A multidisciplinary team of University of Wisconsin researchers has received a $9.77 million grant to research the causes and possible treatments of sudden cardiac arrest from the National Heart, Blood and Lung Institute.
Dear Editor: A â??first-of-its-kind-studyâ? by graduate students at the UW-Madison Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies should have us all genuflecting at the spandex altar. They save the planet and pump big bucks into our state. But is it any more than mere advocacy research?
The creativity and inventiveness of UW-Madison students will be on full display this week during the annual Innovation Days competition at Engineering Hall.
The competition will feature 23 inventions built by 37 students, vying for more than $27,000 in prizes. The competition is for those inventions and ideas judged to be the most innovative and most likely to succeed in the marketplace.
When it opens in December, the $205 million Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery will be a showcase of high-tech design and model of collaboration.
The public/private research center under construction in the heart of the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus features a circular auditorium for as many as 300 people, with walls that can be lifted into the ceiling, modular research neighborhoods with “plug-and-play” fume hoods and lab sinks, and clusters of casual seating beneath four-story high skylights.
Rudolf Jaenisch, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology scientist, will be granted a U.S. patent for conceiving a way to turn cells from mammalsâ?? bodies into stem cells, a discovery also claimed by two other scientists.
The patent was announced by Fate Therapeutics Inc., a closely held San Diego company that has an exclusive license from MIT and Jaenisch, one of the companyâ??s founders. Shinya Yamanaka, a researcher at Kyoto University in Japan, â??was the first one to do it, we had the idea first,â? Jaenisch said in an interview yesterday. James Thomson of the University of Wisconsin also developed a method for developing stem cells.
There is a future in poverty, and that unfortunate fact has become thought for food at the UW-Madison, where its poverty research program was chosen this week to host the nationâ??s research on meeting the needs of the hungry. UW-Madisonâ??s Institute for Research on Poverty will establish a Center for National Food and Nutrition Assistance Research, funded with a federal grant of $1 million over four years. The center will be led by professor Judith Bartfeld, a nutrition researcher in the universityâ??s Department of Consumer Science.
The academic staff ad hoc committee recently released a report analyzing the current state of UW-Madisonâ??s graduate school and the Administrationâ??s restructuring proposal. Written by seven members of a world-class research institution, the reportâ??s conclusion was fitting: Show us more evidence.
An ad hoc committee formed by the University of Wisconsin Faculty Senate to give an opinion on the necessity of graduate school restructuring will not present its report this week as was originally intended.
Recreational cycling generates $1.5 billion in economic activity a year in Wisconsin, according to a first-of-its-kind study by graduate students in UW-Madisonâ??s Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies.
Catching up on a couple higher education-related items worth noting …** Raise your hand if youâ??re in favor of a “smart furlough” plan. Many on the UW-Madison campus — especially science researchers, who are paid mostly with federal grants or private funds, and professors, one-fifth of whom derive their salaries from non-state sources — still are upset they are being forced to take furloughs.
The topic will be discussed once again Monday afternoon at UW-Madison’s Faculty Senate meeting at Bascom Hall.
The National Institute of Health approved a commonly researched line of stem cells Friday for continued use by scientists across the United States, including those at UW-Madison.
The University of Wisconsin Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention will continue its research through a new clinical trial of a vaccine to help people successfully quit smoking.
Businesses in northeast Wisconsin weathered the recession better than those in Dane County in 2009 but both of those regions came out ahead of the Milwaukee area, according to a report being released Friday. In all, more than 1,300 business leaders responded to the poll by the A.C. Nielsen Center for Marketing Research at the UW-Madison School of Business.
Quoted: Su-Chun Zhang, a UW stem cell researcher and professor of anatomy and neurology.
Scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine may have taken the controversy out of the entire field of stem cell research. In a paper published online today in the journal Nature, they report that they were able to transform mouse skin cells directly into functioning nerve cells without needing to go through a stem cell stage first.
If pills, patches, sprays, inhalers, lozenges or gum havenâ??t helped you stop smoking, maybe some shots can. A UW-Madison study of an experimental nicotine vaccine seeks 60 adult smokers to roll up their sleeves for six injections over six months.
