Noted: A recent study from UW-Madison showed that about an additional 100 wolves had been killed during the hunt last winter on top of the 218 killed by hunters and trappers.
“Researchers estimate that a majority of these additional, uncounted deaths are due to something called cryptic poaching, where poachers hide evidence of illegal killings,” a university release about the study said.
Quoted: Earth’s vegetation is changing as fast as it did during the Ice Age, according to University of Wisconsin geography and climate professor Jack Williams. Organizations like the Prairie Enthusiasts conserving and restoring land makes a big difference.
“One of the things we’ve definitely learned from the past is that when climates change, species move and one way we can help those species is helping this movement across these modern, fragmented, very much transformed landscapes,” Williams said.
Quoted: Thomas Friedrich, professor of pathobiological sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, told the FT that federal regulations designed to protect people’s privacy can get in the way of the “rapid sharing of information we need.” States interpret these regulations in different ways, he said.
During the 2020-21 academic year, 14 Wisconsin third through fifth grade teachers took part in the Shipwrecks! Game Design Fellowship with PBS Wisconsin Education and Field Day Lab at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Throughout the winter, these educators met with teachers, game designers, researchers and maritime archaeologists to co-design a video game that investigates shipwrecks in the Great Lakes using the practices of maritime archaeologists.
Quoted: “Management of forage fish populations should be based on data that are specific to that forage fish, and to their predators,” University of Wisconsin-Madison Associate Professor Olaf Jensen, a co-author of the study, said. “When there aren’t sufficient data to conduct a population-specific analysis, it’s reasonable to manage forage fish populations for maximum sustainable yield, as we would other fish populations under the Magnuson-Stevens Act.”
Noted: When poor, Black or brown students score lower, it’s not exactly the tests’ fault, says Eric Grodsky, a sociologist at the University of Wisconsin–Madison who analyzed the links between standardized testing and socioeconomic status in the Annual Review of Sociology. That’s because scores reflect disparities in students’ lives before testing. Wealthy students, for example, might have benefited from parents who had more time to read to them as toddlers, all the way through to being able to afford to take both tests, multiple times, to obtain the best score.
Thus, the disparities reflected in test scores result not from a failure of the tests so much as a failure to create a just educational system, Grodsky says. “We don’t do a good job of serving all our kids.” And if test scores determine one’s future opportunities, using them can perpetuate those inequities.
Quoted: Ajay Sethi, professor of population health sciences at UW-Madison, said this scenario is proof the pandemic is not over.
“It’s a good reminder that anybody who is not yet vaccinated against COVID-19 really ought to do so because as soon as you leave your house without a mask, you have a risk of catching the virus,” said Sethi.
Interview with Howard Schweber, a professor of constitutional law and free speech at UW-Madison.
The Wisconsin Capitol grounds are one step closer to featuring a statue of longtime Wisconsin civil rights advocate Vel Phillips after a subcommittee voted on a preliminary proposal Tuesday.
Phillips was a political trailblazer throughout her life, achieving many firsts, from being the first Black woman to graduate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School to becoming the first woman and Black person elected to statewide office when she won a race for Secretary of State in 1978. She died in 2018 at age 94.
Quoted: “The classic thing is that attackers go in and lurk, sometimes for very long periods of time, and maybe exfiltrate data,” said Molly Jahn, a plant geneticist at University of Wisconsin-Madison who was undersecretary of research, education and economics at USDA in 2009 and 2010 and has done extensive research on cybersecurity. Jahn is currently on loan to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) but spoke to Agri-Pulse in her personal capacity as an expert.
Interview: Christine Whelan, UW–Madison professor and Chief Happiness Officer at Dear Pandemic, offers “Nerdy Girl” insight into navigating our emotions, finding joy, and spreading kindness at this stage of pandemic life.
Wisconsin will have its presence in the 2020 (or, 2021, if you prefer) Tokyo Olympics, from the track to the basketball court to the rowing scene.
According to Tracy, Adventa has partnered with the University of Wisconsin to research the effects of breast milk in adults.
“Prices on consumer products have risen one to two percent every year for the past two decades,” said Cliff Robb, a consumer behavior expert at UW-Madison. “But this year, that jump is around four percent.”
World-renowned Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist and UW Madison Zoology Professor Dr. Patricia McConnell said Rafa likely has a mild case of separation anxiety because he paces, whines and is a little destructive. She said a more severe case of separation anxiety could be dangerous for pets.
UW Health medical director of infection prevention Nasia Safdar said these are some of the mitigation strategies necessary to prevent future outbreaks, especially among unvaccinated children. Camp Woodbrooke accepts kids ages seven to 12, which means only a handful of campers are even eligible.
Noted: In addition to his West Point degree, Gen. Meigs received a doctorate in history from the University of Wisconsin in 1982. His awards included the Distinguished Service Medal, the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart.
Phillips was also the first African-American woman to graduate from the UW-Madison law school.
Noted: Elorbany speaks Arabic and Spanish and is an alumna of the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She starts July 26.
