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Author: knutson4

Florida’s Oceanfront Cities Are Not Prepared for Sea Level Rise

Gizmodo

Quoted: “While it is too early to determine the cause, it is definitely not too early to worry about how building and other infrastructure will be impacted as the flooding from sea-level rise worsens, and whether there is a plan to modify and sustain these buildings or whether they should ultimately be abandoned and removed,” Andrea Dutton, a geoscientist at the University of Wisconsin, Madison and former associate professor of geology at the University of Florida, wrote in an email.

Editorial: A trusted messenger

Daily Camera

Quoted: Zeroing in on individual concerns such as these is exactly what it will take to have any hope for change, explains Dietram Scheufele, a professor of science communication at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and author of “Misinformation About Science in the Public Sphere,” published this spring by the National Academy of Sciences.

Research shows that we must reach people where they are at in terms of gut-level beliefs and first acknowledge their fears rather than preach science, Scheufele says. And having a trusted messenger is key to leading the way toward bringing people back to reality and on that path toward making good choices.

Amidst Door County’s rich tourism industry, working families struggle to find suitable, affordable housing

Green Bay Press Gazette

Noted: Another ongoing project is a University of Wisconsin- Madison program, UniverCity, comprised of around 150 students in three classes studying real estate. The students were tasked with studying properties in Egg Harbor and coming up with project ideas, but the scope has since expanded into the other northern areas and Sturgeon Bay, with a focus on affordable housing.

The Senate’s oddest of ‘odd couples’: In Tammy Baldwin and Ron Johnson, Wisconsin has produced a historically divergent pairing

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Quoted: “With the polarization of our politics, there are fewer states in which you have truly competitive elections at the state level,” said political scientist David Canon, a congressional scholar at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “And we’re also seeing a tighter connection between presidential results and Senate results.”

Cambodians struggle to stay afloat, retain their identity after losing their homes to country’s biggest dam

First Post

Noted: In a study commissioned by the Asian Development Bank in 1999, British engineering consultancy Sir William Halcrow & Partners Ltd called the then-proposed Lower Sesan 2 dam “unattractive” due to its marginal financial viability. The study also expressed concerns about the “extremely heavy environmental and social impacts”, in the words of Ian Baird of the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Bad tick season approaching, UW Health experts say

Fox 6

As the warm weather is making its way through Wisconsin, the tick population is growing and experts are predicting a bad tick season. However, the University of Wisconsin Health is offering tips to residents on how to track and treat tick bites.

State “Pollinator Protection Package” Would Target Harmful Pesticides

WORT FM

Quoted: Christelle Guédot is an associate professor of entomology at UW-Madison. She says establishing more habitat for pollinators could help them out.

“So having more habitats for them, and more connectivity between those habitats, and not have, like, islands of habitat for pollinators, would really help in bringing those populations – not necessarily back to where they were, but improving in their abundance and diversity,” says Guédot.

Newly public federal data shows Wisconsin’s internet disparities

Wisconsin Examiner

Quoted: “The FCC target for these is 25mpbs, which is sufficient for most applications. However, we are far from that in most places,” UW-Madison computer science professor Paul Barford says. “And, it’s not just about up/down speeds, it’s also about where there is still zero connectivity and about the reliability of connectivity in deployed areas. Many things must be considered.”

Former Mosinee athlete, UW professor addresses brain trauma in new book about youth sports

Wausau Daily Herald

She was studying athletic training at the University of Wisconsin-Madison when she met the athlete who would change the trajectory of her career.

Now a 34-year-old assistant professor at UW-Madison’s Department of Kinesiology, Mosinee native Julie Stamm was an undergraduate then, in the midst of the clinical portion of her studies — working with a high school football team, getting hands-on training in treating athletic injuries.

“We had a lot of concussions that fall, probably seven or eight just in preseason camp,” Stamm said.

Israeli fossil finds reveal a new hominid group, Nesher Ramla Homo

Science News

Quoted: It’s intriguing that stone tools usually associated with H. sapiens were found with such distinctive-looking fossils, says paleoanthropologist John Hawks of the University of Wisconsin–Madison, who did not participate in the new research. “That’s not a smoking gun proving there were close interactions between Nesher Ramla Homo and Homo sapiens, but it’s very suggestive.”

Will Face Masks Remain Post Pandemic?

Wisconsin Public Radio

Quoted: “Even though it has been politicized in the last year, I think people generally recognize that if you put a physical barrier between you and someone else, then there’s a lower risk of spreading germs in a community,” said Ajay Sethi, an epidemiologist and associate professor in the Department of Population Health Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

A real-life butterfly effect: How weather in Africa drives butterfly bursts in Europe

Vox

Quoted: This suggests that butterflies as far north as Scandinavia are affected by habitat in countries like Chad and Nigeria. “It’s brilliant, really,” said Karen Oberhauser, a monarch expert and professor of entomology at the University of Wisconsin Madison, who was not involved in the study. “Until you know this, you’d never think that, ‘Wow, what’s going on so far away could have an impact.”

