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Tag Research

Brain pathways tie together mental maps

September 16, 2013

To find its way in the world, your brain has to decipher a set of directions muddled by different points of view. Read More

Researchers capture speedy chemical reaction in mid-stride

September 13, 2013

In synthetic chemistry, making the best possible use of the needed ingredients is key to optimizing high-quality production at the lowest possible cost. Read More

Presidential panel taps political scientist’s election expertise

September 12, 2013

UW–Madison political science professor Barry Burden is helping provide academic research to a bipartisan presidential commission looking into how to improve federal elections. Read More

Weather: More data + more computers = better forecasts

September 9, 2013

Been beefing about weather forecasts? Did the “experts” miss a thunderstorm, botch the rainfall prediction, mistake cloudy for sunny or windy for calm? You’re not alone. Forecasts of weather are already way better than forecasts of, say, unemployment or grain harvests, but that doesn’t lead us to predict that the caterwauling over weather forecasts will dampen. Read More

In whole-lake experiment, have invasive crayfish met their match?

September 6, 2013

Four years ago, University of Wisconsin–Madison researchers wrapped up a multi-year effort to dramatically reduce the population of a destructive invasive species in a northern Wisconsin lake. Read More

Improved computing provides a better look at the cosmos

September 6, 2013

Building a neutrino telescope - a unique instrument that detects extremely small, high energy particles - out of 5,000 optical sensors embedded in a cubic kilometer of Antarctic ice, a tremendous engineering feat, was just the first challenge. Read More

Campus was hopping, at a summertime pace, while you were gone

September 5, 2013

Rebecca Blank arriving, Kevin Reilly leaving. Budget cuts and tuition freezes. Even if you were vacationing and unplugged over the summer, it was hard to miss these headlines. But you can be excused for not being on top of everything that happened on campus while you were away. Read More

Massive storm pulls water and ammonia ices from Saturn’s depths

September 3, 2013

Now, thanks to near-infrared spectral measurements taken by NASA’s Cassini orbiter and analysis of near-infrared color signatures by researchers at UW–Madison, Saturn’s superstorm is helping scientists flesh out a picture of the composition of the planet’s atmosphere at depths typically obscured by a thick high-altitude haze. Read More

Language can reveal the invisible, study shows

August 26, 2013

It is natural to imagine that the sense of sight takes in the world as it is - simply passing on what the eyes collect from light reflected by the objects around us. Read More

Tasty Solution: Better beverages for people who have trouble swallowing

August 23, 2013

After having a stroke in 2008, Jan Blume lost the ability to swallow for two full years. As she slowly regained that vital function, she faced a new challenge: drinking the thickened beverages that are recommended for people with swallowing problems, or dysphagia. She found the drinks almost intolerable. Read More

Tuberculosis genomes portray secrets of pathogen’s success

August 21, 2013

By any measure, tuberculosis (TB) is a wildly successful pathogen. It infects as many as two billion people in every corner of the world, with a new infection of a human host estimated to occur every second. Read More

Q&A: Turning fandom into political and social action

August 16, 2013

As the public's faith in government and traditional political institutions crumbles, younger generations are taking cues from fictional wizards and TV vampires to take action on behalf of issues or causes they believe in. Read More

Discovery of new enzyme could yield better plants for biofuel

August 15, 2013

For nearly a decade, scientists have thought that they understood how plants produce lignin - a compound that gives plant tissues their structure and sturdiness, but can limit their use as a source of biofuels. Read More

First, fishing. Then, volleyball. Serious fun at Trout Lake Station

August 15, 2013

Angling for perch at sundown is just one of the perks of Wes Matthews’ summer research job at Trout Lake Station in Wisconsin’s north woods. Another is donning scuba gear and diving for lost equipment. The most important task, though, wouldn’t appeal to everyone. “Basically, I study what fish had for lunch,” says Matthews. Read More

Essential mechanism of symbiosis found in Hawaiian squid

August 14, 2013

Experiments at the University of Wisconsin–Madison with a small squid that glows in the dark have uncovered a complex conversation that allows the newly hatched squid to attract the glowing, symbiotic bacteria that disguises it against predators. Read More

Children exposed to lead more likely to be suspended from school

August 14, 2013

Children who are exposed to lead are nearly three times more likely to be suspended from school by the 4th grade than children who are not exposed, according to a new University of Wisconsin–Madison study funded jointly by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Wisconsin Partnership Program Education and Research Committee. Read More

New gene repair technique promises advances in regenerative medicine

August 12, 2013

Using human pluripotent stem cells and DNA-cutting protein from meningitis bacteria, researchers from the Morgridge Institute for Research and Northwestern University have created an efficient way to target and repair defective genes. Read More