Like so many great scientific discoveries, Tom Brock started the research that would go on to revolutionize the field of biology — and pave the road to the development of the gold-standard COVID-19 tests used to fight a pandemic — with a question.
February 18, 2021
Research
Campus life
Off-campus student COVID-19 cases increase, UW to expand vaccine eligibility in March
Students who do not comply with university policies will be subject to sanctions.
Benjamin Crump, lawyer for the families of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, discusses racial justice
In his discussion, Crump talked about the racial prejudice in the justice system and in police officers. He discussed police shootings and the wrongful actions that police officers took in the Breonna Taylor and George Floyd cases. In a call to action, Crump emphasized that talking to elected officials and leaders about injustices along with correcting and punishing bad police officers is essential.
Health
What Is a Mask Brace? Does It Work?
To bring surgical and cloth masks up to par with N95s and KN95s, you can opt for a mask brace, which is an even better solution than double masking, says David Rothamer, a professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who has conducted work evaluating mask braces.”It’s kind of interesting that it’s taken awhile for mask fitters or braces to have more visibility,” Rothamer tells Popular Mechanics. “The whole double masking thing is really trying to do the same thing as a mask fitter or a brace, but in a more indirect way. My main concern with double masking is that it’s going to depend on the combination of the two masks.”
More deadly, faster spreading COVID-19 variant ‘out of the gate’ in Wisconsin
“At some point we’re just going to have to start to realize that old COVID probably isn’t going to be around as much,” said Jeff Pothof, UW Health’s chief quality officer. “As some of these strains are more contagious, they’ll become the dominant strains.”
Struggling to get the vaccine: Options for people waiting for their first dose
“If they have the opportunity to be vaccinated somewhere else, we would definitely embrace them doing so, and then just ask that they let us know,” said Matt Anderson, UW Health’s Senior Medical Director for Primary Care.
Opinion
Tommy Thompson: At least 75% of classes in person is UW System’s goal for fall
I have directed our universities to ensure that students attending a UW campus in the fall will have as classic a UW campus experience as possible — including a goal of at least 75% of all classes being in person.
Column: Penalizing students for not attending class can negatively affect mental health
Many of the excused absences offered by these professors, however, only account for physical illnesses and require a doctor’s note. Many of the policies say nothing relating to mental health.
Column: ASM aims to provide students with COVID relief
Even after ASM proposed the solution and amendment that students become “Mask Ambassadors” — designed as a workaround to the policy which would allow the university to make payments to students — Heller stated that it could not go any further once again.
Column: University is right to block ASM’s COVID relief fund
While ASM seems intent on misleading the public regarding the legality of their COVID-19 student relief fund and disgracefully shaming University Officials, the University is trying to move forward and provide students with expansive and immediate assistance.
UW Experts in the News
COVID: US life expectancy at record low; Blacks, Latinos most affected
While the life expectancy gap between Black, Latino and white populations were narrowing before the pandemic, overall life expectancy was steadily declining because of a variety of public health issues, said Michal Engelman, associate professor of sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Proposed Legislation Aims To Address Racial Disparities In Maternal Health Care
In Wisconsin, while the maternal mortality ratios are lower in absolute terms than the nationwide average, the magnitude of the gap between Black mothers and white mothers is larger, said Tiffany Green, University of Wisconsin-Madison assistant professor in the Departments of Population Health Sciences and Obstetrics and Gynecology.
Pandemic, Drug Crisis Shave Years Off Average US Life Expectancy
These national figures likely reflect similar trends in Wisconsin, says Kristen Malecki, professor of population health sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
US life expectancy falls by a year amid COVID-19 pandemic
But the US experienced a backslide due to the pandemic, according to Michal Engelman, associate professor of sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
“This has been an issue of concern for a while, that we weren’t making progress and we were sliding a little bit backwards,” Engelman told the newspaper. “After a couple of years of worrisome declines, we dropped as a country a whole year just in the first half of 2020.”
Government rushes virus gene-mapping as mutations spread
“You’ve got a small number of academic and public health labs that have been basically doing the genomic surveillance,” said David O’Connor, an AIDS researcher at the University of Wisconsin. “But there is no national coherence to the strategy.”
A controversial week of wolf hunting is planned for the final week of February
Adrian Treves, a professor of environmental studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is concerned about the quick opening of a season. He says the population’s data is not current enough to justify holding a season without putting the wolf population in a tenuous situation.
Obituaries
Dr. John Bentson, Who Invented a Better Brain-Imaging Tool, Dies at 83
A grandfather encouraged him to leave the farm and pursue higher education. Dr. Bentson graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a B.S. in chemistry in 1957 and earned his M.D. at its medical school in 1961.
Robert Altman, Video Game Mogul Who Survived Scandal, Dies at 73
After graduating from the University of Wisconsin in 1968, Mr. Altman earned a law degree in 1971 from George Washington University, where, as a third-year law student, he was recommended as a summer intern to Clifford & Warnke.
UW-Madison Related
Evers’ Budget Proposes Significant Investment To Address Climate Change, Protect Public Lands
Dallman argues public lands are vital to the state’s $24 billion forest economy and outdoor recreation economy, which contributes $7.8 billion each year. He added that every acre protected in the state provides a $3,000 return to the state’s overall economy, according to research from the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The program costs nearly $20 per person each year.