Category Science & Technology

Mercury pollution threatens health worldwide, scientists say

August 11, 2006

Mercury pollution can threaten the health of people, fish and wildlife everywhere, from industrial sites to remote corners of the planet, but reducing mercury use and emissions would lessen those threats, according to a declaration ratified today (Aug. 11) at an international conference on mercury pollution.

Genetic snooze button governs timing of spring flowers

August 9, 2006

University of Wisconsin–Madison researcher Richard Amasino has revealed studies that have begun to peel back some of the mystery of how plants pace the seasons to bloom at the optimal time of year.

Seltzer named interim director of Wisconsin Institute for Discovery

August 8, 2006

Marsha Mailick Seltzer, director of the University of Wisconsin–Madison's Waisman Center and an internationally recognized scholar of developmental disabilities, has been named interim director of the new Wisconsin Institute for Discovery

MATC, UW collaborate on biodiesel fuel reactor

August 7, 2006

Madison Area Technical College today dedicated its new biodiesel reactor, built in partnership with the University of Wisconsin–Madison, to produce motor fuel blended from waste vegetable oil and methanol.

Gabriela Cezar’s stem cell research targets birth defects and cancer

August 4, 2006

After conducting research at Scotland's Roslin Institute (birthplace of Dolly the cloned sheep) and creating in-vitro models of obesity and Parkinson's Disease for the pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, Gabriela Cezar has returned to the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Urban Horticultural Field Day planned for Aug. 19

August 4, 2006

A bit of food prehistory will come back to life at this year's Urban Horticultural Field Day. As part of the Renew America Food Traditions program, visitors will be able to view vegetables grown from seeds discovered in prehistoric Anasazi ruins located in the nation's Southwest region.

ResearchChannel programs available to Charter Digital Cable subscribers

August 2, 2006

Subscribers to Charter Digital Cable now have access to University of Wisconsin–Madison programming on ResearchChannel as video on demand.

UW studies challenge national asthma guidelines

August 2, 2006

Antibiotics should not be used routinely when asthma patients have attacks, according to national asthma-treatment guidelines. But two new studies—one in adults and one in children—at University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health will test these current recommendations by analyzing whether using antibiotics for patients with uncontrolled asthma symptoms improves their condition.

Undergraduates delve into big science across campus

August 1, 2006

The University of Wisconsin–Madison has become a summertime magnet for undergraduate students looking to gain hands-on research experience.

Study shows hope for ridding lakes of clawed invader

July 31, 2006

A University of Wisconsin–Madison study shows that the rusty crayfish, long seen as a bully in Wisconsin lakes, may be vulnerable to a "double whammy" of intensive trapping and predator fish manipulation to the point where it may be possible to rid lakes of the animal that has vexed scientists, anglers and conservation agencies alike for decades.

New MRI technique quickly builds 3-D images of knees

July 25, 2006

A faster magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data-acquisition technique, developed at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, will cut the time many patients spend in a cramped magnetic resonance scanner, yet deliver more precise 3-D images of their bodies.

National roster of science illustrators to meet at UW–Madison

July 25, 2006

The Guild of Natural Science Illustrators Conference, hosted in 2006 by the University of Wisconsin–Madison, will be held Sunday, July 30-Saturday, Aug. 5.

Research dishes out flexible computer chips

July 18, 2006

New thin-film semiconductor techniques invented by University of Wisconsin–Madison engineers promise to add sensing, computing and imaging capability to an amazing array of materials.

Soil scientists in the spotlight at World Congress of Soil Science

July 10, 2006

Soil scientists from the University of Wisconsin–Madison will have international attention this week at the 18th World Congress of Soil Science on July 9-15 in Philadelphia.

Study of urban roadside dirt reveals potentially toxic mix of metals

June 29, 2006

Scientists at the University of Wisconsin–Madison learned that there's more to that cloud of roadway dirt than meets the eye: What looks like ordinary dirt actually is a potentially toxic mixture of non-tailpipe vehicle emissions, including microscopic metal particles from brake and tire wear.

New process makes diesel fuel, industrial chemicals from simple sugar

June 29, 2006

A University of Wisconsin–Madison chemical and biological engineering professor reports in the June 30 issue of the journal Science on a better way to make a chemical intermediate called HMF from fructose: fruit sugar. Chemical intermediates are compounds that are the raw material for many modern plastics, drugs and fuels.

Underwater treadmill benefits patients at Vet School

June 27, 2006

Reupert, a beagle who could not walk immediately following surgery for a herniated spinal disk, was the first patient to benefit from the University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Veterinary Medicine's new underwater treadmill therapy.

Study reveals how attention deficit drugs work

June 26, 2006

Although millions depend on medications such as Ritalin to quell symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), scientists have struggled to pinpoint how the drugs work in the brain.

Researchers study why waste in bioreactor landfills degrades in haste

June 23, 2006

Part of Craig Benson's laboratory looks - and smells - like a landfill. It's not that the University of Wisconsin–Madison professor of civil and environmental engineering is excessively messy. Rather, he's studying bioreactor landfills, a relatively recent technology in solid-waste management that may help landfill owners make better use of their land-and of the waste itself.

UW researchers reveal insights on silicon semiconductors

June 23, 2006

"Smaller. Faster. Wildly complex." This could easily be the motto for semiconductors-the materials that, among lots of other advances in electronics, allow cell phones to continuously shrink in size while increasing the number of their mind-boggling functions.