Category Health & Wellness
Finding a weak link in the frightful parasite Schistosoma
More than 250 million people, mostly in Africa and Asia, have schistosomiasis, which kills an estimated 280,000 each year. “We don’t get that many aha! moments in our lives as scientists,” says a researcher. “This was one of them.”
PATH Award offers promise for advancing biomedical science at UW–Madison
Assistant Professor John-Demian Sauer has been awarded a 2018 Burroughs Wellcome Award that supports biomedical scientists who are early in their careers and advancing fields in the basic biomedical sciences that are undervalued or underfunded. John-Demian Sauer
The Ride gets research into gear
The Ride is a signature cycling event that premiered in September 2016, sending hundreds of riders across eastern Dane County to raise money for cancer research on the UW–Madison campus.
Sussman to lead Genome Center of Wisconsin
Mike Sussman, longtime director of the UW–Madison Biotechnology Center, has announced that he is stepping down from that position to serve as director of the genome center. Chris Bradfield has been named interim Biotechnology Center director.
Zika virus infection may multiply risk of miscarriage, stillbirth
Researchers at six National Primate Research Centers (NPRCs) combined results from individual studies to find that 26 percent of pregnancies in 50 monkeys infected with Zika virus during the first trimester of pregnancy ended in miscarriage or stillbirth.
Study points researchers toward new therapies for fragile X syndrome
A UW–Madison study showed that the absence of the protein FMRP can unbalance critical molecular processes within adult brain cells and lead to the neural and cognitive changes seen in fragile X.
Map helps guide public health decision-making
“We want this to be a tool that everyone can use,” said Amy Kind, an associate professor of medicine. “We hope this will be a catalyst to ... eliminate U.S. health disparities.”
Mining notes from doctors and nurses could improve dementia diagnosis
Searching for clues in electronic health records could steer dementia patients to better treatment and follow-up examinations — especially patients from minority groups that tend to be less likely to receive specialized care.
Lipids in blood and liver offer insights into metabolic health
Often, in order to identify a fatty liver, an invasive liver biopsy is required. Taking a blood sample would be a much simpler way to diagnose it.
Scientists take a journey into the lungs of mice infected with influenza
Using a new tool they call FluVision, UW–Madison researchers can witness an influenza infection in a living animal in action, helping them better understand what happens when a virus infects the lungs and the body responds.
Dynamic modeling helps predict the behaviors of gut microbes
A first step toward understanding how to manipulate the properties of the gut ecosystem could allow scientists to design a probiotic that persists in the gut, or tailor a diet to positively influence human health.
New toolkit guides professionals, others in scenarios involving dementia
A new toolkit from the School of Nursing prepares professionals, like pharmacists, as well as family members and other front-line staff to face and handle situations involving dementia patients.
Study of inflammation’s link to diseases wins NIH grant
Inflammation "is likely implicated in almost every disease,” says researcher David Beebe — including cancer, cardiovascular conditions and autoimmune diseases.
Five exercises to transform Bascom Hill into your own personal gym this summer
Measuring 850 feet long and, from the Park Street sidewalk to the base of the Lincoln statue, 86 feet tall, Bascom Hill as steep and long as it is picturesque. And, as evidenced by the unfortunate sweat stains in your 7:30 a.m. lecture, it’s a good workout. With these five exercises, it could also be your new gym.
Barbershop health center will broaden its efforts to reduce health disparities with community grant
Aaron Perry, a former UW–Madison police officer who is living with diabetes, has spent years unraveling the complex relationship between black men and the world-class health care system in Dane County. He founded the non-profit Rebalanced-Life Wellness Association in 2007 to help other black men with diabetes and reduce health disparities in his community.
Study offers first look at how children with cerebral palsy develop language skills
Many children with cerebral palsy do not receive appropriate speech and language intervention until they enter preschool because very little quantitative data is available about the speech and language difficulties they face. They may be missing critical early intervention opportunities.
Groundbreaking hearing researcher shares $1 million prize
Robert Fettiplace, who pioneered techniques to better understand the physiology of hearing, is one of the winners of the Kavli Prize in Neuroscience, for work that helped unravel the mysteries hearing and deafness.
Morgridge Institute announces Rowe Center for Research in Virology
The center, made possible by John and Jeanne Rowe, builds upon virology research to understand the big-picture questions of how viruses function and interact with their hosts.
Inside a ‘visionary’ lab
Through careful analysis of their bank of 58,000 ocular samples from a wide range of species, the veterinarians of the Comparative Ocular Pathology Laboratory of Wisconsin at UW–Madison look to improve vision and eye health in animals. BTN LiveBIG video
Training compassion ‘muscle’ may boost brain’s resilience to others’ suffering
A new study suggests that compassion meditation training may reduce the distress a person feels when witnessing another’s suffering. It may also improve their ability and likelihood to respond with compassion.