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Category: Research

Why Well-Being Is a Skill That Can Be Learned

Huffington Post

“I kept doing the body scan to feel calm,” a fifth grade student explained to my colleagues as he recollected coping with a stressful situation at home. A “body scan” involves checking in with your body and noticing how it feels in the present moment. There’s no action required other than observing experiences as they unfold.

As a neuroscientist applying the insights of my center’s research to the real world, including in classrooms, I hear similar stories from people of all ages expressing a desire to calm their minds, to take baby steps to reduce negative emotions, improve well-being and respond with resilience to factors outside of our control.

Study Wisconsin Poverty Rose In 2013 Despite Job Gains Section

A new study shows poverty rose slightly in Wisconsin from 2012 to 2013, despite some job gains. The report released Tuesday by University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers said the Wisconsin Poverty Measure rose to 10.9 percent in 2013, up from 10.2 percent in 2012. That measure was roughly 2.5 percentage points lower than the official Wisconsin poverty rate from the federal government.

Carl Gulbrandsen to retire as director of WARF

Madison.com

Gulbrandsen, 68, plans to retire early next year from WARF, where he has served since 1997 and been managing director since 2000. He said his retirement plans have been in the works for years and he is confident that WARF will remain a vital force long after his departure.

U.S. Patent Director visits Madison

WKOW

A leader in the U.S. business world visited Madison on Wednesday in hopes of fostering more innovation.

Michelle K. Lee, the director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, toured the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery.

Lee said she wants to identify ways that her office can better serve the innovators and entrepreneurs in the Madison area.

UW researches health impact of e-cigarettes

Channel3000.com

The University of Wisconsin Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention is launching a five-year, $3.7 million study looking into the health effects of electronic cigarettes. “Cigarettes have been studied intensively in the U.S. since the 1950s. E-cigarettes have just come on the market really in less than a decade ago,” said Dr. Doug Jorenby, UW-CTRI Director of Clinical Services.

Two UW researchers win biomedical awards

Madison.com

Two researchers at UW-Madison, Christina Hull and Luis Populin, have been named winners of biomedical research awards, one for brain disease research and the other for work in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder ADHD. Each will get $100,000 a year for three years from the Hartwell Foundation, a Memphis-based foundation that grants awards to individuals for innovative, applied biomedical research to benefit children in the U.S.

Turning prairies into gas: study finds U.S. biofuel production has big impacts on grasslands

Mongabay.com

Corn and soybean cultivation soared in the late 2000s, as U.S. agribusiness rushed to respond to federal legislation rewarding biofuels production. Debate since the institution of the program has centered on the question of whether biofuel crop expansions have come at the expense of plowed-under biodiverse grasslands and prairie ecosystems. A new study largely settles that argument.

The war on bugs

Isthmus

Kate McCoy was out with her 4-year-old son when she got a call from her husband. Their 5-month-old son, Neil, had started having trouble breathing, and they were both now at American Family Children’s Hospital.

VA program records veterans life stories to personalize medical care

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Noted: Pyle began volunteering this month as part of public service requirement for a literature and medicine class at University of Wisconsin-Madison. She’s graduating in May with a degree in neurobiology and is applying to medical schools. Pyle is enjoying the experience so much that after her class finishes, she plans to continue volunteering until she goes to medical school next year.

A Real Ebola Vaccine May Be on the Way

Popular Mechanics

As worldwide panic over Ebola quiets down to a murmur, researchers are hard at work trying to stop the next pandemic. Now a new vaccine may be on the way, thanks to a group of research scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.