Author: jplucas

Quoted: Sociologist Sara Goldrick-Rab of the University of Wisconsin at Madison, meanwhile, has found that students from lower-status socio-economic backgrounds are more likely than their well-off peers to transfer in ways that reduce their odds of earning a degree.

Quoted: Menzie David Chinn, a professor at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, who worked at the White House Council of Economic Advisers in 2000 and 2001.

MADISON, Wis. – State officials are re-evaluating whether infrastructure is being built and maintained to strict enough standards to handle severe weather.

Engineering professor Ken Potter of the University of Wisconsin-Madison says some design standards reflect rainfall data that’s 40 years old. But since storms have been increasing in frequency and severity over the last few years, bridges might too low and sewer pipes too small.

MADISON, Wis. — Many residents are still working to rid themselves of this season’s floodwaters, but all that standing water could be inviting to some unwanted visitors.

The recent rains and flooding means more mosquitoes could be moving into the area this summer, according to Phil Pellitteri, a professor in the University of Wisconsin-Madisonâ??s entomology department.

Quoted: Ken Goldstein, a University of Wisconsin political scientist who specializes in campaign advertising. “If we see this sort of buy in September or October, we’ll know the race is over.”

An immunization expert says the Human Papiloma Virus (HPV) vaccine would work on males too. Dr. John Temte, an immunization advisor for the Centers for Disease Control, considers Gardasil to be very effective in females for preventing HPV, which leads to the majority of cases of cervical cancer. As an Associate Professor of Family Medicine at UW Madison, he says the biology of HPV is “basically the same for men and women.”

Earwigs are making a return in a big way, in parts of Wisconsin. UW bug expert Phil Pellitteri says they like the wet weather we’ve had across much of the state, and if your flower garden is under attack it’s probably from earwigs.

Quoted: Botanist Ken Cameron of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who says that other work has shown interesting chromosomal traits in vanilla.

Quoted: Environmental health professor Jonathan Patz at the University of Wisconsin.

One concern from flooding is combined sewer overflows, said environmental health professor Jonathan Patz at the University of Wisconsin. That’s when drainage systems designed to collect rainwater runoff and domestic sewage in the same pipe overflow, sending untreated human sewage and industrial waste into rivers and other waters. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Iowa has 19 of these types of overflow systems and Illinois has about 100.

Quoted: University of Wisconsin-Madison agronomist Joe Lauer says itâ??s too late to replant corn except for livestock feed and Sheboygan County ag agent Mike Ballweg says crop insurance wonâ??t be enough to cover the losses.

Quoted: Kenneth Potter, a civil and environmental engineer at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, says many scientists agree that climate change is likely to increase the occurrence and severity of storms as well as droughts, and thus increase the likelihood of flooding.

Quoted: The wet, humid weather can create a fungus that kills gypsy moth caterpillars, said University of Wisconsin-Madison entomologist Phil Pellitteri.

Quoted: “We may find ourselves with whole regions of the country where virtually every pharmacy follows these limiting, discriminatory policies and women are unable to access legal, physician-prescribed medications,” said R. Alta Charo, a University of Wisconsin lawyer and bioethicist. “We’re talking about creating a separate universe of pharmacies that puts women at a disadvantage.”

Quoted: Dr. Mark Linzer, an internist at the University of Wisconsin who has done extensive research on physician unhappiness.

Quoted: Kenneth Goldstein, a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin in Madison.

Quoted: Larry Meiller, a professor and director of undergraduate studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, has a positive opinion on the topic.