Tag College of Letters & Science
Scientists hope to mimic nature’s dynamos
In the cosmos, all celestial objects - planets, stars, galaxies and clusters of galaxies - have magnetic fields. On Earth, the magnetic field of our home planet is most easily observed in a compass where the needle points north.
Sand dunes reveal unexpected dryness during heavy monsoon
The windswept deserts of northern China might seem an odd destination for studying the heavy monsoon rains that routinely drench the more tropical regions of Southeast Asia.
Models begin to unravel how single DNA strands combine
Using computer simulations, a team of University of Wisconsin–Madison researchers has identified some of the pathways through which single complementary strands of DNA interact and combine to form the double helix.
UW-Madison undergraduates make unwelcome discovery in Lake Mendota
On Sept. 11, a standard cruise on Lake Mendota's University Bay began for students in University of Wisconsin–Madison's Zoology 315, a course that introduces them to the study of lakes. With the sampling craft Limnos anchored about one-quarter mile offshore on a clear sunny day, four students pulled up a small net and began poking through its contents.
Potato blight reveals some secrets as genome is decoded
Late blight caused the 19th century famine that sparked a wave of emigration from Ireland to the United States, but the disease has also infected tomatoes and potatoes this year. Potatoes, the world's fourth-largest food crop, were raised on 65,500 acres in Wisconsin in 2007. If a potato field is not treated with pesticide, late blight can destroy the crop in a few days.