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Author: Kelly Tyrrell

UW-Madison professors research how much public knows about science

Posted on
Daily Cardinal

Two UW-Madison professors are helping analyze data on American science and health literacy with the National Academy of Sciences panel for a report to be released in 2017.

Dominique Brossard, a life sciences communication professor, and Noah Feinstein, a School of Education professor, serve as two of 12 members on the committee. The group observes what the average individual knows and does not know about science, given that members of the general scientific community have expressed concern over Americans’ knowledge of science compared to those in other countries.

Hutchins earns second All-America honor of week

Posted on
NBC15

One All-America accolade already secured, junior Matt Hutchins of the Wisconsin men’s swimming team secured his second All-America honor of the week on Saturday night with a third-place finish in the 1650-yard freestyle at the 2016 NCAA Men’s Swimming & Diving Championships in Atlanta, Georgia.

Study highlights cost of battling aquatic invasive species

Posted on
AP (via WKOW TV)

A new study by the University of Wisconsin-Madison highlights the hefty cost of controlling aquatic invasive species in the state’s lakes.

The study found that the estimated cost of controlling a single invasive species, the spiny waterflea, in just one lake could range from $86.5 million to $163 million over 20 years. Researchers say the study’s results show that a broader measure of the costs of controlling aquatic invasive species should be taken into account.

Tsipis expected to be named UW women’s bball coach, resigns from GW

Posted on
WKOW TV

The State Journal is reporting that Jonathan Tsipis is expected to be named the next head coach of the Wisconsin women’s basketball program. The UW Board of Regents have scheduled a meeting for 5pm Tuesday to discuss the contracts for a new women’s basketball coach, along with a coach for the men’s hockey program.

Clinton takes aim at Trump in Supreme Court speech

Posted on
CNN (via Channel3000.com)

Hillary Clinton on Monday blasted Republicans who regularly “bemoan” the rise of Donald Trump, their party’s presidential front-runner, while also allowing the GOP to “make the extreme normal” in politics and in Congress. The former secretary of state, campaigning in Wisconsin ahead of the state’s primary on April 5, urged voters at the University of Wisconsin-Madison to make the Supreme Court a voting issue, while showing that she is keeping close tabs on the Republican presidential race.

Badgers to take practice in Green Bay

Posted on
Channel3000.com

The UW Badgers football team will hold a spring practice session in Green Bay this weekend. The team will be in Green Bay on Saturday. Head coach Paul Chryst said spring practice is a time when coaches and players can work on self-improvement.

How experts believe the WI primary could affect the presidential race

Posted on
WKOW TV

Quoted: UW-Madison Political Science Professor Barry Burden says the April 5th primary is sort of like the “All Star Break” in the presidential race. It separates two even halves of the primary circuit and comes at a time when no other primaries are going on.

“It has the potential to be a kind of pivot point,” Burden says. “It was sitting there by itself on the calendar right in the middle.”
Also quoted: journalism professor Mike Wagner.

Our cave man DNA and early human inbreeding

Posted on
CNN (via Channel3000.com)

Noted: The current study and previous research suggest that we can no longer think of our ancestors as interbreeding with other hominins only once, said John Hawks, professor of anthropology at University of Wisconsin-Madison. “It is happening repeatedly, wherever modern humans are coming into contact with these archaic people,” said Hawks, who was not involved in the current study.

East siders not feeling same support in city coyote issue

Posted on
Channel3000.com

Noted: The UW Canid Project currently tracks and traps coyotes on the West Side but can’t do the same on the East Side. Last October, a community meeting was held after four dogs were killed on the east. At the meeting, hosted by the city of Madison and Dane County, the UW Canid Project said they could help by monitoring problem coyotes and then having them euthanized by the DNR, but that plan fell through.

“We are constantly struggling to fund our project,” said David Drake, a UW professor who heads the project.

Man tackling food insecurity on the south side

Posted on
Madison 365

Noted: “We got a Baldwin Grant to do this and the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies is helping us. It’s working out really well,” Pierce said. “We got a guy right now and we’ve been teaching him all about urban agriculture and we’re giving him a space at the farmer’s market to sell his stuff. We’re working with him. Trying to teach people how to grow their own food.”

UW student at airport during Brussels attack

Posted on
NBC15

A UW student is still trying to make her way home after experiencing the aftermath of the Brussels attack first hand.

Niky Green was visiting a friend studying abroad in Brussels. She was boarding a flight on her way to go skiing, when in a split second, everything changed.

