“It was not subtle—the chimpanzees would stagger and stumble, vomit, and have diarrhea, sometimes they’d go to bed healthy and be dead in the morning,” says Tony Goldberg, a disease ecologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, to Ann Gibbons for Science.
Author: gbump
UW Health releases COVID-19 vaccine dashboard
UW Health is launching a new online tool to track their current vaccination progress. The COVID-19 vaccination dashboard shows up-to-date information on where vaccination efforts stand as eligibility expands across Wisconsin.
In single digit temps, Wisconsinites answer ‘How cold is too cold?’
UW-Madison officials called it “inclement weather,” postponing all in-person activities at the Winter Carnival. “There are the dangers of exposed skin with frostbite,” Joe Webb, the director of Outdoor UW, said. “More or less it’s just not comfortable. These events are supposed to be fun.”
UW Health has 8X as many vaccine appointments as it has shots, new dashboard shows
With fewer than 3,700 COVID-19 vaccines on hand and nearly 30,000 patients already scheduled to receive a dose, the UW Health announces it will need to start rescheduling appointments to allow time to restock its shelves. Sr. Medical Director Dr. Matt Anderson explained the hospital’s capacity for delivering the coronavirus vaccine is growing, however its staff is being hamstrung by supply issues.
10 years later: Wisconsin’s Act 10 has produced labor savings, but at a cost
UW-Madison professor emeritus of public affairs and applied economics Andrew Reschovsky said data show a growing gap in student achievement between white and Black students in Wisconsin, which already ranks among the worst states in the nation on the racial achievement gap. “If you reduce compensation for teachers and you reduce the power of teacher unions, it’s not as if you can say, ‘Ah, that’s a tool. Everybody can cut spending,’ as if there’s no consequences to that,” Reschovsky said.
Segar, William E. “Bill”
His medical career included time at Riley Hospital for Children, Mayo Clinic and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he served as Chairman of the Department of Pediatrics from 1974-1985.
Science mom: UW scientist joins campaign to teach fellow mothers about climate change
Holloway, a professor of atmospheric science at UW-Madison, is one of half a dozen leading climate scientists (and mothers) who’ve banded together to motivate other moms to take action on the threat of climate change.
10 years later, workers still seek a seat at the table despite lack of collective bargaining
After years of wage freezes, a union representing 225 UW System trade employees negotiated a 1.81% raise for this year, which ended up being less than the 2% raise their non-union colleagues received … “There’s been a range of responses to Act 10,” David Nack, a professor in the UW-Madison Department of Labor Education said. “Workers often want to or need to find a way to effectively represent their interests with their employer. Act 10 doesn’t change any of that.”
McCarty, Donald James
During the turbulent years of the late 1960s and early 1970s, Don served as Dean of the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Education, after which he returned to his role of Professor of Educational Administration.
Haberland, Ruth Ann (Green)
She retired from the U.W. Meat and Animal Science Department in 1995.
Q&A: Sofia Snow’s hip hop pedagogy puts students at the center
Snow serves as the director of UW’s Office of Multicultural Arts Initiatives, which also oversees the First Wave Hip Hop and Urban Arts Learning Community.
Small donors ruled 2020; will that change post-Trump?
Eleanor Powell, professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said it’s unclear whether corporations will prolong their political donation boycotts, though she doesn’t expect contribution halts to be permanent. But continued individual contributions would help minimize the harm that a drought of corporate PAC contributions could cause to Trump’s allies, she said.
House Exiles Marjorie Taylor Greene From Panels, as Republicans Rally Around Her
Removal from committees is usually reserved for lawmakers who are facing indictments or criminal investigations or who have otherwise broken with their party in a particularly egregious way, according to Eleanor Neff Powell, a professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Wisconsin researchers worry fatal disease that kills chimpanzees will hit humans
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison recently expressed concerns that a fatal disease known for killing chimpanzees could jump to humans because of the similarities in hereditary material, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Researchers worry chimpanzee-killing bacterium could jump to humans next
The disease causes both gastrointestinal and neurological symptoms that are “not subtle,” lead researcher Tony Goldberg told Science.
UW Health: What to know after you get the vaccine
Just because you have been vaccinated, does not mean you can cease taking precautions, UW Health said. Doctors ask that you continue to wear a mask, social distance, and avoid large gatherings.”We’ll need to do this until most people have been vaccinated,” UW Health said in a release.
