Category Health & Wellness
Curiosities: Is it true that laughing is good for your health?
Indeed, says Robert McGrath, a clinical psychologist specializing in mind/body wellness at University Health Services at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and for many reasons. “Humor… Read More
UW-Madison’s ‘good ideas’ get lift from stimulus funds
The university has drawn more than $38 million in funding for more than 120 research projects and programs from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The work is spread across the range of academic disciplines, including public health, computer science, psychology, economics and engineering. Funding comes from agencies such as NSF, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Department of Energy and the National Endowment for the Arts. 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
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
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
As ticks expand, new areas may become prone to Lyme disease
Last summer, after returning home from a walk in Madison's Dudgeon-Monroe neighborhood, Susan Paskewitz was astonished to find a deer tick crawling up her dog's hind leg. It was the first time Paskewitz, a University of Wisconsin–Madison entomologist, had collected a tick in the city. Within the month, she learned of two other such cases. Read More
HealthDay writer named biomedical writer in residence
HealthDay writer Amanda Gardner has already made the transition many other journalists now face — from writing for the print media to the virtual world. Gardner will be the School of Medicine and Public Health’s biomedical writer in residence the week of March 30. Read More
Predicting the future spread of infectious-disease vectors
As global warming raises concerns about potential spread of infectious diseases, a team of researchers has demonstrated a way to predict the expanding range of human disease vectors in a changing world. Read More