Category Science & Technology

Noted chemistry educator delivers Christmas ‘Science is Fun’ lectures

November 8, 2012

Chemistry Professor Bassam Shakhashiri will give his 43rd Christmas "Science is Fun" presentation Dec. 1 and 2 on the UW–Madison campus.

With new high-tech materials, UW–Madison researchers aim to catalyze U.S. manufacturing future

November 6, 2012

Drawing on methods similar to those used to sequence the human genome, a multi-university team of researchers aims to discover and create revolutionary advanced materials that could help solve grand challenges in such areas as energy, national security and human health.

In static friction, chemistry is key to stronger bonds

November 6, 2012

Inspired by phenomena common to both earthquakes and atomic force microscopy, University of Wisconsin–Madison materials engineers have learned that chemical reactions between two silicon dioxide surfaces cause the bonds at that interface to "age," or strengthen gradually over time.

Stirred, not shaken, lake mixing experiment shows promise

November 5, 2012

The question is simple: can a lake be cleansed of a pernicious invader by simply raising the water temperature?

Cheap, simple bacteria test could spare newborns deadly infections

November 1, 2012

For babies, the trip from the womb to the outside world is a transition from a blank, sterile slate to host for what will eventually be trillions of microscopic organisms.

Science writer David Dobbs to visit UW–Madison

November 1, 2012

Author and science journalist David Dobbs will be visiting the UW–Madison campus the week of Nov. 4 as the 2012 Fall Science Writer in Residence.

Father of the birth-control pill talks science, art and the life of the intellectual

October 31, 2012

As he received a Distinguished Alumni Award from the Wisconsin Alumni Association in Madison last week, Carl Djerassi took time to talk about his many passions.

UW scientists track Sandy’s fury

October 30, 2012

Hurricane Sandy has earned it reputation as a perfect storm, even among meteorologists. But while Louis Uccellini, environmental prediction chief for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said, “This is the worst-case scenario,” the storm researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison weren’t so sure.

“Carbon playground” converts atoms into fun

October 30, 2012

A new playground that opened Oct. 25 at the Discovery Center Museum in Rockford, Ill. is the first in the world built around unique structures formed by the element carbon.

Graduate student’s curiosity garners video contest slot

October 25, 2012

“Curiosity is infectious,” says Jamin Dreyer in a short online video. “My eyes see things differently after doing field research in beautiful Iceland.”

Community forum to focus on fracking and sand mining

October 24, 2012

Fracking, the controversial technology for opening natural gas deposits, will be the focus of a three-part Community Environmental Forum series beginning on Tuesday, Oct. 30, at 5:30 p.m. in room 1106 of the Mechanical Engineering Building.

Scientists begin effort to stir up a cosmic dynamo in the lab

October 24, 2012

For scientists trying to understand the subtleties of cosmic dynamos - the magnetic field-inducing phenomena at the hearts of planets, stars and galaxies - the physics, for the most part, must be done at vast distances.

New biorenewables technology moves closer to marketplace

October 23, 2012

A licensing agreement for a novel renewable chemical and biofuel production method between Hyrax Energy and the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation promises to accelerate commercial development of the technology and lead to high-quality U.S. jobs.

Keck observations bring weather of Uranus into sharp focus

October 17, 2012

In 1986, when Voyager swept past Uranus, the probe's portraits of the planet were "notoriously bland," disappointing scientists, yielding few new details of the planet and its atmosphere, and giving it a reputation as a bore of the solar system.

Study looks at why students leave STEM majors

October 16, 2012

The good news: Jobs in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) continue to grow and offer better pay than non-STEM jobs.

Nobel Prize winner to deliver 2012 Rennebohm Lectures

October 16, 2012

Mario Capecchi, winner of the 2007 Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine, will deliver the 2012 Rennebohm Lectures at UW–Madison on Monday and Tuesday, Oct. 22 and 23.

Center gets small to study nanoparticles in environment

October 15, 2012

Our understanding of the creation and use of nanomaterials is growing, but so much about our long-term relationship with their tiny component particles remains little understood.

UW-led project will help growers and processors show sustainable production

October 12, 2012

UW-Madison researchers are leading a new $2.1 million, USDA-funded project designed to help vegetable producers and processors get rewarded in the marketplace for producing their products in a sustainable manner.

Tailored breast cancer screening model developed

October 11, 2012

How early and how often should women have mammograms? In theory, it's, "Annually, beginning at age 40." As of late, however, that answer has been up for debate - in part because of the risk of false positives, unnecessary biopsies, and the fear and anxiety that go along with such a diagnosis - and the answer has shifted to a more ambiguous, "It depends."

Unusual genetic structure confers major disease resistance trait in soybean

October 11, 2012

Scientists have identified three neighboring genes that make soybeans resistant to the most damaging disease of soybean. The genes exist side-by-side on a stretch of chromosome, but only give resistance when that stretch is duplicated several times in the plant.