UW-Madison’s thousands of students and employees will return to normal operations middday Thursday.
UW-Madison re-opens Thursday at noon after arctic blast
Wisconsin State Journal
January 31, 2019
Top Stories
Research
Why Wisconsin microsurgeons are stitchin’ chicken: BTN LiveBIG
Big Ten Network
Chicken thighs: they’re an integral part of the chicken and man-alive are they ever delicious (shh, don’t tell the chickens.) But that’s not all. Thanks to some enterprising doctors at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health, chicken thighs have found a new utility… in the field of microsurgery.
Early-Voting Laws Probably Don’t Boost Turnout
FiveThirtyEight
Meanwhile, a more recent study by political scientists at the University of Wisconsin, Madison discovered that, when not accompanied by other reforms, early voting actually leads to lower turnout — perhaps because the social and campaign-driven pressure to vote is not as focused as it is when voting must all occur on a single day.
Scientists Unravel New Class of More ‘Natural’ Mosquito Repellants
The Wire
To this end, Mayur Kajla, a scientist at the National Institute of Malaria Research, New Delhi, and his colleagues at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, looked at a genus of soil bacteria called Xenorhabdus. These microbes live inside the bodies of roundworms and make their hosts unappealing to insects.
Thinking like a doula: “Birth coaches” negotiate the roles of everyone in the birthing suite
Isthmus
Amy Gilliland believes that a positive birth experience has a lasting effect on the lives of both mother and baby. Gilliland should know: As a research fellow in the U.W.-Madison’s School of Human Ecology, she studies and teaches about the psychological needs of people during the birth experience.
Pew: Sunday Regulars Are Happier and Healthier
Christianity Today
“Those who frequently attend a house of worship may have more people they can rely on for information and help during both good and bad times,” the report said, citing scholars Chaeyoon Lim of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Robert Putnam of Harvard University.
Wisconsin is colder than Antarctica this week. South Pole scientists share cold-weather tips
Wisconsin State Journal
Researchers at the IceCube Neutrino Observatory — a National Science Foundation-supported project led by UW-Madison that is known for its astronomical breakthroughs — are fairly accustomed to the life-threatening cold temperatures seizing Wisconsin this week.
UW-Madison research discovery could impact lager production
NBC-15
A research team at UW-Madison said they made a groundbreaking discovery about industrial lager production that could impact an industry worth billions of dollars.
Higher Education/System
Live updates: Deep freeze blasts Northeast as dangerously cold temperatures are unrelenting in Midwest
Good Morning America
Classes were also canceled at major universities, including the University of Chicago, Northwestern, University of Wisconsin – Madison and the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor.
Campus life
UW-Madison to Hold 11th Annual Reception Honoring Outstanding Women of Color
Madison 365
The 11th cohort of Outstanding Women of Color awardees will be honored at a reception on Tuesday, March 5 from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in the Alumni Lounge of the Pyle Center, the University of Wisconsin has announced.
From the belly of the beast
Isthmus
For its fifth annual social justice conference, UW-Madison’s School of Social Work wanted to hear from people who know the social work system better than anyone: those who have grown up in it.
UW-Madison scientist in South Pole gets pass from running in the cold Wednesday
WISC-TV 3
While Kathrin Mallot, a scientist with The IceCube Neutrino Observatory, ran a half marathon at the South Pole earlier this month, the University of Wisconsin–Madison is giving her a pass in the current Wednesday temperatures.
Crime and safety
6 times Wisconsin police didn’t let the cold chill their chuckles
WISC-TV 3
We also learned that University of Wisconsin-Madison police Chief Kristen Roman is the center of a Venn diagram merging law enforcement leaders, the rebel alliance and safe commutes:
Freezing temperatures prompt campus, city services to shut down during polar vortex
Badger Herald
Campus buildings will reopen at noon Thursday and instructions will resume at 1 p.m. Courses that start at or after 1 p.m. will be held.
ASM, Blank oppose Title IX changes, encourage survivor empowerment
Daily Cardinal
While Blank found some changes helpful, she noted five areas that needed to be improved in order to provide equitable protective policies and procedures to students. Her concerns focused on the role of campus disciplinary proceedings, appropriate standards of proof, off-campus conduct, informal resolutions and cross-examination processes.
Agriculture
Where to turn when you need help
Waushara Argus
One of the resources out there for farms is AgrAbility. AgrAbility is a partnership between UW-Extension and Easter Seals of Wisconsin. This partnership helps farm families that are dealing with a farm injury, disability, or other limitation.