Massive human head in Chinese well forces scientists to rethink evolution

The Guardian

Quoted: Prof John Hawks, a paleoanthropologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said the idea of a new lineage of humans was “a provocative claim”, because skulls can look similar even among distant relatives. The skull being Denisovan was a good hypothesis, he added, though he was less keen on a new species name. “I think it’s a bad moment in science to be naming new species among these large-brained humans that all interbred with each other,” he said. “What we are repeatedly finding is that the differences in looks didn’t mean much to these ancient people when it comes to breeding.”

What to Do When Your Hamster Has a Bald Spot

Pop Sugar

Noted: Regardless of the specific cause of your hamster’s hair loss, your veterinarian will be your best ally in coming up with a strategy to tackle the problem. Christoph Mans, DVM, a clinical associate professor of zoological medicine at the University of Wisconsin, said that in some cases deep skin scrapes are necessary for a diagnosis. Finding the cause can be important in case there’s a serious health problem at play.

Practicing Self-Care Could Boost Your Immune System – Here’s How

Shape

Noted: Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison discovered that mindfulness meditation could actually enhance immune function. Participants in the study were injected with the flu vaccine. Half of them also received mindfulness training, while the others did not. After eight weeks, the mindfulness group showed greater levels of antibodies, effectively giving them better flu-fighting ability. (P.S. a strong immune response isn’t the only health benefit of meditation.)

PODCAST: How Does Climate Change Affect Door County?

Door County Pulse

Deb Fitzgerald sits down with Steve Vavrus, Sr. Scientist at the Nelson Institute at UW-Madison, to talk about climate change and what’s in store for Wisconsin in general and Door County’s specifically. They also discussed what’s causing climate change, and some ways people can change their behaviors to reduce their carbon footprints.

Jay Anderson Jr. died in a police shooting. Five years later, his family is still hoping for charges to be filed

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Noted: The law Motley is using — Wisconsin statute 968.02 — is similar to a John Doe proceeding, but it is technically not the same thing, according to Keith Findley, a professor of law at the University of Wisconsin – Madison.

Findley said the law is essentially used as a check on the court system. Findley also said statute 968.02 means a judge has more discretion when it comes to filing charges. Under 968.02 a judge “may” file charges if they find probable cause.

Despite Drought Conditions, Wisconsin Corn, Soybeans Still On Track Thanks To Recent Rain

Wisconsin Public Radio

Quoted: The state’s field crops are in fairly good condition, but are behind schedule considering the early planting accomplished by farmers this spring, said Shawn Conley, a soybean and small grains specialist for the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Division of Extension.

“In southern Wisconsin and even northern Wisconsin, it was a record planting time frame this spring,” Conley said. “I had a lot of farmers in southern Wisconsin have all of their crops in by May 1. I talked to a farmer of 40 years and that’s never happened.”

GOP Lawmakers Want Answers On Unemployment Fraud In Wisconsin

Wisconsin Public Radio

Quoted: One interpretation of that data, said economist Noah Williams of the conservative Center for Research on the Wisconsin Economy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is that “fraud detection basically dropped to near zero” in 2020.

“We had a huge explosion in claims in 2020, but the actual cases in the state that were referred for fraud fell,” Williams said. “We don’t know how big the problem is, but … I wouldn’t have expected the absolute number of cases to fall.”

How heat waves form, and how climate change makes them worse

Vox

Quoted: “It compounds on itself,” said Jonathan Martin, a professor of atmospheric science at the University of Wisconsin Madison. “When you’re dry, you get warm. When you’re excessively warm, you tend to build and strengthen the anticyclone, which encourages continuation of clear skies, which in turn encourages a lack of precipitation, which makes it drier, which makes the incoming solar radiation more able to heat the ground.”

Thai Protesters Return as Parliament Eyes Charter Recast

Bloomberg

Quoted: “The repressive response from the state indicates the fear of those who hold power. The sophistication and steadfastness of response by activists indicates that they’re not swayed by this fear,” said Tyrell Haberkorn, professor of Southeast Asian studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “As the impact of the pandemic on the economy and future opportunities continues to intensify, citizens are likely to question how well authoritarianism is working and call for change.”

A New York Times article sought to expose Wausau and Marathon County’s racial tensions. Some say that ‘snapshot’ only made things worse.

Wausau Daily Herald

Quoted: Doug McLeod, a journalism professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said conflict can indeed be threatening, especially to smaller cities, and that the national attention that Wausau is receiving would “disappear into everything else” in a city like New York or Chicago.

“(Conflicts) can be more divisive, they can raise tensions in smaller communities,” said McLeod, who studies social conflicts and the mass media. “Those communities might look for scapegoats to place blame, (and) it’s often the person coming in from outside — like a journalist from New York.”

You may see yellow-green water off Park Point this summer

Duluth News Tribune

Quoted: “The spotter sensor is a basketball-sized, solar-powered yellow buoy that will be anchored,” said Chin Wu, a lead researcher from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “The GPS drifter tracker looks rather like a red post floating upright in the water. It will be drifting with the current. We’d appreciate it if the public would allow the equipment to operate.”