How to be happy: 10 science-backed ways to become a happier person

Posted on
Inc. (via WKOW TV)

Noted: “There are now a plethora of data showing that when individuals engage in generous and altruistic behavior, they actually activate circuits in the brain that are key to fostering well-being,” Richard Davidson, founder of the Center for Healthy Minds at the University of Wisconsin and author of The Emotional Life of Your Brain, has explained.

UW should lead effort to reduce hate, bias

Posted on
Channel3000.com

There are a couple of reasons why we were happy to see University of Wisconsin-Madison officials aggressively respond to a string of reports of incidents of discrimination and bias. The first is obvious: the UW campus is not as inclusive and welcoming and tolerant as it could be or should be. One needs to clean one’s own house first.

Koenig dedicates game winner to fellow Native Americans

Posted on
Madison365

He knew it was good as soon as it left his hand.

That’s what Bronson Koenig said after the game, anyway, of the fade-away 3-point buzzer-beater that gave the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team an unlikely 69-66 victory over second-seeded Xavier University, sending the Badgers to the Sweet 16 for the fifth time in six years.

UW professor has ties to Brussels

Posted on
NBC15

The attacks in Brussels are impacting many all over the world. Closer to home, a UW professor has ties to the area.

UW Geography professor, Kris Olds, says when he heard of the attacks, his mind immediately went to his friends in Brussels and family in Paris.

Police respond to mental illness crisis

Posted on
Madison Magazine

Noted: The relationship between city police and area social services agencies is hardly new. But there was a time “when if a police officer showed up at the mental health clinic, they were the enemy,” says Ronald Diamond, a University of Wisconsin–Madison professor of psychiatry and former medical director of Journey (then called the Mental Health Center of Dane County).

Where are the pollinators going?

Posted on
Medium

A Q&A with Jeremy Hemberger, an entomology graduate student at the University of Wisconsin at Madison who is trying to figure out where the pollinators in the area go, using tiny radio-frequency enabled tracking devices glued to bees’ backs.

Badgers are battle-tested in close games

Posted on
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The narrow defeats, each more debilitating than the previous, kept coming.

Wisconsin fell by two points to Western Illinois, by one to UW-Milwaukee and by two to Marquette.

Big Ten losses to Purdue, Indiana, Maryland and Northwestern — by a combined 15 points — left UW 2-7 in games decided by six points or fewer.

Story about farming in warmer climate wins writing contest

Posted on
Madison Magazine

Noted: The “Our Waters, Our Future” contest was a collaboration of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Water Sustainability and Climate project and Center for Limnology, Madison Magazine, Sustain Dane, and the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts & Letters.

Former Badger makes name for herself as a coach

Posted on
NBC15

Connections to the Wisconsin Badgers basketball franchise run deep in St. Louis. One former Badger is making a name for herself in the coaching world.

“That’s a dream. When you’re from Wisconsin, and you can go play at the UW-Madison, is there anything more perfect,” said Nancy Fahey, the Wash U head coach.

Schwab: Worked as transplant advocate after basketball

Posted on
WKOW TV

A former Marquette men’s basketball assistant who later worked as an advocate for the University of Wisconsin organ donor program has died, 12 years after receiving a double-lung transplant.

University Hospital spokeswoman Lisa Brunette says Trey Schwab passed away Sunday at the Madison facility. He was 50 years old.

The long road from a refugee camp to Match Day

Posted on
Channel3000.com

It is called Match Day and on the same day, at the same time medical students in the United States open envelopes to find out where they will do their residency. Some will stay in the communities where they went to medical school while others travel far. It is likely that few traveled further in life to get to this day than Xia Vang.

“I grew up in Milwaukee, but I was born in Thailand in a refugee camp,” says Vang.

UW–Madison houses the oldest rock on Earth

Posted on
Madison Magazine

Sitting on a box in the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Geology Museum is a rock. It’s a thin slice, subdued in its color and pattern. It’s not as big, colorful or sparkly as other items on display, but the title above it—“The Oldest Piece of Earth”—certainly catches the eye.

Coach, organ transplant advocate Trey Schwab dead at 50

Posted on
Channel3000.com

Prominent organ transplant advocate and former Marquette men’s assistant basketball coach Trey Schwab has died. After receiving his transplant, he stepped down as assistant coach to work for UW Hospital. He became a vigorous advocate for organ donation and transplants.

Badgers beat Xavier; Headed to Sweet 16

Posted on
AP (via Channel3000.com)

Wisconsin coach Greg Gard never lost confidence in Bronson Koenig, even when he struggled in the Big Ten Tournament and failed to hit a 3-pointer in an NCAA Tournament win over Pittsburgh. Gard proved just how much he believed in him Sunday night.