Tag School of Medicine and Public Health
High-speed genetic analysis looks deep inside primate immune system
Viruses such as HIV and influenza take safe harbor in cells, where they cannot be recognized directly by the immune system. The immune response relies on infected cells announcing the presence of the virus by studding their exterior with fragments of the virus lurking within. Read More
Wisconsin team grows retina cells from skin-derived stem cells
A team of scientists from the University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Medicine and Public Health has successfully grown multiple types of retina cells from two types of stem cells - suggesting a future in which damaged retinas could be repaired by cells grown from the patient's own skin. Read More
A new ‘bent’ on fusion
Success in cellular fusion - as occurs at the moment of conception and when nerve cells exchange neurotransmitters - requires that a membrane be bent before the merging process can begin, University of Wisconsin–Madison researchers have shown. Read More
Future angst? Brain scans show uncertainty fuels anxiety
Anyone who has spent a sleepless night anguishing over a possible job loss has experienced the central finding of a new brain scan study: Uncertainty makes a bad event feel even worse. Read More
Early Alzheimer’s screenings could cut health care costs
As the nation debates how to control costs as part of health care reform, an Alzheimer's disease researcher says early diagnosis and treatment of the disease could save the nation billions of dollars in costs down the road. Read More
Team discovers gene for age-related cataracts
Participants in the University of Wisconsin–Madison's long-running Beaver Dam Eye Study have contributed to the discovery of a gene involved in cataracts in both aging humans and in mice. Read More
Sick children affect parents’ mental health
Caring for a child with health problems profoundly affects the physical health, mental health and work attendance of parents, according to a new study by researchers at the School of Medicine and Public Health. Read More
Reduced diet thwarts aging, disease in monkeys
The bottom-line message from a decades-long study of monkeys on a restricted diet is simple: Consuming fewer calories leads to a longer, healthier life. Read More
Doctor’s compassion may help cure colds faster
Some cold medicines will shave a day off your suffering from the common cold, but they often produce unpleasant side effects. A new study shows, for the first time, that the doctor's empathy may be an even better way to speed recovery. Read More
Five big ideas to fill out Wisconsin Institute for Discovery portfolio
Capping an intensely competitive process, five proposals from University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty have been selected to form the intellectual heart of the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery (WID). Read More
From the waiting room to the birthing room
Years ago, dads-to-be nervously paced the floor of hospital waiting rooms as they waited to hear that their child had been born. But during those countless hours of waiting, many wrote down their feelings in journals known as "father's books" or "stork room jottings." Frequently left in waiting rooms in the 1940s and '50s, the journals provided an outlet for the apprehensive, often exasperated men. Read More
The healing game: How Nintendo’s Wii is making the hard work of physical therapy into child’s play
Pediatric physical therapists at American Family Children's Hospital have been introducing Wii video gaming techology into their patients' therapy programs with notable success. Read More
Culture, not biology, underpins math gender gap
For more than a century, the notion that females are innately less capable than males at doing mathematics, especially at the highest levels, has persisted in even the loftiest circles. Read More
Curiosities: Why do the blue eyes of babies often turn brown?
Melanin is the pigment that makes body parts dark, said Burton Kushner, professor of ophthalmology at the School of Medicine and Public… Read More
Treating Wisconsin’s cancer patients, in Madison or just down the street
When Meg Gaines accompanied a patient to a recent appointment at the University of Wisconsin–Madison's Carbone Comprehensive Cancer Center, she gauged the center's impact right away. Read More
Special protein helps maintain an efficient brain
The instruction manual for maintaining an efficient brain may soon include a section on synaptotagmin-IV (Syt-IV), a protein known to influence learning and memory, thanks to a study by University of Wisconsin–Madison researchers. Read More
Early Alzheimer’s diagnosis offers large social, fiscal benefits
Early diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer's disease could save millions or even billions of dollars while simultaneously improving care, according to new work by University of Wisconsin–Madison researchers. Read More
Cancer researcher wins Shaw Award
University of Wisconsin–Madison cancer researcher Jing Zhang received a Shaw Scientist Award last week from the Greater Milwaukee Foundation to support her novel research on the roles cancer stem cells may play in the causes and treatment of cancer. Read More