Category Science & Technology
Physical Sciences Laboratory part of $1.6 million grant to plan for neutrino detector
The grant will expand the PSL’s technology for constructing specialized panels capable of detecting and studying neutrinos, ghostly subatomic particles.
Exploring the matrix to uncover hidden drivers of ovarian cancer
To clump together and form living tissue, cells secrete molecules that create structure. But that structure isn’t always healthy, and understanding how it goes bad could reveal more about the way cancer develops.
An ocean apart, carnivorous pitcher plants create similar communities
Asian pitchers transplanted to Massachusetts bogs can mimic the living communities of natives so well that the pitcher plant mosquito — a specialized insect that evolved to complete its life cycle exclusively in North American pitchers — lays eggs in the impostors, new research shows.
$100 million Foxconn gift launches major new partnership with UW–Madison
The agreements formalize the UW’s commitment to research efforts at FIRST and Foxconn’s commitment to research, recruiting, creating opportunities for internships and hands-on work in campus labs.
Martens recolonized Isle Royale in the ’90s, showing island’s dynamism
The results of a new study provide much-needed context about the natural history of an island long considered an unspoiled wilderness, but one with a long history of ecological disruptions and recoveries.
Kids connect with robot reading partners
Researchers have built a robot to serve as a reading buddy to middle school kids. Its new friends grew more excited about books and more attached to the robot over two weeks of reading together.
Greenhouses contend with the climate to keep plants growing
The university's greenhouses, which include plants from all over the world, provide study material for botany and horticulture courses and the precisely controlled climates required for research experiments.
Manipulating how yeast cells work could lead to new medical treatments
Megan McClean, an assistant professor of biomedical engineering, studies cellular signaling pathways, the biological networks that transform external signals into internal decisions such as whether to grow or die.
Exact Sciences groundbreaking at University Research Park paves path to 21st century research landscape
Today’s groundbreaking of a 130,000 square-foot, five-story headquarters for Exact Sciences at University Research Park reflects the acknowledgement that high-technology workers show an increasing interest in denser, more urban surroundings.
Competition attracts future grants, jump starts research and student careers
Recipients of Fall Research Competition awards are thankful for the funding to help them acquire the resources they need, but perhaps most important, they say, is the student support they are able to provide.
Want to fight cyberthreats? Start with clean code
Barton Miller has a surprise for his University of Wisconsin–Madison class of 250 software programming undergraduates this fall: No code assignment is complete until it’s declared weakness-free by a suite of software analysis tools.
Is fire the new normal in the American West?
In a video, Professor Monica Turner and her research team and colleagues explore how the patterns of fire and recovery are changing, particularly as the climate warms and drought becomes more common.
Researchers discover how to protect yeast from damage in biofuel production
The researchers found a strain of yeast with outstanding tolerance to ionic liquids, and identified a gene that makes a protein that works as a pump to remove toxins.
Corn that acquires its own nitrogen identified, reducing need for fertilizer
The corn secretes copious globs of mucus-like gel harboring bacteria that convert atmospheric nitrogen into a usable form, answering a longtime quest of scientists.
Combining on and off switches, one protein can control flowering in plants
With Wisconsin's short growing seasons, reducing a plant’s life cycle and completing the season earlier "could be very important for many crops.”
Elementary and middle-school-aged girls show off their AI skills
A summer-term course for 4th- to 6th-grade girls taught them the basics of programming and AI, and even more importantly, taught them they belong in the STEM world.
Nanoparticles improve tumor treatment in mice
In mouse models of human lung cancer, the improved drug inhibited tumor growth more effectively than the standard drug. “Ultimately, our goal is to get this into human beings,” says pharmacy professor Glen Kwon.
Strong showing from Badgerloop at SpaceX Hyperloop Pod Competition
The UW–Madison Badgerloop team was among the top teams at the 2018 SpaceX Hyperloop Pod Competition, reaching the final four.
National Atmospheric Deposition Program moves to hygiene lab
The NADP monitors North America’s precipitation and atmosphere for a range of chemicals, and uses the data to determine trends in where pollution is concentrated and over what period of time.
Meditation affects brain networks differently in long-term meditators and novices
UW-Madison researchers examined brain activity in non-meditators, new meditators, and long-term meditators, and they discovered differences in emotion networks of the brain among these groups.