Under dappled sunlight filtering through the trees of Observatory Hill Friday morning, workers using a crane removed a large boulder from the UW-Madison campus that had become for many a painful symbol of the university’s racist past.
But the System has so far resisted those calls, taking the same position that the majority of other colleges have in strongly encouraging but stopping short of requiring that students get the shots. Many UW campuses are instead offering incentives such as laptops, gift cards and tickets to sporting events.
Noted: Giulio Tononi, a neuroscientist at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, has developed something called the integrated information theory of consciousness (IIT). IIT holds that consciousness is actually a kind of information and can be measured mathematically, though doing so is not very straightforward and has caused some to discount the theory.
A new study out of Madison, Wisconsin shows that building dense, amenity-rich market-rate housing in vulnerable neighborhoods leads to higher evictions.
While there are significant differences between Madison and San Francisco, the data has implications for new local attempts to encourage more dense housing into existing residential areas that may be threatened by gentrification and displacement.
The author, University of Wisconsin Professor Revel Sims, looked at areas where five-unit or larger buildings were constructed in areas with older buildings and lower-income residents.
Noted: The team, led by Sebastian Heinz of the University of Wisconsin in Madison, took a look at several telescopes’ data from the 2015 outburst to probe the dust clouds, finding that most of the grains are likely graphite and silica. More importantly, the observations found that the dust cloud is not the same density in all directions, contradicting the theory suggested in previous studies.
Quoted: Climate change is driving the extreme heat and record-breaking drought that have set the stage for wildfires to burn more than 3 million acres so far this year, according to Jonathan Patz, a professor and director of the Global Health Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Patz has served as a lead author for the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which warned in its 2018 report that drastic shifts are needed to reduce global warming to stave off the worst effects of climate change.
“These extreme events of drought and heat waves are definitely linked to climate change,” said Patz. “They don’t only affect those states that are burning in the West, but the wildfire smoke travels across the country. We’ve seen very high levels in northern Wisconsin and across the state.”
The groundbreaking of the $60 million Usona facility came as the company embarks on a Phase 2 study of psilocybin to treat depression. That study will take place at UW-Madison, Johns Hopkins University, Yale University and other sites. A first-in-human study by Usona is planned for 2022.
Sen. Steve Nass, R-Whitewater, is insisting that universities seek approval from him and a handful of his skeptical colleagues for masking, vaccine and testing requirements on state campuses. Never mind that University of Wisconsin System schools have adopted and adjusted similar rules for more than a year now, which helped control COVID-19 among students, staff and surrounding communities.
The rock, formerly known as Chamberlin Rock, was being taken off-campus following an initiative last June by the Wisconsin Black Student Union and Wunk Sheek to remove it because a nickname given to the boulder is a racial slur.
Quoted: According to Noah Williams, director at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Center for Research on the Wisconsin Economy, the state’s labor force participation has been declining for decades as the state’s demographics shift over time.
“The way I think about it is there’s long term trends and then on top of that there’s been the shorter term issues,” Williams said, “The population is aging; it’s aging more rapidly in Wisconsin than in the rest of the country.”
Quoted: Epidemiologist Ajay Sethi teaches a class at the University of Wisconsin-Madison called conspiracies in public health. He says misinformation can have serious consequences and if people see or hear something that’s wrong, they should try and counter it, similar to rejecting racist remarks or actions.
“I don’t tell my students to do this, but I tell them maybe we should draw on the principles of calling out racism,” said Sethi. “If you see something, say something, recognizing you may be talking to a Russian bot online. So, we have to decide when our efforts are worth it.”
Roy Boone needed some convincing when he got a call from former UW women’s basketball standout Tamara Moore, who formed the OBA in 2019 but had to wait nearly two years for the first games to be played due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This year the Mendota Rowing Club scheduled three weeks of STEM to Stern training with five participants per session. Club coaches oversee training sessions while collegiate rowers from UW-Madison serve as volunteers, said Melissa Austin, the Madison program lead. After the free initial training, participants can move up to the middle school and high school teams and have their club fees waived.
Quoted: The overall job numbers showed “a strong contribution from education hiring, as more schools than normal retained teachers through the summer and ramped up hiring for a planned return to instruction in the fall,” said Noah Williams, an economist at the University of Wisconsin, Madison and adjunct fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a right-leaning think tank.
The upward trend, however, is threatened by the virus spread, Williams added.
“Delta is much, much more contagious, and children are susceptible of that,” Dr. Gregory DeMuri, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at UW Health, said. “That’s resulting in more hospitalizations and more disease in children.”
“Certification in stroke care is something that is helpful in terms of making sure that we have good protocols in place and that we have the high speed response to take care of these specific patients,” said Natalie Wheeler. Wheeler is the Medical Director for Telestroke at UW Health and Assistant Professor for the School of Medicine and Public Health. She says Outside of larger Wisconsin cities, expert stroke care is not readily available.
As restrictions return to the most vaccinated county in Wisconsin, NBC 15 talked with Population Health Sciences expert and Associate Professor Ajay Sethi, asking if more restrictions would slow the rollout of the shot.
Gene had a lifelong career in media, with more than 30 years in public broadcasting. At the time of his death, he was the director of Wisconsin Public Media, which includes Wisconsin Public Radio and PBS Wisconsin.
From 1964 to 1982 he was on the faculty of The University of Wisconsin, serving as the manager of administration for WHA-TV.
Noted: Schmelzer has a degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in recreation resource management and also served 14 years in the United States Air Force and the Wisconsin Air National Guard.
Cooper, a 9-year-old Percheron and member of Madison Police Department’s Mounted Patrol Unit, spent 2½ weeks at the University of Wisconsin Veterinary Hospital due to medical issues. On July 19, Cooper started to show colic symptoms. The UW Veterinary Hospital determined he had a displaced colon that required emergency surgery. Cooper suffered several complications following his surgery, including stomach reflux and an inability to eat.
Michael Williams, of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin, hopes to be a judge and is taking a step toward that goal this fall when he begins his first year at the University of Wisconsin Law School. Williams spoke to the Cap Times about his career plans and misconceptions some have about Native Americans and the law.
