A new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study shows a strain of coronavirus that spurred fast moving outbreaks at two University of Wisconsin-Madison dormitories in the fall didn’t spill over to the greater Madison community.
Drink This Instead: If you’re going to drink beer, choose Guinness. Despite its heavy, hearty dark appearance, this stout has 20 fewer calories per 12-ounce serving than a Bud. But there’s more: A University of Wisconsin study found that moderate consumption of Guinness worked like aspirin to prevent blood clots that increase the risk of heart attacks. That’s because the antioxidants it contains are better than vitamins C and E at keeping bad LDL cholesterol from clogging arteries.
Noted: At University of Wisconsin campuses, interim President Tommy Thompson has said that vaccination against COVID-19 won’t be required, especially not while the medicines are under emergency use authorization by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
A UW-systems security expert said it depends on how it’s used and who is using it.“The truth is your face, along with the face of 117 million other Americans is already in one of the largest facial recognition databases in the world,” Nicholas Davis, UW-Systems chief information security officer said.
“I think everything seems to be aligning both in terms of the national interest in prison reform and prison education, changing rules about Pell Grants, increased awareness of racial discrimination, and I guess just a widespread understanding that change needs to happen,” said Emily Auerbach, founder and co-director of the Odyssey Project, which houses the University of Wisconsin at Madison’s prison education initiative, Odyssey Beyond Bars.
Investigators note the statue of the University of Wisconsin mascot, which stood in front of the shopping center’s management offices, weighs several hundred pounds, so they suspect more than one person was involved.
Quoted: UW professor Christine Whelan has shared her expertise as part of Dear Pandemic, helping people understand how to talk with others about their COVID-19 fears.
“We can see people who say, absolutely I will never get the vaccine, and a couple of weeks later, they change their mind. So, interestingly enough the research has found that it is much easier to change your opinion, than it is to change your behavior,” she said.
Not long ago, officials from East Side Youth Athletics feared they wouldn’t be able to continue offering grade-school children the opportunity to learn about football.
A scaled-down version of Casting for Kids returns to Madison’s four lakes on Saturday, with the Green Lantern Restaurant in McFarland as the post-fishing headquarters. University of Wisconsin men’s hockey associate head coach Mark Osiecki hopes to raise $100,000 for the American Family Children’s Hospital and the UW Carbone Cancer Center through the outing and an online memorabilia auction.
Interview with Christine Whelan, a clinical professor of consumer science at the School of Human Ecology.
Quoted: Christine Whelan, a clinical professor in the School of Human Ecology at UW-Madison, said that returning to everyday life is going to look different for each person.
“If you’re an introvert, perhaps the last 15 months or so has actually been a source of relief to you because you haven’t had to do a lot of the things that stress you out or that actually deplete your energy,” she said. “If that is you, then now’s a really good time to pick and choose what kind of in-person social events you’re going to want to add back into your life.”
Quoted: The inclination toward self-help is strong in this country. As Christine Whelan, a professor at the University of Wisconsin who wrote her dissertation on the self-help industry, told me, “The NXIVM cult started out as a traditionally leadership self-help model of empowerment and behavior modification. …. the lessons that were being taught to the broad introductory group were fairly simple strategies for accomplishing goals in your life.”
But then, she notes, NXIVM faced the same problem that all personal-improvement workshops seem to face: “How do you continue to ‘transform’ people after they’ve completed the entry-level experiences?” she asks, adding: “You up the ante.”
Interview with Christine Whelan, clinical professor of consumer science at the School of Human Ecology.
They’re administering the Pfizer, Modern and Johnson & Johnson vaccine at the Nicholas Recreation Center on West Dayton Street every week day between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., other than being closed from noon to 1 p.m.
Quoted: Dr. Christine Whelan, clinical professor in the Department of Consumer Science at UW-Madison, says it’s often not that the two are fighting, it’s just that they are ready for a new phase of life.
“When we say ‘til death do us part,’ back in the day that was somewhere in your 50s. Now, if you’re living until your 90s or even further than that, that can be decades more with the same person.”
Quoted: There’s recently been controversy surrounding 2021 Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit’s credibility after traces of an illegal drug was found in the horse’s system during a postrace drug test.
The commonly used drug is called betamethasone.
Director of the Wisconsin Veterinarian Diagnostic laboratory at U-W Madison Dr. Keith Poulsen
says that drug is frequently used as an anti-inflammatory.
“When I was in practice, I would use it to inject a joint to calm down inflammation or arthritis,” said Poulsen.
Paulsen explains that the frequently used drug only recently became illegal on race day.
“In August the race commission had changed the ruling to no allowable levels in urine post tests in any horse that’s in a race. So, I think that’s where the conflict is now, is that the rule changed to no detectable levels and they did find some in the horse.”
Typically the Great Lakes follow a specific seasonal cycle, said Adam Bechle, a coastal engineering specialist with the University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute. The lakes bottom out in the winter when there’s more evaporation occurring as cold air moves in over the warmer water. Lake levels are highest during the summer, after snow melts and runs into them and rain falls.
“We are seeing a trend that is really occurring over a 50 to 100-year span, where women are having babies later in life,” said Dr. Christine Whelan, a consumer science specialist and clinical professor in the school of human ecology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
With the end of the school year weeks away, UW Health Pediatric Infectious Disease Doctor Gregory Demuri says there’s no way enough kids will be fully vaccinated to ensure full protection for schools. “We’ve done a great job in schools, particularly in Wisconsin keeping COVID under control and we don’t wanna mess with a good thing,” said Dr. Demuri.
Noah Williams, an economics professor at UW-Madison and director at the Center for Research on the Wisconsin Economy, told NBC15 News’ Michelle Baik at that time unemployment benefits are not the only reason why there is a reduction in labor supply.
Noted: Last week, the Journal Sentinel asked for a copy of the report with the findings from the investigation, which sources said was overseen by officials with the University of Wisconsin, but Drummond said it was in the “redaction process.”
Dr. James Conway, a UW Health pediatrician and vaccine expert, said breakthrough cases and deaths are a reminder that the vaccines, while highly effective, aren’t a complete guarantee infection won’t occur. “People who are vaccinated need to remember that it doesn’t make them superhuman,” Conway said. “Especially if they’re in a high-risk category, they should still practice some moderate avoidance of activity.”
