Tag Research
Economist takes on global debt crisis in classroom, book, blog
As the financial markets melted down last fall, University of Wisconsin–Madison economist Menzie Chinn says he was surprised not only by the depth of the economic downturn that set in, but also by the certainty of Monday-morning quarterbacking from observers of the government's response to the crisis. Read More
Street markets are this professor’s laboratory
Alfonso Morales didn’t sit in a library to do research for his graduate degrees. Instead, he worked as a vendor in Chicago’s famed Maxwell Street Market, where he saw firsthand that public markets serve as fertile ground for entrepreneurs and new businesses, gathering places for communities and an entry point into the economy and society for new arrivals to the United States. Read More
Middle East air-quality study bridges borders
An unprecedented effort to collect air pollution data in the Middle East has united researchers in a region mired in conflict. Read More
Muscle mass maintenance under scrutiny
When muscles are not pressed into service, they begin to lose mass. Read More
Collaboration to enhance patient safety during blood collection, transfusion
The National Institute of Health (NIH), Health and Human Services has awarded a $1.4 million Small Business Technology Transfer grant to SysLogic Inc., the UW RFID Laboratory and the BloodCenter of Wisconsin. Read More
New material could efficiently power tiny generators
To power a very small device like a pacemaker or a transistor, you need an even smaller generator. The components that operate the generator are smaller yet, and the efficiency of those foundational components is critical to the performance of the overall device. Read More
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. Read More
Carbon nanotubes may cheaply harvest sunlight
A new alternative energy technology relies on the element most associated with climate change: carbon. Read More
Research expenditures jump, UW–Madison retains top ranking
According to statistics compiled by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the University of Wisconsin–Madison is the nation's third largest research university as measured by dollars spent on research. Read More
Satellite anniversary marks 50 years of studying climate from space
On Oct. 13, 1959, University of Wisconsin–Madison professors Verner Suomi and Robert Parent crouched in a bunker at Cape Canaveral, sweating through the countdown for the Juno II rocket perched on its launching pad 150 yards away. Read More
High-speed genetic analysis looks deep inside primate immune system
Viruses such as HIV and influenza take safe harbor in cells, where they cannot be recognized directly by the immune system. The immune response relies on infected cells announcing the presence of the virus by studding their exterior with fragments of the virus lurking within. Read More
Banded rocks reveal early Earth conditions, changes
The strikingly banded rocks scattered across the upper Midwest and elsewhere throughout the world are actually ambassadors from the past, offering clues to the environment of the early Earth more than 2 billion years ago. Read More
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. Read More
Researcher studies monkeys in Africa to better understand virus evolution
Despite the importance of AIDS in human health, scientists still know very little about the diversity and ecology of AIDS-like viruses in nature. Read More
Survey: Broad support for biofuels in Wisconsin, but clear partisan differences
Although almost two-thirds of Wisconsinites support the use and production of biofuels, less than half think the government should subsidize their development, according to a new study by University of Wisconsin–Madison researchers. Read More
Digital revolution is happening outside the classroom
The way we learn is changing, but schools are having trouble keeping up. While technology dominates daily life and work, it still plays a limited role in public schools filled with students who are increasingly learning outside the classroom with help from cell phones, computers and video games, says Rich Halverson, a professor of educational leadership and policy analysis and co-author of the new book “Rethinking Education in the Age of Technology.” Read More
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. Read More
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. Read More
UW-Madison researchers ranked among world’s top 20 universities
A recent assessment of the research impact of scientists at more than 4,000 universities around the world ranked those at the University of Wisconsin–Madison No. 20. Read More