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Tag Research

Dental delight! Tooth of sea urchin shows formation of biominerals

December 21, 2009

Some of the most common minerals in biology, including those in bones and shells, have a mysterious structure: Their crystals are positioned in the same orientation, making them behave as one giant crystal, even though they do not look like a faceted crystal. Read More

Wisconsin cast-metals manufacturing benefits from $10 million federal grant

December 16, 2009

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has awarded a $10.1 million, five-year grant to an interdisciplinary team of researchers led by University of Wisconsin–Madison mechanical engineering professor Xiaochun Li. Read More

Surveying bird biodiversity from space?

December 16, 2009

A fundamental rule of wildlife ecology says that diverse habitats foster greater biodiversity: The Amazon has far more species than Greenland. But how do habitat and biodiversity relate in a state like Wisconsin, with its range of farms, forests, wetlands, cities, suburbs and highways? Read More

New process leads to smaller estimate for global urban area

December 16, 2009

Urbanization is one of the most important trends of the 21st century, yet we don't have a good idea of how much land cities occupy. Read More

Fighting the Grinch who stole Wisconsin’s Christmas trees

December 15, 2009

An entomology research team from UW–Madison aims to squash a grub that plagues as many as one-third of Wisconsin’s approximately 1,100 Christmas tree farms. Read More

Interactive animations give science students a boost

December 14, 2009

For a generation of students raised and nurtured at the computer keyboard, it seems like a no-brainer that computer-assisted learning would have a prominent role in the college science classroom. Read More

New structure could produce efficient semiconductor laser sources

December 14, 2009

University of Wisconsin–Madison researchers have achieved a nanoscale laser structure they anticipate will produce semiconductor lasers in the next two years that are more than twice as efficient as current continuous-wave lasers emitting in the mid-infrared. Read More

UW-Madison, Beloit partnership produces water-run scooter

December 8, 2009

At first glance, a 50-cc Vespa scooter and a squad car may not appear to have much in common. Read More

Greenhouse gas carbon dioxide ramps up aspen growth

December 4, 2009

The rising level of atmospheric carbon dioxide may be fueling more than climate change. It could also be making some trees grow like crazy. Read More

Giant collider back in gear, sets record for collision intensity

December 2, 2009

On Nov. 30, the world's largest scientific instrument, the Large Hadron Collider, set a record when it smashed one stream of protons against another and then accelerated the beams to 1.18 trillion electron volts, exceeding the record held by Fermilab in Illinois since 2001. Read More

Exhibit explores state of science at time of Darwin’s book

November 23, 2009

“Science Circa 1859: On the Eve of Darwin’s Origin of Species,” opening Monday, Nov. 23, in the Department of Special Collections at Memorial Library, explores the state of science before Charles Darwin’s groundbreaking book arrived on the scene 150 years ago. Read More

Like humans, ants use bacteria to make their gardens grow

November 19, 2009

Leaf-cutter ants, which cultivate fungus for food, have many remarkable qualities. Read More

Sweet corn story begins in UW–Madison lab

November 19, 2009

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. Read More

After mastodons and mammoths, a transformed landscape

November 19, 2009

Roughly 15,000 years ago, at the end of the last ice age, North America's vast assemblage of large animals - including such iconic creatures as mammoths, mastodons, camels, horses, ground sloths and giant beavers - began their precipitous slide to extinction. Read More

UW-Madison receives $9.5 million Gates Foundation grant

November 19, 2009

The University of Wisconsin–Madison has received a five-year, $9.5 million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to identify virus mutations that would serve as early warnings of potential pandemic influenza viruses. Read More

Early voting option can decrease turnout, research shows

November 17, 2009

Although states are moving quickly to put in place election procedures that allow for early voting, allowing people to cast ballots ahead of Election Day often results in lower turnout, according to research from a team of University of Wisconsin–Madison political scientists. Read More

Warmer means windier on world’s biggest lake

November 16, 2009

Rising water temperatures are kicking up more powerful winds on Lake Superior, with consequences for currents, biological cycles, pollution and more on the world's largest lake and its smaller brethren. Read More

African-American men at higher risk of false positives in prostate testing

November 13, 2009

While an elevated prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test can be frightening news for men, new research shows that sometimes the levels are caused by a naturally… Read More

Study: Can meditation sharpen our attention?

November 13, 2009

A new study at the University of Wisconsin–Madison suggests that people can train their minds to stay focused. Read More