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December 23, 2024

Research

What bird flu means for milk

Posted on
Mother Jones

There are a handful of variables and factors that shape the financial losses of a dairy hit with an outbreak. Luckily, agriculture economist Charles Nicholson at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and some colleagues created a calculator to estimate this financial impact of a bird flu outbreak. Based on Nicholson’s estimates for California, a typical farm of 1500 cattle will lose $120,000 annually. For context, this is about $10,000 more than the median household income of a dairy farmer.

Hibernation scientists studying squirrels could get humans to deep space

Posted on
Popular Science

Cosmic radiation poses a perennial challenge for astronaut safety, says Hannah Carey, an emeritus professor of biology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she studied hibernators as a model for stress and trauma protection. Carey has been part of meetings and conferences with ESA and NASA scientists discussing hibernation science. In these dialogues, she recalls that radiation protection has been of particular interest.

Coyotes, red foxes ‘coexist peacefully’ in Madison, researchers say

Posted on
The Capital Times

David Drake leads the Urban Canid Project at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Since 2014, researchers with the project have studied where coyotes and red foxes live in the Madison area, when they are active and how they interact with each other, in addition to humans and pets. University students help Drake set up traps around the city from November to March, so they can put radio collars on animals and track them.

“We’ve gotten some really good data,” said Drake, a professor and Extension wildlife specialist at UW-Madison’s Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology.

Higher Education/System

What’s at stake in Wisconsin amid government shutdown fights

Posted on
Wisconsin Public Radio

Wisconsin universities and college students could also be impacted by a shutdown. University of Wisconsin-Madison spokesperson Kelly Tyrrell told WPR in a statement that college officials are monitoring the situation.

“We would expect the largest impacts to be on research, since agencies can’t start new programs, issue new grants, or review existing applications during a shutdown,” Tyrrell said. “There may also be some impact to students, staff or faculty applying for changes in visa status during the shutdown period.”

Dredging up the ghost of Scott Walker doesn’t help guide future of UW System

Posted on
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

I would be correctly described as a member of that committee with a partisan background. I did not, however, vote in “lockstep” with other members who might also be so categorized. Furthermore I would suggest many of the questions were more nuanced than the authors claimed. Additionally there were members of this committee (including some UW employees and past Regents ) who did not show, nor do I believe they have, strong partisan leanings. Instead their clearly expressed concern was for the future of the system. That was also my concern.

Campus life

Crime and safety

Athletics

Business/Technology

Coal demand is up. Thank data centers and industrialization.

Posted on
MarketPlace

In China especially, coal is sticking around largely because demand for electricity is growing so fast, said Greg Nemet, a professor at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

“And it’s been driven by very rapid uptake of electric vehicles in China, in addition, rapid uptake of using electricity for industrial heat in China and also for data centers,” he said.

UW Experts in the News

Gen Z says ‘no’ to drugs

Posted on
Newsweek

Dr. Ritu Bhatnagar, associate clinical professor of psychiatry and addiction psychiatrist, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health:

“As an addiction psychiatrist, I am keenly aware that people can become dependent on not only substances but also technology. Technology use really increased during the pandemic, especially among adolescents.”

Obituaries

William Lawrence Church

Posted on
Wisconsin State Journal

He retired as Volkman-Bascom Distinguished Teaching Professor of Law after teaching for 50 years at the University of Wisconsin Law School. He received numerous awards for excellence in teaching.