Category Science & Technology
Science writer in residence visiting campus week of Nov. 11
Siri Carpenter, a senior editor at the popular science magazine Discover, will visit the University of Wisconsin–Madison as Science Writer in Residence Nov. 11-15. Read More
Hyer assumes leadership as University Research Park continues to grow
With last Friday's retirement of longtime University Research Park Director Mark Bugher, associate director Greg Hyer is assuming the role of interim director of the successful, 260-acre park on the West Side of Madison. Read More
UW–Madison spinoff companies featured in economic report
The investment made in science at UW–Madison and colleges and universities across the United States helps drive the country’s economy directly through the creation of new companies based on that science, according to a new report released today by The Science Coalition. “Sparking Economic Growth 2.0” highlights 100 companies that trace their roots to federally funded university research — including Cellular Dynamics International and Virent, a pair of Wisconsin companies that emerged from Madison’s campus. Read More
Model virus structure shows why there’s no cure for common cold
In a pair of landmark studies that exploit the genetic sequencing of the “missing link” cold virus, rhinovirus C, scientists at the University of Wisconsin–Madison have constructed a three-dimensional model of the pathogen that shows why there is no cure yet for the common cold. Read More
Study challenges prevailing view of invasive species
Zebra mussels. Asian carp. Kudzu. Chances are you recognize these names as belonging to invasive species - plants or animals that are relocated from their native habitat to a foreign land, only to prove so prolific that they take over their new home. Except that's not how the story usually goes, according to a new study. Read More
H5N1 bird flu genes show nature can pick worrisome traits
In a study published today (Oct. 23, 2013) in Nature Communications, an international team of researchers shows how evolution can favor mutations that make avian flu more transmissible in mammals. Read More
Teatime becoming an institution at institutes
For David Krakauer, a cup of tea has long been as much a part of the research process as beakers, computers and lab benches. Read More
Hitchhiking virus confirms saga of ancient human migration
A study of the full genetic code of a common human virus offers a dramatic confirmation of the "out-of-Africa" pattern of human migration, which had previously been documented by anthropologists and studies of the human genome. Read More
New techniques sharpen climate record found in fossil shells
Locked inside the fossil shells of a marine plankton are the secrets of past climate. Read More
Biomanufacturing center takes central role in developing stem-cell therapies
Developing a new drug takes enormous amounts of time, money and skill, but the bar is even higher for a promising stem-cell therapy. Many types of cells derived from these ultra-flexible parent cells are moving toward the market, but the very quality that makes stem cells so valuable also makes them a difficult source of therapeutics. Read More
Target of animal rights protests kicks off animal research ethics forum
Any research that includes animals presents ethical questions, but they are questions Dario Ringach believes we rarely address together. Read More
Study puts freshwater biodiversity on the map
When it comes to economic growth and environmental impacts, it can seem like Newton's third law of motion is the rule - for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction - and that in most cases, the economy prospers and the environment suffers. Read More
The sun also flips: 11-year solar cycle wimpy, but peaking
In a 3-meter diameter hollow aluminum sphere, Cary Forest, a University of Wisconsin–Madison physics professor, is stirring and heating plasmas to 500,000 degrees Fahrenheit to experimentally mimic the magnetic field-inducing cosmic dynamos at the heart of planets, stars and other celestial bodies. Read More
Microbiome meets big social science: What’s the potential?
Over the last decade or so, biologists have mustered an ever-growing appreciation for the essential role of microbial communities in a diversity of environments. Read More
WARF’s Bremer remembered as technology transfer legend
Sustained by a passion to improve people's lives, Howard Bremer's enduring commitment to innovation fueled his work and his life. Bremer, 90, a WWII U.S. Navy veteran and patent attorney with degrees in law and chemical engineering from the University of Wisconsin–Madison passed away Friday, ending a remarkable career at the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation that spanned 53 years. Read More
The chemistry of color: Energy researcher develops dye-based solar cells
University of Wisconsin–Madison researchers working at the intersection of basic and applied science focus on key factors like cost, environmental impacts ... and sometimes, color. Read More
UW’s bug-eating advocate had global impact
When Gene DeFoliart had his brainstorm in 1974, not even he thought his brainchild would be an easy sell. As a professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, DeFoliart was focusing on how insects spread viral disease. Now he was captivated by an opposite proposition: using insects to foster human health — using them, to be specific, as food. Read More
Miron Livny: Collaborative spirit supports Nobel Prize-winning science
In 1964, François Englert and Peter Higgs theorized the existence of a subatomic particle that gives all other particles mass. Nearly 50 years later in 2012, a global team of researchers found evidence that supports the existence of the Higgs boson particle at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in Geneva, Switzerland. Read More