Category Science & Technology
Statewide contest challenges Wisconsin students to grow crystals
The 3rd annual Wisconsin Crystal Growing Contest is now enrolling middle school, high school and home schooled students for the contest that starts March 1.
New method for bio-designing yeast could improve biofuel production
Both the yeast strain and the method of its design could help overcome a significant bottleneck in the biofuels pipeline.
Specimens from George Washington Carver discovered at UW–Madison
At least 25 specimens of fungi that infect plants, collected more than a century ago, were found in the Wisconsin State Herbarium.
Wisconsin researchers transform common cell to master heart cell
If replicated in human cells, the feat could one day fuel drug discovery, powerful new models for heart disease and the raw material for treating diseased hearts.
UW–Madison engineers create custom tuning knobs to turn off any gene
An advance by UW–Madison engineers allows scientists to fine-tune biological functions in their bacterial 'employees.'
Grassland biofuels could benefit people and birds in Wisconsin and beyond
Converting marginal farmlands could also have other natural benefits, from creating habitat for pollinators to keeping nutrients in the soil and out of waterways.
Professor, alumni named to National Academy of Engineering
A University of Wisconsin–Madison chemical and biological engineering professor, a chemical engineering alumnus and an engineering mechanics alumnus have been elected to the National Academy of Engineering.
Power walk: Footsteps could charge mobile electronics
When you’re on the go and your smartphone battery is low, in the not-so-distant future you could charge it simply by plugging it into your shoe.
Long-term picture offers little solace on climate change
A new study finds that the catastrophic impact of another three centuries of carbon pollution will persist millennia after the carbon dioxide releases cease.
Small-scale protein production a big business for UW spinoff
Unlike many young biotech spinoffs, Fritz Schomburg's company — Lytic — earns its income not from federal research grants, but from shipping product.
Lithium battery component found to harm key soil microorganism
The growing use of nanoscale materials in the rechargeable batteries that power portable electronics and electric vehicles may have untold environmental consequences.
Virtual reality makes its best users the most queasy
In a twist of virtual fate, people with the best 3-D vision are also the people most likely to suffer from motion sickness while using virtual reality displays.
Lewis Thomas Prize to be awarded to Wisconsin’s Sean Carroll
Carroll was instrumental in building the field of evolutionary developmental biology, known colloquially as evo devo.
Nanosheet growth technique could revolutionize nanomaterial production
Tiny sheets of the semiconductor zinc oxide could have huge implications for the future of a host of electronic and biomedical devices.
Partnering with NASA to grow plants in space
For many people, outer space and agriculture do not go together. But Simon Gilroy, professor of botany at UW–Madison, is working to learn how to effectively grow plants, and eventually gardens, in space. A sustainable, self-contained food source will allow astronauts to travel farther.
Lab keeps cancer treatment radiation machines honest
As radiation sources used to attack cancer grow in number and complexity, a UW–Madison center offers the last word on accurate radiation doses.
WARF’s Gulbrandsen to receive lifetime award
His tenure has seen WARF increase grant support for UW–Madison, expand its entrepreneurial mission, and chart scientific milestones from embryonic stem cells to life-saving vaccine research.
UW scientists contribute to state’s Pollinator Protection Plan effort
Wisconsin’s honey bees help support an $88 billion agricultural enterprise and play an important role in ecosystems throughout the state. But our bees face challenges.
Study illuminates war between the sexes: fruit fly edition
New research from the Laboratory of Genetics pinpoints the effect on reproduction of a female's ability to masquerade as a male.
WARF taps Fujifilm chief, local executives for Entrepreneurons series
WARF, in conjunction with BioForward, is hosting a special two-part series exploring why Wisconsin is the right environment for tech businesses.