WisContext: A Year Into The Pandemic, What’s Driving Varied Coronavirus Rates Across Wisconsin?
The possibility of such a scenario is one reason that epidemiologists like Patrick Remington, a professor emeritus of population health sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, urge caution when comparing local COVID-19 rates. The amount of testing is just one source of potential inaccuracies in official figures, he said.
UW System adopts universal medical withdrawal policy
A new policy taking effect this fall will make it easier for students in the University of Wisconsin System to suspend their coursework without academic or financial penalty under certain medical circumstances.
Debunking vaccine misinformation and myths
Ajay Sethi, associate professor, population health sciences, and faculty director, Master of Public Health Program at UW focuses his educational mission on addressing public health misinformation and has been tracking vaccine myths.
UW-Madison’s new saliva-based testing regimen creates difficult transition for spring semester
Krista Nagel, a senior undergraduate at UW-Madison, said she thinks increased testing is a smart idea. However, Nagel said getting tested twice a week seems like “overkill,” and she feels that weekly testing would be sufficient.
Column: While UW messaging stands firm on COVID-19 prevention, continuation of UW athletics tells different story
From a rapid reversal on the Big Ten’s decision to play to going against Dane County orders, UW athletics distinguishes itself as the exception to the strict COVID-19 regulations students face.
Column: With another hybrid semester in full swing, use these tips to stay motivated, practice self-care
As quarantine wears on, stay connected and motivated through virtual learning, challenging times.
UW project to promote diversity in the sciences receives $5 million award
Project focuses on learning primarily from the experiences of Black and Native peoples to improve anti-racism education in STEM.
COVID-19 Came To Wisconsin 1 Year Ago. Here’s A Look Back At The State’s Pandemic Year.
“It’s really complicated to go from zero to 100 mph and be writing the rules as you go,”— Patrick Remington, director of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s preventive medicine residency program, on vaccine rollout, Jan. 25, 2021
“The vaccine’s on the horizon, there’s going to be an end date to this pandemic. It’s really easy to start thinking it’s over, let’s celebrate. It’s just not, quite yet.”— Dr. Jeff Pothof, UW Health Chief Quality and Safety Officer, Jan. 27, 2021
Letter to the Editor: We need better policing, not less policing
The solution to police brutality is better policing; not less policing. We should be training our officers more. By paying more and training more, we can improve the performance of our local police officers.
Letter to the Editor: Law School Right to Affirm Commitment to Free Expression
While it may be an unpopular minority opinion within the law school, I agree with Dean Daniel Tokaji and the law school administration’s position and handling of the matter. The law school only needs to ensure that no discrimination exists in employer hiring practices. It would be inappropriate for the law school to censor the political activities of prospective employers.
Rescue dog breeds take DNA tests for the Puppy Bowl on Super Bowl weekend
But as some experts put it, defining doggie ancestry can be tricky. “To a large degree, the accuracy of breed composition tests very likely depends on the degree to which a dog is ‘mixed,’” Lauren Baker and Susannah Sample, both of the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, wrote in an email to PopSci. “From a veterinarian’s standpoint, we find these ‘breed identification’ tests are fun for many owners. But having not been evaluated by the scientific community, they shouldn’t be used to alter medical decisions.”
UW Administration: Moving forward with ASM relief fund “is still not possible”
Heller says that along with legal issues, there are also challenges concerning the income taxes that students who benefit from the relief policy would have to pay, along with employer payroll taxes and fringe costs that ASM would be responsible for.
UW Arboretum Designated A National Historic Landmark
The land, established as an outdoor laboratory to investigate the repair of damaged ecosystems in the 1930s, was added to the list last month.
Facing ‘financial disaster’ from COVID-19, UW System pushes for borrowing ability
COVID-19 has caused the “biggest financial disaster” the university has ever seen, UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank said. Through federal stimulus money, furloughs, pay cuts for leadership, travel restrictions and targeted budget cuts to different units, Blank said she’s optimistic the financial gap can be resolved over the next two years. But she also renewed her case for giving the university borrowing authority.
Controversial homegrown vaccine risks derailing India’s coronavirus vaccine rollout
“Indian companies are targeted by everyone in the world,” said Ella, who has a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “It hurts us as scientists — we don’t deserve that type of bashing.”
