Decade-long study finds genetic diversity of aspen forests leave them adaptable to changing environment.
UW lab discovers trees can change genetic structure to compete for resources
Badger Herald
October 6, 2021
Research
Democrats Lost the Most in Midwestern ‘Factory Towns’, Report Says
The New York Times
The elimination of those jobs also led to declines in health care, according to data from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute.
9-year-old raises money for diverse library books with lemonade stand
ABC News
The presentation included statistics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Cooperative Children’s Book Center, which found that there are more books with main characters that are white or animals than there are books with protagonists that are Black, Indigenous, or a person of color.
Higher Education/System
UW study abroad programs ramp back up following year of COVID-19 cancellations
Wisconsin Public Radio
After more than a year of cancellations due to the COVID-19 pandemic, college study abroad programs in Wisconsin have begun sending small contingents of students around the world.
Conservative law firm calls on UW-Madison to stop having mental health providers who “exclusively” work with students of color
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
A conservative law firm issued a letter to the University of Wisconsin-Madison Wednesday opposing the hiring of mental health providers that exclusively serve students of color.
Conservative group threatens to sue over UW diversity hires
Associated Press
Aconservative legal group has threatened legal action against the University of Wisconsin-Madison for hiring three mental health providers to serve only students of color.
Campus life
Left out: Students with disabilities face disappearing accommodations in return to UW campus
The Capital Times
For students with disabilities or those who are immunocompromised, the reentry into classrooms has brought feelings of isolation, anxiety and helplessness — contrary to many students who have embraced the return.
Developer seeks to raze 8 Downtown buildings for $50 million, 12-story housing project
Wisconsin State Journal
Continuing an unrelenting trend, a developer is proposing to demolish eight two- and three-story apartment buildings for an estimated $50 million, 12-story housing project at the corner of North Bassett and West Johnson streets Downtown.
Longtime ‘Onion’ editor to be taken seriously at UW-Madison lecture series
Wisconsin State Journal
Scott Dikkers, creator of the website known for its witty irony and satirical, irreverent take on the news, will appear in Memorial Union’s Shannon Hall at 7 p.m. Monday as part of the free Wisconsin Union Directorate’s Distinguished Lecture Series.
State news
Vehicle emissions in Wisconsin declined temporarily during COVID-19 shutdowns
Wisconsin Public Radio
Quoted: Power plant and industry emissions didn’t see a steep drop or any decline during stay-at-home orders. The findings are consistent with what one would expect to see from people traveling less during the pandemic, said Tracey Holloway, professor with the Nelson Institute of Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
“They did not see that much of a change in pollution from power plants and some industries, and that also is consistent because we’re still using electricity,” said Holloway. “We’re still running our air conditioners and the kind of things that drive a lot of demand for electricity were still happening.”
Arts & Humanities
Education Needs the Arts
WORT FM
Health
Could COVID-19 infection immunity substitute for vaccine? Don’t count on it, says expert
Wisconsin Examiner
Quoted: “Natural infection does produce an immune response, but not all immune responses will be durable enough and heightened enough to ward off reinfection at some point,” said Ajay Sethi, faculty director for the Master of Public Health program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine & Public Health. “So the question becomes, which source of immunity will provide more reliable protection — and vaccines afford that.”
WILL demands policy change over 3 new UW-Madison mental health providers roles
WKOW-TV 27
On Tuesday WILL sent a letter to University of Wisconsin System President Tommy Thompson, and University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank over the role of three mental health counselors, saying they cannot be assigned to serve only people of color.
Can you get COVID twice? What we know about coronavirus reinfection
CNET
In an earlier conversation with CNET about long COVID, Dr. Nasia Safdar, director of infection control at the University of Wisconsin, said, “Vaccination serves two purposes One, of course you want to get it before you have COVID so it protects you from it, but even in the people who have had the infection, anecdotally, it seems that vaccination helps with the symptoms of long COVID.”
UW Experts in the News
UW Health’s Dr. Pothof comments on latest COVID updates
WISC-TV 3
UW Health’s Chief Quality Officer Dr. Pothof commented on two-thirds of adults in the U.S. now being fully vaccinated, nearly 2.8 million people receiving their booster dose and the CDC’s guidelines for holiday travel.
UW-Madison Related
How to Grow Figs in a Cold Climate
The New York Times
Mr. Reich’s first fig lived in a 12-inch-diameter clay pot in his apartment, when he began graduate school in horticulture and soil science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.