Category Health & Wellness
Contactless thermometer helps monitor student health
A prototype “contactless” thermometer was created by borrowing the sensor from a commercially available thermometer and adding a microcontroller and distance sensor controlled by open-source code.
Statewide data shows four-fold increase in recent COVID-19 infections
The antibody study showed that 1.6% of survey participants had evidence of antibodies when tested in July and early August. Between October and December, the number was up to 6.8%.
Santa visits kids in hospital — through video call
The pandemic can't stop a visit from Santa Claus. The jolly one on Wednesday made video visits with patients at American Family Children's Hospital.
UW–Madison finalizing plans to provide COVID-19 vaccine to eligible students and employees
University Health Services will manage the process of administering vaccines to frontline health care workers and other individuals at UW–Madison who are eligible for the initial phase of vaccination, or Phase 1a.
Badger Talks video: Vaccine arrival is first step
“I could see that by fall 2021 things could start to look substantially different than what we’ve all been living with," says global health expert James Conway.
Research effort driving advances to combat traumatic brain injuries
A team of researchers led by University of Wisconsin–Madison mechanical engineer Christian Franck is working on better ways to detect concussions and better protective equipment to prevent them.
Vaccine arrives at UW Health
UW Health received its first doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine the morning of Monday, Dec. 14. By early afternoon, the first doses were given to frontline medical personnel.
Holocaust survivor, geneticist, patient advocate remembered for inspiring others
Renata Laxova focused on intellectual and developmental disabilities, prenatal diagnosis of birth defects, cancer genetics, and — above all — the relationships between medical professionals and patients.
UW–Madison leads DoD-funded effort to restore vision to injured service members and people with disease
The technology will be based on a system in which human induced pluripotent cells are used to generate light-responsive eye cells called photoreceptors along with the cells that support them.
Celebrate with winter 2020 graduates during virtual commencement ceremony
The prerecorded ceremony will be released at 11 a.m. central time on Dec. 13 and will remain available on the web so people anywhere can watch it at a time most convenient to them.
Multiple gene edits and computer simulations could help treat rare genetic diseases
Research in biomedical engineer Kris Saha's lab efficiently corrected multiple mutations responsible for Pompe disease, advancing the CRISPR genome-editing field.
Research provides tools for achieving the ‘how’ of well-being in daily life
A new framework introduced by UW–Madison's Center for Healthy Minds provides evidence that people can weather life’s ups and downs with resilience, and that the brain and body can change and adapt.
A look at vaccine development and distribution
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a terrible impact, but it also has inspired one of the greatest scientific efforts in generations, spurring researchers around the globe to produce multiple potential vaccines in a short time.
Banking on patient samples to advance COVID-19 research
In the spring of 2020, when UW–Madison instruction moved online and most research became remote, efforts picked up at the UW Carbone Cancer Center Translational Science Biocore BioBank.
UW-Madison adds second surge testing site at Kohl Center for students and employees
The rapid antigen tests complement PCR tests currently available for students and employees through University Health Services (UHS) as positive COVID-19 rates continue to rise in Dane County and across the state.
Quick, routine coronavirus testing reassures both campus and volunteers
Unlike other testing on campus, which is more likely to attract people who are sick or who believe they’ve been exposed to COVID-19, Jon Temte’s program constantly re-tests a stable population of volunteers — even when they feel fine.
Gene-edited monkey embryos give researchers new way to study HIV cure
A gene that cured a man of HIV a decade ago has been successfully added to developing monkey embryos in an effort to study more potential treatments for the disease.
Early mutation in SARS-CoV-2 virus in Europe led to its domination worldwide
A study shows that the mutant virus is more easily transmitted and grows better within hosts, likely aiding its dominance. The mutation, researchers say, should not interfere with the effectiveness of vaccines against the virus.
‘Rewiring’ metabolism in insulin-producing cells may aid Type 2 diabetes treatment
Scientists point to an overlooked enzyme known as pyruvate kinase as the primary way pancreatic beta cells sense sugar levels and release the appropriate amount of insulin.
Tracking virus mutations reveals success of stay-at-home orders
A family tree of more than 200 variations in the virus that causes COVID-19 helps explain why two Wisconsin counties had such different early experiences with the pandemic.