Category Science & Technology
New model reveals possibility of pumping antibiotics into bacteria
UW-Madison researchers have discovered that a cellular pump known to move drugs like antibiotics out of E. coli bacteria has the potential to bring them in as well, opening new lines of research into combating the bacteria.
Dan Ludois, inventor of new electrostatic motor, named Moore Inventor Fellow
UW-Madison Professor Dan Ludois is a Moore Inventor Fellow and one step closer to bringing a potentially transformative invention into the world.
Catching the Bug
The Big Ten Network program Forward Motion goes behind the bark with entomology Professor Chris Williamson to find out what you can do about the emerald ash borer, an invasive insect is threatening 700 million trees in Wisconsin. Are yours among them?
Cool idea: Magma held in ‘cold storage’ before giant volcano eruption
It’s not just morbid curiosity that attracts geoscientists to places like Long Valley, California. It’s a desire to understand where and when super-eruptions are likely to occur again.
3-D imaging of collagen may become vital tool for precision cancer treatment
Researcher Paul Campagnola has taken a crucial step toward creating 3-D images of collagen — the most abundant protein in humans, found in all of our bones, tendons and connective tissues — on a molecular scale.
Scientists explore national security implications of gene editing
Experts from the United States and across Europe, China and India, including UW and Morgridge Institute researchers, shared ideas for harmonizing genome editing policies across borders.
All hands on deck to understand, predict, prevent abrupt ecological change
“It’s a generally thorny problem and we are often scrambling to react,” says lead principal investigator Monica Turner. “In fact, understanding abrupt change in ecological systems is among the biggest challenges in contemporary ecology.”
Communication and policy the focus of two science festival events
Two mini-symposia held during the Wisconsin Science Festival will teach early career scientists and nonscientists alike the value of sharing research broadly and how science interacts with and influences governmental policies.
A little myelin goes a long way to restore nervous system function
New research shows that in long-lived animals, renewed but thin myelin sheaths are enough to restore impaired nervous systems and can do so for years after the onset of disease.
New course brings storytelling techniques to science
A new course teaches early-career scientists how to communicate their work outside of the lab, and is designed to turn real research into engaging stories, visuals and presentations.
Wisconsin Sea Grant research explores walleye for aquaculture
A two-year research project funded by UW–Madison-based Wisconsin Sea Grant compares the production of walleye, a native Wisconsin fish, and saugeye, a natural hybrid of walleye and sauger, in an aquaculture system.
Learning computer ‘assistant’ can simplify complex chip design challenges
Researcher Zongfu Yu is using the power of machine learning to make the design process more efficient — and in the process, more accurate and cost-effective.
H7N9 influenza is both lethal and transmissible in animal model for flu
“This is the first case of a highly pathogenic avian virus that transmits between ferrets and kills them,” says prominent UW–Madison influenza researcher Yoshihiro Kawaoka. “That’s not good for public health.”
Making sense of bridges loaded with sensors
Vibration data collected from sensors attached to the pedestrian bridge over North Park Street will be analyzed, in hopes of improving monitoring methods for bridges and buildings.
WARF announces annual grant figures and Innovation Award winners
The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation has invested $61.9 million in UW–Madison research for the 2017-18 academic year, and provided $19 million in grants to the Morgridge Institute for Research.
UW-Madison launches data science initiative
“The pace of change in the data science field is extremely rapid, and we think the data science initiative is one very good way to keep UW–Madison research on pace with those changes,” says Associate Vice Chancellor Steve Ackerman.
Fish respond to predator attack by doubling growth rate
“In water, the surviving perch grow twice as fast, because they are smelling something that signals the presence of predators,” says researcher Terence Barry.
New technique could slash energy use in making silicon
A chemistry professor has come up with a more sustainable way to make silicon at much lower temperatures for the kind of advanced batteries used in electronics such as phones, cameras and laptop computers.
UW researchers discover an evolutionary stepping stone to beet-red beets
The new findings can aid beet breeding programs and provide tools and information for scientists studying how to turn tyrosine into its many useful derivatives, which include morphine and vitamin E.
Renowned biochemical engineer Edwin N. Lightfoot passes away
Edwin Lightfoot, Hilldale Professor Emeritus of Chemical Engineering, passed away Monday, Oct. 2, 2017, at age 92.