Category: Research

MEYRIN, Switzerland ? Vivek Sharma missed his daughter. A professor at the University of California, San Diego, Dr. Sharma had to spend months at a time away from home, coordinating a team of physicists at the Large Hadron Collider, here just outside Geneva. But on April 15, 2011, Meera Sharma?s 7th birthday, he flew to California for some much-needed family time. ?We had a fine birthday, a beautiful day,? he recalled.

Embedded in the national debate over automatic cuts in the federal budget ? the sequester ? is a question that could hit Wisconsin harder than many states: What is Washington?s role in fostering innovation?

It can take a lot of effort to eat well, exercise regularly and try to stay healthy, especially this time of year.For individuals, addressing public health problems ? such as obesity, health illiteracy and cancer ? can seem even more daunting.

The human tongue is an extraordinary bit of flesh. It?s alternately squishy and tense, at times delicate and others powerful. It helps us taste, talk, and tie cherry stems, all the while avoiding two interlocking rows of sharpened enamel that know only how to gnash. Now, it seems the tongue may even serve as a gateway to the human brain, providing us with the opportunity to treat serious afflictions from multiple sclerosis to combat-induced brain injuries.

Government-funded scientists here in the U.S. are a step closer to being able to resume some controversial experiments with lab-altered bird flu viruses.

Scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have created a device known as a PoNS, that shows promise for the treatment of traumatic brain injuries, strokes, or the effects of diseases such as Parkinson?s and multiple sclerosis. Researchers at the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command are now conducting a study on the device, which works by stimulating the patient?s tongue.

MADISON, Wis. — Actor James Cromwell has been charged with a civil ordinance violation for allegedly disrupting a university meeting in Madison to protest animal testing.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) ? A bird flu virus at the center of an international debate sits in a padlocked freezer, deep inside a University of Wisconsin-Madison lab, waiting for new government guidelines that will allow researchers to continue unlocking its secrets.

I, too, am opposed to cruelty to animals during medical research. But I take issue with Thursday?s letter by a PETA member stating cats at UW “had their heads cut open and had steel rods screwed to their skulls.” Due to a recurrent brain tumor, I?ve had two craniotomies. So I, too, have had my head cut open and had steel rods screwed to my skull to hold it steady during surgery. That?s how brain surgery is done.

Government-funded scientists here in the U.S. are a step closer to being able to resume some controversial experiments with lab-altered bird flu viruses.

While there?s no end of robust and heated conversation about genetically modified foods, there are strikingly few comprehensive studies that put a numeric value on the costs and benefits.

MILWAUKEE — Major medical breakthroughs happen everyday, and not just for us but for our pets too. Some of these advancements are right here in Southeast Wisconsin?s own backyard. We recently traveled to Madison to see how new modern technology is saving our furry friends.We came across one dog named Rosie.  Her owner has come from Chicago to get specialized treatment at UW Veterinary Care on the campus of the University of Wisconsin.  Her 8 ½ year old daschund is suffering from thyroid cancer and is undergoing extensive radiation through TomoTherapy.  The university is one of two across the nation providing this advanced type of modern medicine. The prognosis appears promising for Rosie.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison biochemistry department will debut a new art exhibit to educate the public on the university?s current and past cancer research.The exhibit, ?Healing through Art and Science: Cancer,? is part of an ongoing initiative by the biochemistry department to showcase the university?s research through art, according to a statement released by the university.

Regarding Saturday?s guest column, “Cat research, after all the drama,” by UW-Madison research director Eric Sandgren:UW?s response to criticism about its barbaric taxpayer-funded experiments on cats has been to distort, deny and dismiss the well-documented cruelty and to silence dissent.

Madison – A bird flu virus at the center of an international debate sits in a padlocked freezer, deep inside a University of Wisconsin-Madison lab, waiting for new government guidelines that will allow researchers to continue unlocking its secrets.

It?s a familiar story. You buy a scoop of ice cream, only to find it dripping down to a puddle after just a few licks. Few consider the science behind this phenomenon, but researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison are getting beyond the cone to study how ice cream melts.

Anyone who?s spent any time on the internet is familiar with trolls. From politics to sports to science, trolls take pleasure in bashing a story from every possible angle. Science is no exception, and recent research shows that when it comes to science news, the trolls are winning.