Some Skip COVID-19 Tests Out Of Anxiety. Health Experts Say Shaming Won’t Reach Them.
Testing positive means missing work, and for those without paid leave that means missing paychecks, too. It’s a strong disincentive to get tests, said Kathleen Murphy-Ende, a clinical psychologist at the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics’ Department of Psychiatry. Patients have brought this up in her practice.
Chimps first, then humans? Scientists worry about new fatal bacterium.
“There are very few pathogens that infect chimpanzees without infecting humans and very few pathogens that infect humans without infecting chimpanzees,” said Tony Goldberg, one of the authors of the paper and a University of Wisconsin-Madison professor of epidemiology.
Chimpanzee-Killing Disease Linked by Researchers to New Species of Bacterium
Led by researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the disease was reported on February 3rd in the journal Nature Communication.The study suggests that the disease is caused by a newly discovered bacterium that comes as the world struggles with the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Factually: fact-checkers in Myanmar have internet but no Facebook or reliable sources
Feb. 8, 9 a.m. Eastern: IFCN Talks #1 – “Is deplatforming a solution for misinformation?”. Come chat on Zoom with Francisco Britto Cruz, director at InternetLab (Brazil) and Lucas Graves, professor and researcher at University of Wisconsin-Madison. It’s free!
Why were Sun Prairie sixth-graders asked how they would punish a slave? District still mum on origin of lesson.
The lesson was taught on the first day of Black History Month. “I thought it was profoundly thoughtless, hurtful, lacking in empathy or any kind of wisdom or forethought,” said UW-Madison professor Christy Clark-Pujara, an expert on African American history. “There is no excuse for it.”
NCAA proposes volleyball, women’s hockey tournaments at single sites
The NCAA continued to consolidate its championships to single sites Wednesday, announcing a proposal that all games of the women’s volleyball and women’s hockey tournaments be played at the venue that had been previously selected to host the finals.
UW-Madison students call on law school to uninvite anti-trans group to upcoming job fair
QLaw, a student group that advocates for the school’s LGBTQ student population, is spearheading the effort encouraging administrators to remove the Women’s Liberation Front from its lineup of public interest and government employers interviewing students for internships or post-graduation jobs.
UW student government continues push for COVID-19 relief fund
Administrators opposed the legislation, saying it violates UW System Policy 820’s approved uses for segregated fees. The policy prohibits lump sum payments to student organizations or “direct financial aid” to individual students, except for certain situations including employee wages and scholarships or stipends to student government leaders.
UW Health fights for racial equity in vaccine distribution
UW Health is sending out COVID-19 vaccine scheduling invitations to two groups: patients age 69 and older as well as patients age 65 and older in specific high-risk categories. This includes patients who are Black, Latinx and Native American.
UW Madison grad, U.S. Navy D-Day veteran celebrates 100th birthday
A 1943 University of Wisconsin- Madison graduate and U.S. Navy D-Day veteran is celebrating his 100th birthday Wednesday.
Those considered high-risk could be next for COVID-19 vaccine
UW Health Immunization Program’s Dr. James Conway said this population especially needs to be vaccinated because some of those health conditions can cause unpredictable immune system responses.
With mental health and physical activity correlated, UW Recreation & Wellbeing offers virtual training during pandemic
’We want to provide every opportunity to the Badger community to get fit and live well,’ UW Recreation & Wellbeing coordinator says.
ASM passes amendment to establish mask ambassador position
The Associated Students of Madison unanimously passed legislation to create mask ambassador positions intended to aid students in receiving funds from segregated fees.
National Park Service names UW Arboretum a National Historical Landmark
The Arboretum plays a large role in the Madison community for both students and the public.
Rights to privacy versus safety on college campuses
UW-Madison has also seen an upgrade in surveillance with the Safer Badgers app for the 2021 Spring semester, but in an email statement Chancellor Rebecca Blank has promised, “the app does not track your current or location history in any way, on or off campus.” Instead, UW-Madison has offered Bluetooth exposure notifications that notify students in extended periods of contact with someone who tests positive for COVID-19. “Participation is optional but strongly encouraged,” said Blank in a Jan. 13 update.