Extension
With end to government shutdown, efforts ramp up to get farmers back on track
Wisconsin State Journal
George Koepp, the agriculture agent for Columbia County’s UW-Extension, said having federal farming agencies on furlough put farmers in a tough position to sign up for crop loans or tariff refunds.
Food pantry seeks to collect, distribute healthier food options
Rhinelander Star Journal
Customers at the Rhinelander Area Food Pantry are seeing healthier food options on the pantry’s shelves. Together with the UW-Extension-Oneida County office, the RAFP is promoting a healthier diet and improved nutrition with the “Food Drive 5” program which encourages choosing food that is higher in protein, fruit, colorful vegetables, soups and whole grains.
Workshops aimed at increasing farm profitability
The Country Today
As many farmers struggle to make ends meet, a workshop series from Trempealeau County’s UW-Extension is aimed at helping both longtime and new farmers find ways to make their farm as profitable as possible.
Keeping farm animals safe in the dangerously cold temperatures
WSAW - Wausau
“When we get drastically below zero like this, it’s really hard. So for any of those animals that have been out-wintered, most of the farmers have either brought them in or tried to find them some sort of shelter to keep them warm and protected from the windbreaks,” said Heather Schlesser, an Ag Educator in Marathon County with the UW-Madison Division of Extension.
Community
Upham Woods offers winter, summer programs
Baraboo News Republic
Winter is fully here in Wisconsin Dells, but at Upham Woods preparations are already underway for summer even as the camp operates snowy activities.
Arts & Humanities
Tragic segregation: “Southern Rites” chronicles a decade in a Southern town
Isthmus
Good photos tell compelling stories of the people, places and actions they capture. Southern Rites, photographer Gillian Laub’s chronicle of modern-day segregation in Mount Vernon, Georgia, succeeds in all categories.
Health
‘When Death Becomes Life’ Review: Doctors and Donors
Wall Street Journal
Dr. Mezrich’s book braids unflinching medical history with frank clinical memoir. A transplant surgeon at the University of Wisconsin, he got his first inkling of his future vocation when he volunteered in medical school for the New York Firefighters Skin Bank, “an ‘elite’ group that would head out in the middle of the night to skin dead people.” The scare quotes around “elite” and the brazen verb “to skin” are typical of Dr. Mezrich’s rueful candor.
Frostbite nips dozens in Wisconsin, some regions see more cases than others
Spectrum News
Minutes. If you haven’t heard that’s how long before this cold air could give you frostbite.
“Or less with really cold wind chills it really can happen very quickly,” said Apple Bodemer, an associate professor of dermatology at UW-Madison.
Staying warm is key today
WTMJ
Noted: UW Health dermatologist Apple Bodemer joined Wisconsin’s Morning News with warning signs and more.
UW Health reports 7 cases of frostbite, 1 injured while attempting boiling water trick
WISC-TV 3
UW Health is reporting eight cold-related injuries during a cold snap that has reached life-threateningly low temperatures.
Opinion
Sue Robinson: School Board election spurs moment of racial reckoning
Capital Times
Column by Sue Robinson, journalism professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Business/Technology
Foxconn reconsiders plan for Wisconsin manufacturing hub
AP
MADISON, Wis. — Electronics giant Foxconn reversed course and announced Wednesday that the massive Wisconsin operation that was supposed to bring a bounty of blue-collar manufacturing jobs back to the Midwest — and was offered billions of dollars in incentives from the state — will instead be devoted mostly to research and development.
UW Experts in the News
Sleeping When Sick Could Have Its Own Gene
The Atlantic
Noted: “It’s very interesting work,” says Chiara Cirelli from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. She and others have identified genes in flies that are important for a good night’s rest and, when disabled, result in less sleep. But this is the first time anyone has done the reverse: increase the activity of a gene, and trigger more sleep.
Obituaries
What we can learn from Erik Olin Wright, the godfather of universal basic income
New Statesman
Shortly before the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, Wright, a professor at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, began work on a series of lectures.
Erik Olin Wright, 71, Dies; Marxist Sociologist With a Pragmatic Approach
The New York Times
Dr. Wright, who was the Vilas distinguished research professor of sociology at the University of Wisconsin, spent his entire teaching career at Madison, starting in 1976.
A Great Heart Stopped: Erik Olin Wright (1947-2019)
The Progressive
I first met Erik Olin Wright when I arrived in the University of Wisconsin-Madison as a Ph.D. student in the summer of 2016. Having already read most of his work I could not wait to meet him in person.