Category Science & Technology
UW-Madison scientists receive $20 million award for protein study
Researchers at the Center for Eukaryotic Structural Genomics, based at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, have received a $20 million award to fund Phase II of the Protein Structure Initiative over the next five years.
Scientists streamline method for making key virus
By devising a novel way to package the genome of a common human tumor virus - the virus that causes common warts, genital warts and that is implicated in prevalent cancers - scientists have paved the way for making the pathogen far more accessible to biomedical science.
Making a better cheddar
Whether it's a stretchy mozzarella or an easy-to-slice Swiss, cheesemakers aim to provide consumers with high quality, consistent products. To this end, they often try to improve texture and flavor by controlling for factors like acidity and the breakdown of milk proteins by enzymes. However, the key to better Cheddar may lie in undissolved calcium salts, according to a report by UW–Madison cheese scientists published recently in the International Dairy Journal.
Shared computing grid cuts data mountains down to size
Although University of Wisconsin–Madison professors Wesley Smith and David Schwartz operate in completely different scientific spheres - one seeking to explore the fundamental properties of matter and the other trying to wrest free the secrets of the human genome - both have the same dilemma: They are awash in a sea of data.
Distributing computing resources: The social challenge
By bringing together a diverse group of scientific interests to share a large, distributed computing resource, the Grid Laboratory of Wisconsin (GLOW) itself has become an important subject of research.
Can I get a copy of that molecule? Biology goes 3-D with new technology
In an era of quantum dots and genome maps, science education faces an interesting challenge: How can students come to grips with the complexity of the infinitesimally small? The answer: Fire up the copy machine.
Researchers devise nano-scale method for investigating living systems
By observing how tiny specks of crystal move through the layers of a biological membrane, a team of electrical and computer engineers and biologists has devised a new method for investigating living systems on the molecular level.
Wisconsin researchers identify sleep gene
Zeroing in on the core cellular mechanisms of sleep, researchers at University of Wisconsin Medical School have identified for the first time a single gene mutation that has a powerful effect on the amount of time fruit flies sleep.
Plant pathway may treat human disease
A newly discovered pathway by which cells protect themselves from a toxic byproduct of photosynthesis may hold important implications for bioenergy sources, human and plant disease, and agricultural yields, a team of UW–Madison bacteriologists announced Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Citizen panel to release report April 28 on nanotechnology
University of Wisconsin officials will join state legislators in the Assembly Parlor of the State Capitol building on Thursday, April 28, at 11:30 a.m. to accept a report on the promise and perils of nanotechnology produced by a panel of Madison-area citizens.
Bioethicists to ponder biotechnology and the brain
Researchers at UW–Madison will be featured among several experts gathering at the Fourth Annual International Bioethics Forum on Thursday and Friday, April 21 and 22, to discuss a range of ethical issues.
Study finds two brain systems regulate how people call for help
The willingness to call out in distress to get help from others appears to be regulated by two brain systems with very different responsibilities, according to a study by researchers at UW–Madison.