Tag Research
Taste gene may play role in smoking
Recent research on the genetics of smoking has focused on genes that are thought to be related to nicotine metabolism, personality traits, and regulation of emotions. According to a genetic study just published in "Nicotine and Tobacco Research," genes responsible for taste also may yield important information about who smokes and why they smoke.
Rare alliance forged to protect Wisconsin waters
Conservation groups, regulatory agencies, farmers and UW–Madison scientists have banded together in an unprecedented effort to preserve the health of Wisconsin's lakes, rivers and streams.
Great (taste) expectations: study shows brain can manipulate taste
A team of UW–Madison scientists tested the ability of the human brain to mitigate foul taste through a ruse of anticipation. The work, conducted at the UW–Madison Waisman Center using high-tech brain imaging techniques and distasteful concoctions of quinine on a cohort of college students, reveals in detail how the brain responds to a manipulation intended to mitigate an unpleasant experience.
Scientists discuss evolutionary roots of social behavior
Researchers have long reflected on that most intriguing of evolutionary questions: what led to the emergence of social behavior? Following observations of primates, our nearest evolutionary kin, many scientists have proposed that social alliances may have evolved as a means to stave off competitors for resources or mates.
Experts question prevalent stereotypes about autism
As theories about autism spread like wildfire in the media and the general public, a panel of autism experts will reflect on the validity of four widely held - and potentially inaccurate - assumptions about the developmental disability.
‘We Gotta Get Out of this Place:’ Music, memory and the Vietnam War
Virtually anyone who grew up in the rock music era can point to a time, place or poignant memory that is seamlessly tethered to a song. For Vietnam War veterans, the backdrop of the war made that connection all the more powerful and emotional.
Origins of Man: The Weblog
John Hawks, assistant professor of anthropology, runs an anthropology web log that covers a rich range of topics about anthropology and evolution, attracting more than 1,500 readers a day.
Study shows link between clear lakes and mercury contamination
A team of UW–Madison aquatic chemists and limnologists has discovered a link between the amounts of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in bodies of freshwater and increased levels of highly toxic methylmercury in fish.
Analysis critical of proposed constitutional revenue limits
Proposed limits on the amount of revenue Wisconsin governments can collect would reduce public services, hamstring the state's future economic growth, and diminish local control, according to an analysis by a UW–Madison economist.
Herb may curb common breast cancer complication
Researchers are exploring whether a plant extract known as pycnogenol might help to alleviate a common side effect of breast cancer treatment.
Lots of timber, too few loggers?
Almost a third of regional logging firms cited poor or very poor profits in 2003, according to a regional survey by UW–Madison and Michigan State University.
Scientist tracks behavior’s neural roots in tiny brains
Studying damaged brains to understand normal brain function is an approach that strongly resonates with Julie Simpson, a molecular geneticist at UW–Madison. “We’re trying to do Phineas Gage for the fruit fly,”she says.
‘Gotta get out of this place’: Examining music’s impact on Vietnam vets
Two UW–Madison authors are mining the connection between the Vietnam War and music in interviews with hundreds of Vietnam veterans around the country.
Recent sightings
Moved by music Graduate student Ina Selvelieva, a native of Bulgaria, performs a piano solo during a UW Symphony Orchestra…
Five Questions With…
Todd Friske is a project manager for the Division of Information Technology (DoIT). He works with financial systems, including the shared financial system…
Virologist Kenney to join UW School of Medicine and Public Health
Shannon C. Kenney, the Sarah Graham Kenan Professor of Medicine and Microbiology and Immunology at the University of North Carolina (UNC) School of Medicine, will join the faculty of the UW–Madison School of Medicine and Public Health (SMPH) in July.
Wisconsin scientists find a way to make human collagen in the lab
A team of scientists at UW–Madison reports the discovery of a method for making human collagen in the lab, opening the door to broader medical applications.
Concentrating solar collector earns first place in creativity competition
An inexpensive, modular solar-energy technology that could be used to heat water and generate electricity won $12,500 and took first place in both the Schoofs Prize for Creativity and Tong Prototype Prize competitions during Innovation Days, held Feb. 9 and 10 by the University of Wisconsin–Madison's College of Engineering.
UW-Madison releases 2006 Status of Wisconsin Agriculture report
The 2006 edition of the Status of Wisconsin Agriculture, which is available online this week, is produced by agricultural economists and other faculty at the University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Agricultural Life Sciences.
Study explains unexpected conductivity of nanoscale silicon
When graduate student Pengpeng Zhang successfully imaged a piece of silicon just 10 nanometers-or a millionth of a centimeter-in thickness, she and her UW–Madison co-researchers were puzzled. According to established thinking, the feat should be impossible because her microscopy method required samples that conduct electricity.