Category Science & Technology

Great (taste) expectations: study shows brain can manipulate taste

February 21, 2006

A team of UW–Madison scientists tested the ability of the human brain to mitigate foul taste through a ruse of anticipation. The work, conducted at the UW–Madison Waisman Center using high-tech brain imaging techniques and distasteful concoctions of quinine on a cohort of college students, reveals in detail how the brain responds to a manipulation intended to mitigate an unpleasant experience.

Wisconsin scientists find a way to make human collagen in the lab

February 13, 2006

A team of scientists at UW–Madison reports the discovery of a method for making human collagen in the lab, opening the door to broader medical applications.

Study explains unexpected conductivity of nanoscale silicon

February 8, 2006

When graduate student Pengpeng Zhang successfully imaged a piece of silicon just 10 nanometers-or a millionth of a centimeter-in thickness, she and her UW–Madison co-researchers were puzzled. According to established thinking, the feat should be impossible because her microscopy method required samples that conduct electricity.

Darwin’s Day: Making the case for evolution

February 2, 2006

Just in time for Charles Darwin's 197th birthday, an eminent group of UW–Madison faculty have joined forces to make the case on Feb. 11 for the iconographic scientist and what they consider to be biology's prevailing central idea: Evolution.

From 2D blueprint, material assembles into novel 3D nanostructures

January 27, 2006

An international team of scientists affiliated with the UW–Madison Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center has coaxed a self-assembling material into forming never-before-seen, three-dimensional nanoscale structures, with potential applications ranging from catalysis and chemical separation to semiconductor manufacturing.

Canine cancer vaccine shows early promise

January 26, 2006

It wasn't publicized, other than by word of mouth, and still the UW–Madison School of Veterinary Medicine was overwhelmed with requests. Since 1998, the school's oncology department has been producing an anti-cancer vaccine for dogs diagnosed with melanoma.

UW scientists unravel mystery of how flu viruses replicate

January 25, 2006

With the help of a long-studied flu virus, an electron microscope and a novel idea of how the virus aligns segments of RNA as it prepares to make virions, the particles a virus creates and sends forth to infect cells, one major puzzle of flu virus replication has been resolved.

Mining for gems in the fungal genome

January 23, 2006

Ever since penicillin, a byproduct of a fungal mold, was discovered in 1929, scientists have scrutinized fungi for other breakthrough drugs. As reported Jan. 20 in the Journal of Chemistry and Biology, a team led by a UW–Madison researcher has developed a new method that may speed the ongoing quest for medically useful compounds in fungi.

Scientists link a gene to degenerative blindness

January 18, 2006

A team of researchers at UW–Madison has taken a small but crucial step forward in the ongoing fight against retinal degeneration diseases.

New Wisconsin Idea grants venture into diverse territory

January 12, 2006

With topics ranging from nanotechnology to secondhand smoke and target audiences from at-risk children to cancer caregivers, a new round of "Wisconsin Idea" grants at the UW–Madison offer a fresh approach to serving state citizens.

Study reveals classic symbiotic relationship between ants, bacteria

January 5, 2006

Ants that tend and harvest gardens of fungus have a secret weapon against the parasites that invade their crops: antibiotic-producing bacteria that the insects harbor on their bodies,UW-Madison researchers report in today's issue of Science.

Wisconsin scientists grow two new stem cell lines in animal cell-free culture

January 1, 2006

Scientists working at the WiCell Research Institute, a private laboratory affiliated with UW–Madison, have developed a precisely defined stem cell culture system free of animal cells and used it to derived two new human embryonic stem cell lines.

Advance points way to noninvasive brain cancer treatment

January 1, 2006

With an equal rate of incidence and mortality-the number of those who get the disease and those who die from it-Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM) is a brain cancer death sentence. Scientists at UW–Madison are working on a new radiotherapy technique for fighting GBM with the element gadolinium — an approach that might lead to less invasive treatments that offer greater quality of life for patients.

Illuminating Alzheimer’s: Research sheds light on creatine’s presence in brain

December 21, 2005

A team of Canadian and American scientists working at the UW–Madison Synchrotron Radiation Center reports the first-ever finding of elevated levels of creatine — the newly discovered agent of Alzheimer's disease - in brain tissue.

Transplanted stem cells show promise for mending broken hearts

December 20, 2005

Working with heart attack-stricken mice, a team of UW–Madison scientists has shown that embryonic stem cells may one day live up to their clinical promise.

Engineered stem cells show promise for sneaking drugs into the brain

December 15, 2005

One of the great challenges for treating Parkinson's diseases and other neurodegenerative disorders is getting medicine to the right place in the brain. UW–Madison neuroscientist Clive Svendsen and his colleagues show how engineered human brain cells, transplanted into the brains of rats and monkeys, can integrate into the brain and deliver medicine where it is needed.

New technologies target food-borne illnesses

December 13, 2005

On its journey to your dinner plate, food is vulnerable to contamination along the way. In 2000, UW–Madison made a commitment to help tackle this complex problem by hiring an interdisciplinary group of researchers with expertise in food safety.

Study suggests treatment for fatal nervous system disorder

December 12, 2005

Working with mice, University of Wisconsin–Madison researchers have developed the basis for a therapeutic strategy that could provide hope for children afflicted with Krabbe's disease, a fatal nervous system disorder.

Dancing bacteria? Engineers explore microbial choreography

December 7, 2005

Birds fly together in flocks. Fish swim together in schools. Everyone has seen the beautiful, seemingly choreographed motions these collections of organisms can exhibit. But surely bacteria, which have no eyes or brain, cannot behave in such a coordinated way. In fact, they do, and researchers are beginning to learn how.

UW-Madison course enhances nonprofits

December 7, 2005

As exam time rolls around, UW–Madison students in the e-Projects in Community Service (ePICS) course won't be studying textbooks or writing take-home finals. They'll be presenting their semester's work to real-world clients, twelve nonprofit organizations for whom students have designed Web sites, built Web-based information systems, created logos, developed marketing materials and produced videos.