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Category Science & Technology

Microbes hitched to insects provide a rich source of new antibiotics

February 1, 2019

A UW–Madison research team found that insect-borne microbes often outperformed soil bacteria in stopping some of the most common and dangerous antibiotic-resistant pathogens.

Hardy scientists launch weather balloon in bitter cold

January 31, 2019

Professor of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences Grant Petty and a group of students launch a helium-filled weather balloon from frozen  Lake Mendota at sunrise on Jan. 31.

As the climate warms, tens of thousands of lakes may spend winters ice free

January 28, 2019

A new study from an international team of researchers, including at UW–Madison, shows that many northern latitude lakes are at risk of experiencing some ice-free winters in the coming decades.

Undergrads design ventilator device; form company to aid newborns during surgery

January 25, 2019

Undergraduates in biomedical engineering created an improved "wye" that connects airway tubes for infants during surgery. They've applied for a provisional patent.

As climate heats up, rising rainfall averages hide crop-killing droughts

January 23, 2019

Research performed in the Ethiopian highlands shows that even in years with above average rainfall, crops can be severely reduced by drought early in the growing season, when seeds must sprout and get established.

Gamma ray telescope ready for prime time

January 18, 2019

A new telescope, part of an international effort to develop and build the world’s largest, most sensitive gamma-ray detector, was unveiled to the public Thursday. UW–Madison scientists developed a camera at the heart of the telescope.

Human respiratory viruses continue to spread in wild chimpanzees

January 18, 2019

Less than two years after the first report of wild chimpanzees in Uganda dying as a result of a human “common cold” virus, a new study has identified two other respiratory viruses of human origin in chimpanzee groups in the same forest.

New method assesses lead hazard in soil

January 18, 2019

UW-Madison researchers describe a way to use a common, low-cost soil test to determine how much of the lead is bioaccessible, and therefore dangerous.

A new kind of mosquito repellent that comes from bacteria

January 17, 2019

University of Wisconsin–Madison researchers describe the first mosquito-repelling compounds to be derived from bacteria, and they appear to work at lower doses than repellents currently on the market.

Stem cells: How we got here, where we’re going

January 17, 2019

This is the first in a series of four videos about stem cell research at UW–Madison: how it started, what it's achieved, and where it's headed. Catch up on what's happened since James Thomson's prescient prediction that stem cells "will change medicine, period." 

Unraveling threads of bizarre hagfish’s explosive slime

January 15, 2019

Jean-Luc Thiffeault, a University of Wisconsin–Madison math professor, and collaborators Randy Ewoldt and Gaurav Chaudhary of the University of Illinois have modeled the hagfish’s gag-inducing defense mechanism mathematically.

Study: “Post-normal” science requires unorthodox communication strategies

January 14, 2019

Proposals to fight malaria by “driving” genes that slow its spread through mosquitoes is a high-risk, high-reward technology that presents a challenge to science journalists, according to a new report.

Gene-editing tool now being used to develop better antibiotics

January 11, 2019

Jason Peters and colleagues have repurposed the gene-editing tool CRISPR to study which genes are targeted by particular antibiotics, providing clues on how to improve existing antibiotics or develop new ones.