ nomadic tendencies are scarce. A new interdisciplinary research project funded by the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery seed grant program seeks to develop a novel drug-discovery process that may start to fill this gap.
Researchers seek early detection for hard-to-diagnose disease
Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is characterized by infertility due to anovulation, abnormal secretion of androgens and other hormones, and insulin resistance. PCOS is the most common female endocrine disorder, affecting 4-7 percent of women in their reproductive years — the syndrome accounts for 75 percent of all anovulations. PCOS has staggering adverse physiological, psychological and financial consequences for women’s reproductive health.
Second annual stem cell symposium to focus on heart tissue, blood diseases
Several of the world's leading experts on the formation of blood and heart cells from stem cells, and clinical applications of stem cells in blood and heart diseases, will come together on Wednesday, April 18, for the second annual Wisconsin Stem Cell Symposium.
Sixth annual bioethics forum to tackle medical applications of research
The interface among molecular biology, medical applications, law, religion and ethics will be the focus of the sixth annual international Bioethics Forum, hosted by Promega Corp.'s BioPharmaceutical Technology Center Institute (BTCI) in Fitchburg.
Ultrathin films deliver DNA as possible gene therapy tool
Gene therapy - the idea of using genetic instructions rather than drugs to treat disease - has tickled scientists' imaginations for decades, but is not yet a viable therapeutic method. One sizeable hurdle is getting the right genes into the right place at the right time.
Study: Prions likely more mobile in alkaline soils
Prions, the rogue proteins that cause chronic wasting disease and similar maladies, may be more mobile in soil that is more alkaline, suggests a new study by University of Wisconsin–Madison researchers.