Category Science & Technology
Lake Michigan waterfowl botulism deaths linked to warm waters, algae
UW-Madison researchers, with the help of citizen scientists, tracked bird deaths along Lake Michigan, and found that warm waters and algae apparently promoted the growth of botulism toxin-producing bacteria that caused them.
UW–Madison professor led fight to ban pesticide DDT 45 years ago
Joseph Hickey took a brave stance — given Wisconsin’s deep roots in agriculture — by showing a connection between pesticides and declining bird populations.
UW search team recovers remains of airman missing since WWII
It has been more than 70 years since 1st Lt. Frank Fazekas’ P-47 Thunderbolt crashed in northern France, just over a week before the D-Day invasion in 1944.
New hope for stopping an understudied heart disease in its tracks
Thanks, in part, to pigs at the Arlington Agricultural Research Station, scientists now are catching up on understanding the roots of calcific aortic valve disease.
Breaking up (protein complexes) is hard to do, but new UW study shows how
A new study identified the structural basis for how tightly bound protein complexes are broken apart to become inactivated.
Cracking the code of coenzyme Q biosynthesis
A research group is chipping away at many of these knowledge gaps in CoQ production and in understanding the role of CoQ deficiency in human diseases.
To help kids battling a rare disease, scientists forge a genetic link between people and pigs
Scientists and physicians needed a better model to understand neurofibromatosis in order to help affected children. A groundbreaking research partnership at UW–Madison is showing the way.
Progress made toward treatment for rare, fatal neurological disease
Promising results in the lab and in animal models could set the stage for developing a treatment for Alexander disease, a rare and usually fatal neurological disease with no known cure.
Oldest fossils ever found show life on Earth began before 3.5 billion years ago
Critics argued they were just odd minerals that only looked like biological specimens. However, geoscientist John Valley says the new findings put these doubts to rest. “I think it’s settled,” he says.
Zero gravity plant growth experiments delivered to space station
Plants were delivered to the International Space Station as part of a UW–Madison study of how plants respond to low-oxygen environments created by changes in how water and air behave in zero gravity.
Monkeys infected by mosquito bites further Zika virus research
Monkeys who catch Zika virus through bites from infected mosquitoes develop infections that look like human Zika cases, and may help researchers understand the many ways Zika can be transmitted.
Monkey study shows a path to monitoring endangered species
“We think this may be one of the most comprehensive efforts to analyze the data monitoring needs for ensuring the survival of an endangered animal,” says Karen Strier, who has observed muriquis in Brazil for 35 years.
Projects on display as engineering prototyping class wets feet, whets appetites
In an introductory engineering design class, students design and build unique items to solve pressing needs.
First measurement of the cosmic-ray spectrum with HAWC
It bridges measurements at higher energy usually performed by ground based detectors and measurements at lower energy that previously had been conducted by detectors on satellites and balloons.
UW-Madison cloud computing research moves into new phase
UW-Madison is part of a team of campuses receiving nearly $10 million, collectively, from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to further develop cloud computing infrastructure and enable high-level research by scientists around the country.
UW’s influential sleep researchers get ideas during walks in woods
UW-Madison's Chiara Cirelli and Giulio Tononi are at the forefront of the world's sleep research, and many of their ideas emanate from walks at their woodsy Dane County home.
Decades-past logging still threatens spotted owls in national forests
Researchers say despite protections put in place in the 1990s, owls may still be paying an “extinction debt” that was created by historical logging of large trees.
Gambling against the odds on life’s risks more common after childhood stress
Trouble reading the signs that a loss or punishment is looming can lead to situations that risk avoidable problems.
Virtual reality users must learn to use what they see
The study found that when most people put on a virtual reality headset, they still treat what they see like it’s happening on any run-of-the-mill TV screen.
Increased vegetation boosts rainfall in the Sahel, researchers find
The large semiarid region of Africa just south of the Sahara routinely experiences pronounced droughts that can last decades, threatening food security in the area.