Category Science & Technology
IceCube search for the ‘sterile neutrino’ draws a blank
With the latest results from the icy observatory at the South Pole, scientists are almost certain that there is no such particle.
UW’s Holloway to lead NASA Health and Air Quality Initiative
The fleet of Earth-observing satellites deployed by NASA and other government agencies is providing an unprecedented look at what’s in the air we breathe.
White House puts materials initiative spotlight on UW–Madison research
The UW projects created a material that both conducts and insulates, and a way for undergraduate students to use cutting-edge tools to extract information from vast pools of data.
Tiny high-performance solar cells turn power generation sideways
The miniature solar panels could power myriad personal devices — wearable medical sensors, smartwatches, even autofocusing contact lenses.
Giant forest fires exterminate spotted owls, long-term study finds
A UW–Madison research group has documented an exodus of owls following the fierce, 99,000 acre King Fire in California in 2014.
UW researchers contribute to study of mammoth survival on tiny island
Geography Professor John “Jack” Williams and his graduate student Yue Wang say the information is relevant to small oceanic islands today and the people and animals that live on them.
Plumbing the possibilities of ‘seeing around corners’
Although in its infancy, the technology has generated excitement about potential applications in medical imaging, disaster relief, navigation, robotic surgery and national security.
Cataclysm at Meteor Crater: Crystal sheds light on Earth, moon, Mars
In molten sandstone extracted by prospectors a century ago, an international team of scientists has discovered microscopic crystals telling of unimaginable pressures and temperatures when an asteroid formed Meteor Crater in northern Arizona some 49,000 years ago.
UW2020: WARF Discovery Initiative proposals selected
The 14 research and infrastructure projects have the potential to transform robotics, cancer treatment, data science and more, including efforts to grow new neurons to foil Parkinson’s disease and approaches to expand children’s vocabularies to make them better students.
Happy hormone’s calcium connection may make cows and humans healthier
Serotonin is best known for eliciting feelings of happiness in the human brain, but scientists at the University of Wisconsin–Madison have found the hormone plays a role in milk production in dairy cows — and may have health implications for breastfeeding women.
New UW–Madison center offers ultra-speed protein analysis
Knowing which protein forms are present in what quantities, their subcellular location and their function is critical to understanding health and disease.
UW-Madison spinoff keeps an eye on weather as it returns to Madison
Understory, a company spawned by two University of Wisconsin–Madison graduate students in 2012, has moved back to Madison. It designs and deploys flocks of miniature weather stations that create an unprecedented level of detail on such weather measures as wind, hail and temperature.
Putting the sloth in sloths: Arboreal lifestyle drives slow motion pace
Tree sloths have a unique lifestyle: They make the canopy their home and subsist solely on a diet of leaves. Their slow motion lifestyle, according to a new study from UW–Madison scientists, is the direct result of the animal’s adaption to its arboreal niche.
UW-Madison engineers will shape 5G wireless networks
As demands on wireless networks increase, University of Wisconsin–Madison engineers aim to open new frontiers in cutting-edge wireless communications. Their research is part of a National Science Foundation initiative to develop the next generation of wireless technologies.
Computer-generated database of diffusion values is shared online
University of Wisconsin–Madison engineers recently used powerful computers to quickly and accurately develop the world’s largest computed database of information about an important materials-mixing process called diffusion.
Mara McDonald, ‘quintessential boundary crosser,’ dies at 68
Although the longtime assistant administrator in the Laboratory of Genetics and J.F. Crow Institute for the Study of Evolution retired from the university last year, she continued to touch lives.
UW, Purdue scientists solve structure of cold virus linked to childhood asthma
The findings provide the foundation for future antiviral drug and vaccine development against rhinovirus C.
UW professor helps promote sustainability throughout the state
Tom Eggert and his colleagues at UW–Madison are helping businesses showcase their sustainable practices through the Wisconsin Sustainable Business Council.
Lessons of lager: Yeast origin becomes a complex tale
The findings are important as yeasts are critical to many industries — brewing, fermenting other foods, making drugs like human insulin, and producing new biofuels.
A taste of vision: Device translates from camera to brain, via the tongue
The device, patented almost 20 years ago by a visionary UW doctor, is now on the market after a long campaign by the company he founded.