Category: Research

Everything you ever wanted to know about fungi, energy conservation, DNA and other far-reaching quests will be given the scholarly touch by UW-Madison scientists at your local library.

“Discover!Thursdays” is a new partnership between Madison Public Library, UW-Extension, UW-Madison and the Wisconsin Alumni Association that aims to educate residents about the research going on at UW-Madison.

Douglas N. Harris, an associate professor of educational policy studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is among the legion of economists who have provided some of the most interesting takes on the national school debate. I like his stuff because it often challenges prevailing wisdom, and is usually free of jargon.

A study of deer mice on islands off the coast of California has provided new information on the rodent-borne infectious disease Hantavirus, researchers say.

Scientists from the University of Wisconsin-Madison studied wild deer mouse populations on the Channel Islands off the southern coast of California that carry a variant of Hantavirus called Sin Nombre virus.

After years of waiting, the world?s biggest and best neutrino detector has started its search for the source of ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays that constantly bombard the Earth?s atmosphere. And it?s seen exactly zilch.

Only a tiny fraction of the research done in universities gets covered by newspapers. So I feel an unbridled sense of satisfaction if I get a research story mentioned in the mainstream media. I?ll admit to punching the air when listening to the Today programme and hearing one of our academics talk about their research. But there are increasingly new techniques for sourcing, and promoting, stories using social and digital media.

A University of Wisconsin-Madison study aimed at a better understanding of the ways to successfully develop sustainable local and regional food systems received a $5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

A $5-million federal study is ramping up, looking into what may be a lack of low-priced, high-quality food in poverty-stricken urban areas like Milwaukee.

Warning labels on junk food would be more effective than a “fat” tax for deterring overweight people from making unhealthy food buys, Canadian researchers say.

Q: Is global warming evident in the temperature records of Wisconsin for the past 30 or 40 years? Winters seem to be getting a whole lot warmer.

A: Indeed, and winter is actually warming faster than summer in Wisconsin, says Ankur Desai, an assistant professor of atmospheric and oceanic sciences at UW-Madison.

A University of Wisconsin-Madison project designed to unearth better ways of bringing fresh, local produce and other healthy foods to inner-city communities has earned a $4.9 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The five-year project initially will focus on Chicago, Detroit and Milwaukee, cities in which large portions of the population don?t have easy access to affordable and nutritious foods.

While members of the national government revisit safety standards for nuclear power plants on American soil following the crisis in Japan, one University of Wisconsin professor lent his expertise during a federal subcommittee?s hearing Wednesday.

He was found sick, and thrown out like a piece of trash, now he?s fighting for his life. “Braveheart” came to the UW Veterinary Clinic a week ago and everyday has been a struggle.

In January, President Barack Obama selected Jo Handelsman, a molecular biologist and professor at Yale University, as one of 11 people to receive the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring.

On June 2, 2010, Dane County Judge Amy Smith agreed with the national animal rights group PETA and local Alliance for Animals that UW-Madison researchers may merit civil and even criminal penalties for conducting sometimes fatal decompression experiments on sheep. She tapped Madison attorney David Geier to see what charges were warranted.

Agriculture is still an economic giant in Wisconsin, generating almost $60 billion a year. A report from UW-Madison and the UW-Cooperative Extension found some of the industry?s economic strength is coming from unexpected areas.

Ask a roomful of Wisconsinites if they think the climate has changed during their lifetimes and the response is often a unanimous yes, says the Unversity of Wisconsin – Extension.

A UW-Madison researcher is using $1.5 million dollars to learn what makes for a successful minority or tribal college.

Nerve cell tendrils readily thread their way through tiny semiconductor tubes, researchers find, forming a crisscrossed network like vines twining towards the sun. The discovery that offshoots from nascent mouse nerve cells explore the specially designed tubes could lead to tricks for studying nervous system diseases or testing the effects of potential drugs. Such a system may even bring researchers closer to brain-computer interfaces that seamlessly integrate artificial limbs or other prosthetic devices.

t could be a breakthrough that allows those with spinal injuries or certain diseases to walk again.Scientists at the University of Wisconsin have successfully shown that they can force nerve cells to grow through

Graduate students at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, report that they?ve successfully managed to get nerve cell tendrils to grow through tiny tubes made of semiconductor materials.