Hollywood star James Cromwell, from the Academy Award winning film “Babe” joins Jane Velez-Mitchell to discuss his latest role: Loud protester at a university board hearing. 

A new process being pioneered in the US could lead to greater integration of strained silicon in flexible electronics.

Eric Sandgren, director of the Research Animal Resource Center, writes about allegations by PETA in a guest column in the Wisconsin State Journal.

Now that People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has had its moment of theatrics in front of the UW Board of Regents, let?s look at some pertinent facts about their campaign against UW-Madison research on sound localization.

Ian Duncan was interviewed on NBC15.

University of Wisconsin-Madison professor emeritus David Gustafson was elected into the National Academy of Engineering Thursday along with 68 other new members and 11 foreign associates.Gustafson was inducted into the NAE for his industrial and systems engineering methods to improve care for older patients and people who suffer from lung cancer, severe asthma or drug addiction.

A new study in the American Journal of Epidemiology has some eye-opening findings for tired parents: We?re not actually as sleep deprived as we think. The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, looked at parents of kids ages 0 to 18 and evaluated how much sleep they were losing at different stages. It?s no big shock that the younger the kids were, the more sleep deprivation parents experienced.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison are helping search for evidence of alien life not by looking into outer space, but by studying some rocks right here on Earth.

The telegram from President John F. Kennedy to University of Wisconsin President Fred Harrington was both eerie and visionary. Eerie because it was delivered Nov. 20, 1963 ? just two days before Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas ? and visionary because it seemed to anticipate the challenges confronting science in its quest to explore the human brain.

The telegram from President John F. Kennedy to University of Wisconsin President Fred Harrington was both eerie and visionary. Eerie because it was delivered Nov. 20, 1963 ? just two days before Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas ? and visionary because it seemed to anticipate the challenges confronting science in its quest to explore the human brain.

Noted: We know that anonymity makes a huge difference in how we interact with each other, says University of Wisconsin-Madison communications professor Dietram Scheufele. People say different things when they are wearing a mask, or at least say it in a different way.

73-year-old Oscar-nominated actor James Cromwell was arrested this morning at the University of Wisconsin — after bursting into a board meeting … claiming the school tortures cats in the name of science.

Hollywood actor James Cromwell was arrested Thursday morning after interrupting a University of Wisconsin Board of Regents meeting to demand an end to experiments on cats at UW-Madison.

As the evil Dr. Arden on the recently wrapped “American Horror Story: Asylum,” James Cromwell committed any number of atrocities, including the double amputation of the asylum?s resident nymphomaniac, Shelley.

Leaders of academic research institutions across the nation urged Congress on Tuesday to take action to head off automatic spending cuts that are scheduled to take effect next month.

When animal researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (85084MF) dodged federal penalties for decapitating a cat named Double Trouble, their troubles weren?t over.

The latest installment in director Michael Apted?s “Up” series opens in Minneapolis later this week. “56 Up” continues what started as a television special looking into the British class system in the mid-1960s.

The U.S. Office of Research Integrity recently disciplined a University of Wisconsin researcher for faking his experimental results on two publications, according to a notice from the Federal Register.

Lead exposure may be linked to lower test scores among Wisconsin fourth graders, and exposure rates among African-American and Hispanic children are roughly double those of white children, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

A UW-Madison professor emeritus will be featured on Wednesday?s NOVA episode as an international expert on the techno-archaeology of chariots.According to a university press release, experts on the 8 p.m. NOVA episode, ?Building Pharaoh?s Chariot,? tested exact replicas of royal chariots that would have been used by ancient Egyptian royalty.

How can journalists and bloggers avoid some of the pitfalls of communicating science in an online world? Should a website?s comments section be moderated, or removed altogether? How has social media changed the blogosphere? A panel of experts joins Ira Flatow to discuss. Dominique Brossard is lead author of the Science paper, which was titled “Science, New Media and the Public.” She is a professor at the Department of Life Science Communication at the University of Madison – University of Wisconsin in Madison, and she joins us from Madison. Welcome to the program.

Every year, the International Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge seeks to find the most visually striking scientific art and design. It?s just announced the 2012 winners?and there are some amazing sights to be seen.

A micrograph, or microphotograph, of a sea urchin?s crystalline tooth won first place and people?s choice for photography in the 2012 International Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge.