Tag Genetics
Former UW geneticist, Nobel laureate Smithies dies
Much of the work for which Oliver Smithies shared the Nobel Prize was performed at UW–Madison, where he was a professor from 1960 to 1988. Read More
Fred Blattner: genetics pioneer, entrepreneurial success, and all that jazz
Fred Blattner has been doing DNA research for more than 50 years, and he founded or co-founded three successful companies all focused on DNA: DNASTAR, Nimblegen and Scarab Genomics. Read More
Fast Plants Program’s new varieties are tailored for classroom use
A UW–Madison program built around plants that mature quickly enough to engage the scientific curiosity of elementary through college students is releasing two new varieties that make the popular plants even better suited to classrooms. Read More
Food scientist aiding fuel ethanol with new engineered bacteria
James Steele’s new company, Lactic Solutions, is advancing a judo-like remedy: using genetic engineering to transform enemy into friend. Read More
UW–Madison researchers study plant aging, gain insights into crop yields
New insights into the mechanism behind how plants age may help scientists better understand crop yields, nutrient allocation, and even the timing and duration of fall leaf color. Read More
A vision for genes: One-of-a-kind geneticist snags Ph.D.
Drew Hasley became the first legally blind person with a UW–Madison doctorate in genetics — and possibly only the second blind UW–Madison Ph.D. in biological sciences. Read More
WARF Innovation Award winners take on Zika outbreak, airway obstruction
A potential vaccine for a worrisome virus and a real-time method to monitor sedated patients have taken top honors from the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF). The winning teams are led by UW–Madison's Jorge Osorio and Guelay Bilen-Rosas. Read More
Bacteriology professor Jade Wang named HHMI Faculty Scholar
Jue “Jade” Wang, an associate professor of bacteriology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, has been named a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Faculty Scholar. Read More
Fruit flies help explain differences between males and females
John Pool, assistant professor of genetics at UW–Madison, studies evolutionary genetics in his “fly room.” David Tenenbaum Vive la difference! Trust the French… Read More
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. Read More
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. Read More
Gene regulatory mutation linked to rare childhood cancer
This basic knowledge of a specific cancer is essential to start drug testing, says researcher Peter Lewis. Read More
Carrot genome paints picture of domestication, could help improve crops
The crop's full genetic code was just deciphered by a team of researchers led by UW–Madison horticulture professor and geneticist Phil Simon. Read More
Recent evolutionary change allows a fruit fly to dine on a toxic fruit
A fruit called the noni, now hyped for a vast array of unproven health benefits, is at the heart of a new research study. Read More
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. Read More
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. Read More
UW-Madison bioethicist co-chairs gene editing study
R. Alta Charo, a professor of law and longtime student of the regulation and ethics of biotechnology, was named co-chair of a study committee established Nov. 12 by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to look into the implications of a faster, easier and more precise method for "editing" genes. Read More
More details on origin of world’s favorite beer-making microbe
The crucial genetic mashup that spawned the yeast that brews the vast majority of beer occurred at least twice - and both times without human help - according to a University of Wisconsin–Madison study published Aug. 11 in the journal Molecular Biology and Evolution. Read More
UW study shows how a kernel got naked and corn became king
Ten thousand years ago, a golden grain got naked, brought people together and grew to become one of the top agricultural commodities on the planet. Read More
Fragile X proteins involved in proper neuron development
Fragile X syndrome is the most common inherited intellectual disability and the greatest single genetic contributor to autism. Unlocking the mechanisms behind fragile X could make important revelations about the brain. Read More