Tag Research
From Adam’s housecat to zydeco: After five decades, Dictionary of American Regional English completed
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
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
To better predict the future, Jack Williams is looking to the past.
Proposed hunt poorly designed, says UW wolf expert
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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.
Roundabouts emerging as the ideal intersection between driver safety and efficiency
They've become the subject of myriad YouTube "how-to" videos. Entire department of transportation websites explain how to navigate them. And, they elicit more than a little anxiety and confusion in the minds of drivers entering, circling and exiting them.
How does the compassionate brain, measured in the lab, predict what occurs in real life?
University of Wisconsin–Madison researchers are launching a new series of studies to understand how laboratory measures of virtuous qualities such as compassion relate to their behavior in the real world.
The Waisman Center: Decades later, what would Harry think?
Last fall, the Waisman Center at the University of Wisconsin–Madison bid successfully for the same National Institutes of Health core grant that the late Harry Waisman first won 45 years ago.
Nature: Kawaoka authors commentary on flu research
The author of an upcoming Nature paper about H5N1 argues in a Nature Comment article today that research into deadly pathogenic viruses must continue if pandemics are to be prevented.