Tag Biosciences

Citizen panel to release report April 28 on nanotechnology

April 22, 2005

University of Wisconsin officials will join state legislators in the Assembly Parlor of the State Capitol building on Thursday, April 28, at 11:30 a.m. to accept a report on the promise and perils of nanotechnology produced by a panel of Madison-area citizens.

Bioethicists to ponder biotechnology and the brain

April 12, 2005

Researchers at UW–Madison will be featured among several experts gathering at the Fourth Annual International Bioethics Forum on Thursday and Friday, April 21 and 22, to discuss a range of ethical issues.

Harnessing microbes, one by one, to build a better nanoworld

March 17, 2005

Taking a new approach to the painstaking assembly of nanometer-sized machines, a team of scientists at UW–Madison has successfully used single bacterial cells to make tiny bio-electronic circuits.

To control germs, scientists deploy tiny agents provocateurs

March 14, 2005

Aiming to thwart persistent bacterial infections and better control group behaviors of certain microorganisms, scientists are creating artificial chemicals that infiltrate and sabotage bacterial "mobs."

Small molecule may help pinpoint some cancers

March 8, 2005

Writing in the March 8 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, groups led by Medical School Professor James Dahlberg and his collaborator Wayne Tam, at the Joan and Sanford I. Weill Medical College of Cornell University, report that elevated cellular levels of a particular microRNA, known as miR-155, may be diagnostic of some human cancers, notably lymphomas.

Study finds two brain systems regulate how people call for help

March 8, 2005

The willingness to call out in distress to get help from others appears to be regulated by two brain systems with very different responsibilities, according to a study by researchers at UW–Madison.

Geochemical technique yields biomedical promise

December 17, 2004

Adapting a technique used routinely by geologists to measure the chemical composition of rocks, scientists may have found a better way to sample bone calcium balance in humans.

Biotechnology training grant is renewed

December 3, 2004

A National Institutes of Health grant that promotes graduate training in biotechnology has been renewed for an additional five years, according to bacteriologist Timothy Donohue, who directs the program.

Wisconsin poised to invest $750 million in biomedical research

November 20, 2004

Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle, taking a swing at keeping Wisconsin competitive in the superheated world of biomedical research, announced today (Nov. 17) that over the next several years Wisconsin would invest up to $750 million, including more than $500 million in new facilities and direct research support for scientists at UW–Madison.

UW Board of Regents approves Healthstar research facility

November 5, 2004

Construction of a $133.9 million Interdisciplinary Research Complex, which will replace outdated research facilities and unify the University of Wisconsin–Madison Medical School on the west campus, won approval Friday (Nov. 5) from the UW System Board of Regents.

Horticulturist goes in search of a sweeter onion

October 28, 2004

The future looks rosy for the pungent bulb, says Michael Havey of the Department of Horticulture.

Gene from 1918 virus proves key to virulent influenza

October 6, 2004

Using a gene resurrected from the virus that caused the 1918 Spanish influenza pandemic, recorded history's most lethal outbreak of infectious disease, scientists have found that a single gene may have been responsible for the devastating virulence of the virus.

New program simplifies growers’ access to potato varieties

September 16, 2004

With guidance from Wisconsin's potato growers, the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) has launched a streamlined licensing program for seed potato farmers who wish to cultivate and sell varieties developed by the potato-breeding program at UW–Madison.

Discovery may halt progression of Alzheimer’s

September 2, 2004

In a finding that may cause a dramatic shift in the way scientists and researchers search for a therapy for Alzheimer's disease, a team of researchers led by Jeff Johnson, an associate professor at the School of Pharmacy, has discovered that increased expression of a protein called transthyretin in the brain appears to halt the progression of the disease. The findings appear in the current issue of The Journal of Neuroscience.

Licenses for new HyRed cranberry now available

August 11, 2004

Licenses to produce and sell fruit from UW–Madison's HyRed cranberry - the first publicly developed cranberry variety in more than three decades - are now being offered through the university's patent and licensing organization.

UW part of national pathogen bioinformatics center

July 14, 2004

In an effort to speed up research on disease-causing pathogens, including ones that could be used as biological weapons, scientists at UW–Madison will team with an information technology (IT) company, SRA International, Inc., to build an online, publicly accessible library of data on these infectious agents and their genomes.

Technology could enhance accuracy of breast biopsy

July 6, 2004

A new technology developed by a research group headed by Nimmi Ramanujam, assistant professor of biomedical engineering at UW–Madison, will be a "third eye" during breast biopsies and can increase the chance for an accurate clinical diagnosis of breast cancer.

Study: Cancer drug Erbitux nearly doubles survival

June 5, 2004

Patients with head and neck cancer appear to survive nearly twice as long after receiving a new drug known as Erbitux (scientific name: cetuximab) in conjunction with radiation therapy compared with patients treated solely with radiation therapy.

Researchers report major advance in gene therapy technique

June 3, 2004

A group of researchers from the Medical School, the Waisman Center and Mirus Bio Corporation reports a critical advance relating to one of the most fundamental and challenging problems of gene therapy: how to safely and effectively get therapeutic DNA inside cells.

UW-Madison scientists find a key to cell division

May 27, 2004

A cellular structure discovered 125 years ago and dismissed by many biologists as "cellular garbage" has been found to play a key role in the process of cytokinesis, or cell division, one of the most ancient and important of all biological phenomena.