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Tag Research

Rice centromere, supposedly quiet genetic domain, surprises

January 12, 2004

Probing the last genomic frontier of higher organisms, an international team of scientists has succeeded in sequencing a little understood - but critical - genetic domain in rice.

Wisconsin engineers devise cutting-edge method to cut cheese

January 12, 2004

Lasers do everything these days - from removing tattoos to playing music on compact discs. Now, in the great dairy state of Wisconsin, lasers have been harnessed to an entirely new purpose: slicing cheese.

Winter weather turns on flowering gene

January 7, 2004

In four months, when flower buds spring up from the ground, you may wonder how plants know it's time to bloom. This question has baffled plant biologists for years. Now, scientists at UW–Madison have an answer: a gene that functions as an alarm clock to rouse certain plants from a vegetative state in the winter to a flowering state in the spring.

Stem cells illuminate early stages of human development

December 22, 2003

A team from the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center has taken some of the first critical steps to putting stem cells to use to understand early development and maternal and fetal health.

Researchers identify key player in respiratory memory

December 15, 2003

By studying the "memory" of the respiratory system, a group of researchers from the UW–Madison has identified a key player - a protein called BDNF that's involved in learning - responsible for the body's ability to keep breathing properly, despite the challenges it may face.

Tissue digester to help dispose of CWD-infected materials

December 15, 2003

A new $900,000 state-of-the-art mobile tissue digester promises a safe and efficient way to dispose of as many as 15,000 samples of deer tissue to be tested in the coming months by the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory for the presence of chronic wasting disease.

Dane County businesses expect economy to improve in 2004

December 10, 2003

Dane County businesses are predicting increases in revenues and profits in the coming year, according to a survey sponsored by the UW–Madison School of Business and First Business Bank.

History of frog deformities suggests emerging disease

December 9, 2003

A historical examination of amphibian deformities - frogs with extra legs growing out of the abdomen, for example - suggests that these aberrations are not a new phenomenon, but part of an emerging disease that could jeopardize the survival of these organisms.

Advances

December 9, 2003

Advances gives a glimpse of the many significant research projects at the university. Tell us about your discoveries. E-mail: wisweek@news.wisc.edu. Laboratory…

Research generates reliable energy source during outages

December 8, 2003

As utility companies search for ways to avoid blackouts, like the one that shut down the northeastern corner of the United States last summer, one idea comes from UW–Madison.

Easily paralyzed flies provide clues to neurodegeneration

December 4, 2003

With a slight tweak of temperature, geneticist Barry Ganetzky's flies drop like, well, flies.

Brain study shows some animals crave exercise

December 1, 2003

Like junkies without drugs, mice without running wheels crave what they lack, suggesting that some animals can develop an addiction for exercise, report scientists in the Dec. 1 issue of the journal Behavioral Neuroscience.

Forum examines Wisconsin’s smart growth law

December 1, 2003

A group of 12 students at UW–Madison is looking at Wisconsin's smart growth law, which requires every local government in the state to adopt a community plan by 2010.

UW receives grant to boost Wisconsin’s plastics industry

November 24, 2003

UW-Madison has received a $600,000 research grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to help enhance sustainable economic growth in the state's plastics industry cluster.

Book Smart

November 18, 2003

Rachel Feldhay Brenner, professor of Hebrew and Semitic studies, "Inextricably Bonded: Israeli Arab and Jewish Writers Re-visioning Culture," UW Press, 2003.

Hospital performs first live donor paired kidney exchange

November 18, 2003

UW Hospital surgeons successfully performed Wisconsin's first "live donor paired kidney exchange" on Nov. 7, one of a handful done in the United States.

Dioxin, other chemicals killed Lake Ontario trout

November 18, 2003

Researchers have determined that dioxin and similar toxic chemicals were high enough in Lake Ontario to kill virtually every lake trout that hatched there from the late 1940s to the late 1980s.

Journalism school software expands Web-based research

November 14, 2003

A homegrown software innovation born of "creative laziness" in the School of Journalism and Mass Communications at UW–Madison is saving time and money and opening doors to a new world of online survey research.

Report encourages state investment in organic agriculture

November 13, 2003

Organic food sales in the United States have grown 20 percent or more annually for the past decade and remain strong. A new report details the growth of organic agriculture in Wisconsin and the nation, and encourages state investment in this value-added marketing strategy.

Device may help keep dog knees limber

November 12, 2003

As our canine companions get older, a common joint problem could leave many of them stiff in the knee. Fortunately, a new device developed by researchers at UW–Madison's School of Veterinary Medicine (SVM) may help veterinarians catch the problem early - before it results in permanent arthritis.