Category Science & Technology
Media Advisory: Coverage opportunities at Wisconsin Science Festival
This tip sheet highlights key events of the 2014 Wisconsin Science Festival, held Oct. 16-19, and opportunities for coverage. All events below will be in the Discovery Building at 330 N. Orchard St.
Highlights start early in four-day Wisconsin Science Festival
You name it, and the fourth annual Wisconsin Science Festival has it all — dance, star-gazing, fossils, art, museum and stage shows — spread over four days and venues in 25 Wisconsin cities. While the curious of all ages are immersed in hands-on exploration, and visitors marvel at the research underway and specimens on display around campus and the state, several of the festival’s marquee events may be of interest to faculty and staff on campus. The festival runs from Thursday through Sunday, Oct. 16-19.
Balancing birds and biofuels: Grasslands support more species than cornfields
In Wisconsin, bioenergy is for the birds. Really. In a study published today in the journal PLOS ONE, University of Wisconsin–Madison and Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) scientists examined whether corn and perennial grassland fields in southern Wisconsin could provide both biomass for bioenergy production and bountiful bird habitat. The research team found that where there are grasslands, there are birds. Grass-and-wildflower-dominated fields supported more than three times as many bird species as cornfields, including 10 imperiled species found only in the grasslands.
Company developing radio frequency technology to localize breast tumors
Breast cancer may inspire more public discussion, advocacy and charitable giving than almost any other disease besides HIV and AIDS. But people rarely talk about the specific experiences to which cancer patients are subjected.
New nonprofit supports women in science
Tracey Holloway was a postdoctoral researcher at Columbia University in 2002, Ph.D. from Princeton University freshly in hand, when she and five colleagues teamed up to create an informal support network for other women in their field.
Influenza researcher Yoshihiro Kawaoka wins Breakthrough Award
The University of Wisconsin–Madison's Yoshihiro Kawaoka has been recognized as a 2014 Popular Mechanics Breakthrough Award recipient for his efforts to understand and prevent pandemic influenza.
With NIH New Innovator Award, engineer to study how ovarian cancer spreads
With approximately 22,000 diagnoses annually in the United States, ovarian cancer isn't among the most commonly occurring cancers. Yet, the mortality rate for women who have ovarian cancer hovers above 60 percent.
Two UW student teams named finalists in national inventors competition
Two University of Wisconsin–Madison undergraduate teams are among only seven finalists for the 2014 National Collegiate Inventors Competition, which honors the latest in student creativity and innovation.
CIMSS Tropical Cyclones Group to receive AMS Special Award
The Tropical Cyclones Group at the University of Wisconsin–Madison Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS) has been selected for an American Meteorological Society (AMS) Special Award.
Physicist turns smartphones into pocket cosmic ray detectors
Soon, the growing capability of your smart phone could be harnessed to detect cosmic rays in much the same way as high-end, multimillion-dollar observatories. With a simple app addition, Android phones, and likely other smartphone brands in the not-too-distant future, can be turned into detectors to capture the light particles created when cosmic rays crash into Earth’s atmosphere.
Phi Beta Kappa Society recognizes Wisconsin Science Festival
The Phi Beta Kappa Society’s National Arts & Sciences Initiative will recognize the Wisconsin Science Festival with a Key of Excellence Award at a…
Mountain pine beetles get a bad rap for wildfires, study says
Mountain pine beetles get a bad rap, and understandably so. The grain-of-rice-sized insects are responsible for killing pine trees over tens of millions of acres in the Western U.S. and Canada over the last decade. But contrary to popular belief, these pests may not be to blame for more severe wildfires like those that have recently swept through the region. Instead, according to a new study by UW–Madison zoology professor Monica Turner, weather and topography play a greater role in the ecological severity of fires than these bark-boring beetles.
In memoriam: Ray D. Owen discovered immune tolerance, paved the way for organ transplantation
Ray D. Owen, who died on Sept. 21 in Pasadena, California, at the age of 98, discovered the phenomenon of immune tolerance, fueling a revolution in immunology and laying the foundation for the successful transplantation of human organs. Owen left Madison in 1947 to join the faculty at Caltech, where he remained for the rest of his long, distinguished career. His later work included studies on human antibodies, blood-group antigens, and the evolution of immune systems.
UW-Madison team developing ‘tissue chip’ to screen neurological toxins
A multidisciplinary team at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and the Morgridge Institute for Research is creating a faster, more affordable way to screen for neural toxins, helping flag chemicals that may harm human development.
Actions on climate change bring better health, study says
The number of extremely hot days in Eastern and Midwestern U.S. cities is projected to triple by mid-century, according to a new study led by University of Wisconsin–Madison researchers and published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Ultrasound enhancement provides clarity to damaged tendons, ligaments
Ultrasound is a safe, affordable and noninvasive way to see internal structures, including the developing fetus. Ultrasound can also “see” other soft tissue — including tendons, which attach muscles to bone, and ligaments, which attach bone to bone. Ray Vanderby, a professor of biomedical engineering and orthopedics and rehabilitation at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, is commercializing an ultrasound method to analyze the condition of soft tissue.
Badger duo experiences an amazing summer on ‘The Amazing Race’
Amy DeJong and Maya Warren had a truly epic summer, but they can't tell you about it.
Dwindling wind may tip predator-prey balance
Bent and tossed by the wind, a field of soybean plants presents a challenge for an Asian lady beetle on the hunt for aphids. But what if the air - and the soybeans - were still?