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Tag Research

UW-Madison launches national Agricultural Innovation Prize

October 2, 2013

As the world's population continues to increase, so does the need for sustainable and secure food systems. A new student contest run by the University of Wisconsin–Madison advances the idea that long-term solutions in agriculture cannot draw on innovations from only one discipline.

UW scientist sniffs out possible new tick species

October 1, 2013

In June 2012, Tony Goldberg returned from one of his frequent trips to Kibale National Park, an almost 500-square-mile forest in western Uganda where he studies how infectious diseases spread and evolve in the wild. But he didn’t return alone.

UW–Madison researchers put NIH grant review process under microscope

October 1, 2013

The National Institutes of Health’s system for selecting research projects may be considered the gold standard for equitably awarding funding, but that hasn’t kept the agency from dispatching three University of Wisconsin–Madison professors to probe the system for bias.

Zinc discovery may shed light on Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s

September 30, 2013

Scientists at the University of Wisconsin–Madison have made a discovery that, if replicated in humans, suggests a shortage of zinc may contribute to diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, which have been linked to defective proteins clumping together in the brain.

Exhibiting signs of life

September 26, 2013

What if you could travel back in time 3 billion years, and take a breath? What would earth’s air smell like? Deeply stinky, according to Brooke Norsted, an outreach specialist for the University of Wisconsin–Madison Geology Museum.

Mouse studies reveal promising vitamin D-based treatment for MS

September 26, 2013

A diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS) is a hard lot. Patients typically get the diagnosis around age 30 after experiencing a series of neurological problems such as blurry vision, wobbly gait or a numb foot. From there, this neurodegenerative disease follows an unforgiving course.

Students game the system, train computer to play Angry Birds

September 25, 2013

Angry Birds sounds simple: Just slingshot a digital bird at a pile of evil pigs. You could teach a child to play. But could you teach a computer?

Observations reveal critical interplay of interstellar dust, hydrogen

September 25, 2013

For astrophysicists, the interplay of hydrogen - the most common molecule in the universe - and the vast clouds of dust that fill the voids of interstellar space has been an intractable puzzle of stellar evolution.

John Hawks explores how celiac disease evolved

September 25, 2013

Celiac disease is an evolutionary paradox, says University of Wisconsin–Madison anthropologist John Hawks.

A shot of anxiety and the world stinks

September 24, 2013

Researchers using powerful new brain imaging technologies are revealing how anxiety or stress can rewire the brain, linking centers of emotion and olfactory processing, to make typically benign smells malodorous.

Marginal land in demand: researchers explore farmer willingness to grow energy crops

September 24, 2013

In their quest to make cellulosic biofuel a viable energy option, many researchers are looking to marginal lands - those unsuitable for growing food - as potential real estate for bioenergy crops. However, few people have asked: how do farmers feel about using their marginal lands for fuel production?

Decades on, bacterium’s discovery feted as paragon of basic science

September 17, 2013

Over time, the esoteric and sometimes downright strange quests of science have proven easy targets for politicians and others looking for perceived examples of waste in government - and a cheap headline.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.