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Tag Research

Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery named 2012 Laboratory of the Year

March 5, 2012

The Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery, the innovative 330,000-sqaure-foot public-private facility that opened just more than a year ago on the UW–Madison campus, has been named the 2012 Laboratory of the Year.

In new book, leading neuroscientist describes your brain on emotion

March 5, 2012

Building on more than 30 years of cutting-edge brain research, a new book by UW–Madison psychology and psychiatry professor Richard J. Davidson offers an inside look into how emotions are coded in our brains and our power to control them.

Laboratory research shows promising approach to preventing Alzheimer’s

March 1, 2012

As scientists struggle to find an effective way to prevent Alzheimer's disease, researchers at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public health may have found a new approach to interrupting the process that leads to the devastating disease.

Intercampus Research Incentive Program enters third year

February 29, 2012

The third year of the Intercampus Research Incentive Program is open to proposals, calling for research partnerships uniting University of Wisconsin–Madison and University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee faculty.

Daya Bay antineutrino detectors exceed performance goals

February 29, 2012

After just three months of operation, the Daya Bay Reactor Neutrino Experiment has far surpassed expectations, recording tens of thousands of particle interactions and paving the way to a better understanding of neutrinos and why the universe is built of matter rather than antimatter.

From Adam’s housecat to zydeco: After five decades, Dictionary of American Regional English completed

February 23, 2012

What is a Maine-born doctor to do when a patient in Pennsylvania complains, “I’ve been riftin’ and I’ve got jags in my leaders?” Consult the Dictionary of American Regional English to learn that the patient has been belching and experiencing sharp pains in his neck. After nearly five decades of work at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, the fifth volume of the dictionary, covering Sl to Z, is now available from Harvard University Press.

Surprising diversity at a synapse hints at complex diversity of neural circuitry

February 22, 2012

A new study reveals a dazzling degree of biological diversity in an unexpected place - a single neural connection in the body wall of flies.

Does history repeat? Using the past to improve ecological forecasting

February 20, 2012

To better predict the future, Jack Williams is looking to the past.

Proposed hunt poorly designed, says UW wolf expert

February 20, 2012

Legislation outlining a proposed state wolf hunt is likely to hurt wolf populations while failing to resolve existing conflicts with humans, says a UW–Madison wolf…

Mother of pearl tells a tale of ocean temperature, depth

February 16, 2012

Nacre -- or mother of pearl, scientists and artisans know, is one of nature's amazing utilitarian materials.

Howard Zimmerman, pioneer in organic chemistry, dies at 85

February 16, 2012

Howard Zimmerman, a professor of chemistry from 1960 until his retirement in 2010, died on Saturday, Feb. 11 as a result of a fall.

Lovelorn liars leave linguistic leads

February 13, 2012

Online daters intent on fudging their personal information have a big advantage: most people are terrible at identifying a liar. But new research is turning the tables on deceivers using their own words.

Hunting could hurt genetic diversity of sandhill cranes, UW research suggests

February 8, 2012

As Wisconsin lawmakers debate whether to establish a hunting season for sandhill cranes, they may want to consider more than just the sheer number of birds, suggests a University of Wisconsin–Madison specialist in avian genetics.

Study shows calories drive earlier puberty

February 8, 2012

Environmental pollutants, eating habits, lack of exercise and genetic traits have all been raised as possible causes of earlier puberty onset in girls in recent years. Now we may now know why: It's the calories, as reported by Ei Terasawa, Joe Kurian, Ricki Colman and colleagues at the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center.

Evolution’s oddities are focus of Darwin Day

February 7, 2012

The annual celebration of Charles Darwin’s birthday at the University of Wisconsin–Madison will highlight the evolutionary significance of strange life forms, including the octopus and enormous flowers.

First Book Award lends crucial support to junior faculty

February 7, 2012

From the time they are hired, humanities faculty members begin working to turn the dissertation that earned them a Ph.D. into a book that will earn them tenure. But it’s not as easy as handing pages over to a publisher.

Metabolic “breathalyzer” reveals early signs of disease

February 6, 2012

The future of disease diagnosis may lie in a "breathalyzer"-like technology currently under development at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Smallest tools could give biggest results in bone repair

February 6, 2012

When William Murphy works with some of the most powerful tools in biology, he thinks about making tools that can fit together. These constructions sound a bit like socket wrenches, which can be assembled to turn a half-inch nut in tight quarters, or to loosen a rusted-tight one-inch bolt using a very persuasive lever.

Neurons from stem cells could replace mice in botulinum test

February 3, 2012

Using lab-grown human neurons, researchers from the University of Wisconsin–Madison have devised an effective assay for detecting botulinum neurotoxin, the agent widely used to cosmetically smooth the wrinkles of age and, increasingly, for an array of medical disorders ranging from muscle spasticity to loss of bladder control.