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Wisconsin researchers identify key pathway for plant cell growth

January 23, 2014

For plants, the only way to grow is for cells to expand. Unlike animals, cell division in plants happens only within a tiny region of the root and stem apex, making cell expansion the critical path to increased stature.

Contest seeks amazing science images

January 23, 2014

To highlight the visual and scientific value of scientific imagery, the fourth annual Cool Science Image Contest is soliciting the best images from students and faculty and staff scientists on the University of Wisconsin–Madison campus.

Education, surgery try “speed dating” for research

January 23, 2014

Dr. Craig Kent, chairman of surgery, said he hopes that it is at least as successful as a 2010 “speed dating” event with engineering faculty. That one resulted in several research partnerships between surgeons and engineers.

Scientists ID 10-year water-level cycle in Great Lakes basin; say current lows buck trend

January 21, 2014

For at least the last 70 years, lakes and aquifers in northern Wisconsin have followed the same pattern - after higher than average peaks, water levels spend about 10 years on a downward trend before abruptly spiking up again, only to repeat the decade-long fall back to low-water conditions.

UW-Madison scientists to use high-density EEGs to benefit epilepsy patients

January 21, 2014

University of Wisconsin researchers pioneered the use of high-density electro-encephalograph (HD-EEG) technology to study sleep patterns and the effects of meditation. With support from a local grassroots organization, Lily's Fund for Epilepsy Research, UW–Madison researchers will now evaluate how this advanced technology might benefit people with epilepsy.

Fish forced into the ‘foraging arena’ when lakes lose their trees

January 15, 2014

In attempts to predict what climate change will mean for life in lakes, scientists have mainly focused on two things: the temperature of the water and the amount of oxygen dissolved in it. But a new study from University of Wisconsin researchers is speaking for the trees - specifically, the dead ones that have toppled into a lake's near shore waters.

Grad student’s proteins cut a rug, win ‘Dance Your Ph.D.’ competition

January 14, 2014

Graduate school research can get long and tricky and complex beyond the easy understanding even of your fellow grad students. Unless it has a beat, that is, and you can dance to it.

A shift in stem cell research

January 10, 2014

A team of engineers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison has created a process to improve the creation of synthetic neural stem cells for use in central nervous system research.

Study identifies gene mutation as cause of canine tremor disorder

January 7, 2014

Weimaraners – sleek, athletic dogs originally bred for hunting - are known for their striking, silver-tinged coats. Unfortunately, they also are known for a rare tremor disorder reported widely throughout North America and Europe.

CALS researchers developing novel treatment for septic shock

December 26, 2013

By the time doctors diagnose septic shock, patients often are on a knife’s edge. At that point, for every hour that treatment is delayed, a person’s risk of death rises an alarming six percent.

Low-wage, hourly workers struggle with inadequate hours, schedule uncertainty

December 23, 2013

A century ago, low-wage, hourly workers faced long shifts and low hourly pay.

Even or odd: no easy feat for the mind

December 20, 2013

Even scientists are fond of thinking of the human brain as a computer, following sets of rules to communicate, make decisions and find a meal.

Documentary connects multiple sclerosis, Vikings and Nordic skiing

December 12, 2013

Multiple sclerosis (MS), a neurological disease that affects more than 400,000 Americans, attacks the nervous system and causes many symptoms, including difficulty moving. But many who suffer from the disease defy its effects by maintaining an active lifestyle.

Poverty influences children’s early brain development

December 11, 2013

Poverty may have direct implications for important, early steps in the development of the brain, saddling children of low-income families with slower rates of growth in two key brain structures, according to researchers from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Control theorist Barmish challenges need to model financial markets

December 10, 2013

B. Ross Barmish hopes his research will build a bridge between control theorists and financial scholars. Barmish, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at UW–Madison, posits that not only are predictive models of financial markets unreliable, but also that stock traders can do without predictive models, simply by applying control theory to the markets.

Wisconsin engineer honored for ongoing innovation

December 10, 2013

Corn may be a dietary staple for humans and animals around the world, but in Jim Dumesic's eyes, the plant "waste" left after the harvest holds even more potential as a renewable bio-based source of fuels and important chemicals. On Dec. 10, the National Academy of Inventors (NAI) named Dumesic, the Steenbock professor and Michel Boudart professor of chemical and biological engineering at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, among 143 leading innovators elected to its 2013 class of fellows.

Anthropologist, ‘underground astronaut’ strike fossil gold in South Africa dig

December 6, 2013

Squeezing through a gap called the International Postbox and climbing the jagged Dragon's Back were not in Alia Gurtov's plans for the fall semester, but she made an exception in order to participate in a wildly successful archaeological expedition into a South African cave.

Study reveals gene expression changes with meditation

December 4, 2013

With evidence growing that meditation can have beneficial health effects, scientists have sought to understand how these practices physically affect the body.