ASM Approves Amendment to COVID-19 Student Relief Fund
The Associated Students of Madison (ASM) continued to fight for approval of their COVID-19 Student Relief Fund at an emergency meeting on Tuesday night. The student council voted unanimously to pass legislation creating the Mask Ambassador position — opening a possible loophole for the fund to be enacted despite university concerns over its legality.
Kutzbach, John Elmer
John joined the University of Wisconsin faculty in 1966. As Professor of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences and the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies and Director of the Center for Climatic Research, he pioneered the use of climate models to investigate the causes and effects of large-scale changes in past climates.
UW Arboretum designated as National Historic Landmark
UW said the designation is based on the Arboretum’s “pioneering work in restoration ecology, its place in the history of conservation, and its commitment to Aldo Leopold’s land ethic.”
Parting The Clouds
A professor of psychiatry and human ecology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, Raison believes depression isn’t a single thing but a cloud of related mental and physical states unique to each person; there is no one symptom that every depressed person experiences. “It’s all kind of hunt-and-peck,” he says. “We have an array of treatment options that we just start throwing at people because we don’t know why, biologically, they’re depressed.” Meanwhile depression is growing to epidemic proportions in the United States, with few truly novel treatments approved over the last three decades.
A mysterious disease is killing chimps in West Africa. Scientists may now know the culprit
Disease ecologist Tony Goldberg was stunned in 2016 when he learned that a mysterious infection was swiftly killing chimpanzees at a lush sanctuary in Sierra Leone’s rainforest. “It was not subtle—the chimpanzees would stagger and stumble, vomit, and have diarrhea,” recalls Goldberg of the University of Wisconsin, Madison. “Sometimes they’d go to bed healthy and be dead in the morning.”
Lethal Chimp Disease Is Linked to Newly Identified Bacteria
In 2016, Dr. Goldberg, an epidemiologist and veterinarian at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and head of the Kibale EcoHealth Project, was approached by the Pan African Sanctuary Alliance to try to solve the mystery. He and his colleagues at Wisconsin joined forces with other veterinarians and biologists in Africa and elsewhere to undertake a comprehensive analysis of blood and tissue from the dead chimps that had been frozen at a nearby hospital.
Pathogen Discovered That Kills Endangered Chimps; Is It a Threat to Humans?
But cases kept coming. In 2016, the Pan African Sanctuary Alliance, an umbrella organization for the continent’s primate sanctuaries, reached out to epidemiologist Tony Goldberg, Owens’ advisor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Goldberg was immediately intrigued. “This is an unknown infectious disease that poses a serious risk to the health and survival of an endangered species, which happens to be our nearest relative,” he says.
Scientists Worry 100% Fatal Bacteria Found In Chimps Will Jump To Humans
The bacterium, Sarcina troglodytae, causes a disease called Epizootic Neurologic and Gastroenteric Syndrome, or ENGS. Although the illness has yet to be found in humans, “there are very few pathogens that infect chimpanzees without infecting humans,” said Tony Goldberg, one of the authors of the paper and a University of Wisconsin-Madison professor of epidemiology.
UW-Madison Arboretum designated as National Historic Landmark
UW-Madison says the Arboretum earned the designation for a “period of national significance” that stretches from the 1930s to the 1960s in which the first forest plantings were made and experiments were conducted to study the ecosystem.
UW Health ramping up vaccines for 65+
UW Health is shifting its focus to people 65 and older, as well as police officers and firefighters. So far, more than 3,000 people 65 and older have received their vaccine at UW Health.
UW-Madison expert explains what is happening with stock market frenzy
UW Professor Bjorn Eraker talks with 27 News Anchor George Smith about what this all means.
UW–Madison Arboretum designated a National Historic Landmark
The designation is based on the Arboretum’s work in restoration ecology, its place in the history of conservation, and its commitment to Aldo Leopold’s land ethic, UW-Madison said in a press release Tuesday.
UW Health has only recorded 1 case of the flu
According to new numbers released by the hospital Tuesday, UW Health has only found that single case of the more common flus that typically roll through this time of year.
UW Arboretum names National Historic Landmark
The National Park Service has officially designated the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Arboretum as a National Historic Landmark. The arboretum gained landmark status last month when the park service named the 21 newest locations. In all there are over 2,600 national landmarks across the country, according to the NPS’ website.