If You Notice This at Night, It May Be an Early Alzheimer’s Sign, Study Says

Best Life

Quoted: “Previous evidence has shown that sleep may influence the development or progression of Alzheimer’s disease in various ways,” Barbara B. Bendlin, PhD, the study’s author from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, said in a statement. “For example, disrupted sleep or lack of sleep may lead to amyloid plaque buildup because the brain’s clearance system kicks into action during sleep. Our study looked not only for amyloid but for other biological markers in the spinal fluid as well.”

After COVID-19 vaccinations, Milwaukee singles say they’re ready for a summer of dating

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Quoted: “It’s really a litmus test for a world view right now,” said Christine Whelan, clinical professor at University of Wisconsin’s School of Human Ecology. “If you have been vaccinated, you trust in the science. You have sort of a proactive approach and you believe in public health and research.”

35 years later, shift to specialty cheese paying off for Wisconsin farmers

Spectrum News

Quoted: “Mind you, it’s a difficult thing to do, and to do well,” said Mark Stephenson, director of dairy policy analysis at UW-Madison.

Stephenson said farmers often make about $20 per hundredweight (cwt) for milk. By selling the cheese instead of the milk, they can get somewhere closer to $100 cwt for their milk.

“Sure, there are additional costs along the way, but potentially the income stream is bigger,” Stephenson said. “But there are a lot of ways it can go wrong.”

New research shows prosecutors often fight winning innocence claims, offer deals to keep convictions

KARE 11

Quoted: Keith Findley co-founded the Wisconsin Innocence Project, and was the co-director for years. Now he teaches on criminal law, evidence and wrongful convictions at the University of Wisconsin Law School.

“One of the things that innocence advocates have noticed over the years is that not always, but sometimes, prosecutors, when confronted with very powerful evidence of innocence, go to great lengths to try to preserve the convictions,” Findley said. “Including making plea offers that are essentially so good that it’s hard to turn them down, even for an innocent individual.”

Most of Wisconsin has no native earthworms. What’s with that?

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Noted: Fittingly, the thrashing invaders were first confirmed in the state by both Williams and Brad Herrick, ecologist and jumping worm specialist at UW-Madison Arboretum. The worms were discovered during a 2013 talk they were leading about invasive species at the Arboretum in Madison.

In 2013 when the jumping worms were first documented, they were probably already established in Wisconsin and the Midwest, Herrick said.

“They have been in North America for around 100 years,” he said, creeping here from the northeastern part of the country. “The Midwest states have been the recent invasion.”

Herrick, also known as Dr. Worm by Williams, is beginning his PhD study on the biology, ecology and control of jumping worms. He is helping lead a statewide jumping worm survey beginning in July.

Where Traffic Deaths Surged In Wisconsin During the Pandemic

PBS Wisconsin

Noted: Milwaukee’s new traffic unit is using DOT data to focus its enforcement efforts on intersections and stretches of road identified as particularly dangerous. The DOT partners with the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Traffic Operations and Safety Laboratory to collect collision report data that flows in from law enforcement agencies across the state every day and organize it into an interactive statewide map of crashes.

Continued Drought Could Affect Wisconsin Fruit, Vegetable Crops

Wisconsin Public Radio

Quoted: Amaya Atucha is a fruit crop specialist for the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Division of Extension. She said the hot and dry conditions over the last few weeks have put stress on everything from strawberry plants to apple orchards.

“Plants in general use water mostly to be able to control temperature. So the warmer it gets, the more water they need to be able to cool down,” Atucha explained.

Cole Lubinski manages the UW-Extension’s Langlade Research Station, which supports the state’s potato industry. He said his area has gotten enough moisture so far this year, but farms in the Central Sands have had irrigation systems running around the clock.

“Vegetable crops, they’re considered a high-moisture crop, so it’s very crucial to keep proper soil moisture levels,” Lubinski said. “When you have weeks like last week where there was a lot of heat and you get put on electrical (peak) control, where you can’t run your system if it’s run by electric, then you’re going hours without water for your crop.”

‘Both harmful and dangerous’: The 3 times Wisconsin legislators equated COVID and gun rules to the Holocaust

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Quoted: Simone Schweber, Goodman professor of Education and Jewish Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said such comparisons are not rare — likely because there are few events that trigger such universal agreement.

“The Holocaust is still, and deservedly so, a very powerful moral paradigm, and it may be one of the few large-scale events that we all agree, on the political spectrum, that it’s awful,” Schweber said.

Ron Johnson called Joe Biden ‘a liberal, progressive, socialist, Marxist.’ Can someone be all those things?

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Quoted: Richard Avramenko, a UW-Madison political scientist and director for the Center for the Study of Liberal Democracy, said Johnson would have been more accurate to describe Biden as a “left liberal.”

“Liberals, socialists and Marxists are, by definition, progressives,” Avramenko said in an email. “But Biden is not a ‘classical liberal’ (i.e., libertarian) — he’s a ‘left liberal.’ “

Avramenko added, “If he said, ‘Don’t ask me to get inside the mind of a liberal, progressive, socialist, Marxist — whatever you want to label him — like President Biden’ it would have been less questionable.”