A team of University of Wisconsin researchers believes it may have discovered a class of drugs capable of destroying the Epstein-Barr virus, which is responsible for several types of cancer and mononucleosis.
A University of Wisconsin research facility received an $8.8 million federal grant from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute to perform human clinical trials with stem cell research, including a first of its kind spinal stem cell trial.
Passing along a couple interesting higher education-related items:
** Is the University of Wisconsin-Madison looking out for the best interests of its international students? Or is its decision to keep internationals out of a potential new union for graduate research assistants little more than an anti-union tactic?
“I just want to get the message out: This has nothing to do with being anti-union,” says Stephen Lund, UW-Madisonâ??s interim director of the Office of Human Resources.
There is a great debate about the ethics of experimenting on animals. The simple answer is it is not necessary.
Sweet news for baby boomers: Despite all those warnings that loud rock music would damage their ears, their generation appears to have better hearing than their parents did. In fact, a new study suggests that the rate of hearing problems at ages ranging from 45 to 75 has been dropping for years, at least among white Americans. “Iâ??m less likely to have a hearing loss when I get to be 70 years old than my grandmother did when she was 70,” said Karen Cruickshanks of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who authored the study.
Q. Is the swine flu (H1N1) pandemic over?
A. Since swine flu emerged in Mexico last year, itâ??s swept across the world, said Jonathan Temte, professor of family medicine at UW-Madison and an expert in infectious disease. Swine flu struck Wisconsin in the spring and again in the fall, when schools and universities returned to session.
Sweet news for baby boomers: Despite all those warnings that loud rock music would damage their ears, their generation appears to have better hearing than their parents did.
In fact, a new study suggests that the rate of hearing problems at ages ranging from 45 to 75 has been dropping for years, at least among white Americans. “Iâ??m less likely to have a hearing loss when I get to be 70 years old than my grandmother did when she was 70,” said Karen Cruickshanks of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
A UW-Madison study on monkeys indicates influenza may do permanent damage to a developing fetus. The Centers for Disease Control has already urged pregnant women to get vaccinated against the flu and now thereâ??s more evidence as to the risks if they donâ??t. Brain imaging of year old offspring from 12 pregnant monkeys infected with a seasonal flu virus showed they had fewer brain cells than the healthy “control” group.
“Fat” and “wanted” are two words that donâ??t often go together. After all, procedures like liposuction are all about getting rid of fat.
But a University of Wisconsin-Madison neurosurgeon and his colleagues think that the fat removed by liposuction and usually just thrown out might be put to good use.
Passing along a couple interesting higher education-related items:
** Is UW-Madison trying to protect its international students? Or is its decision to keep this group out of a potential new union for graduate research assistants little more than an anti-union tactic?
Inside Higher Education reported some graduate students and advocates for international students arenâ??t pleased with Wisconsinâ??s flagship institution.
The University Academic Planning Council approved the opening of a new UW-Madison institute for evolutionary studies last week.
Provost Paul DeLuca, Jr., we know you were all ready to reform the grad school, but it looks like you might have to rethink that Che shirt, because itâ??s not revolution time just yet. DeLuca recently proposed the creation of a new vice chancellor for research, separate from the graduate school, to manage the University of Wisconsinâ??s research operations.
A new study, headed by a Wisconsin researcher, is highlighting the dangers flu can pose to pregnant women.
“Pregnant women, especially if they’re going to be pregnant during the flu season, such as right now, it’s much more prudent, it’s wiser, to get immunized, vaccinated against the flu,” said Professor Christopher Coe from UW-Madison.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture cleared UW-Madisonâ??s Research Animal Resources Center as compliant with animal welfare standards according to a report released last week.
Learning is no game on todayâ??s college campuses. Itâ??s serious work that many students dread. Yet when those same students play video games like World of Warcraft, they happily spend hours on difficult tasks, and actually learn quite a bit in the process. Granted, what those gamers learn is how to cast spells and fell dragons, which hardly counts toward a college degree. But Constance Steinkuehler argues that thereâ??s a good model of teaching in those popular amusements.
Algae-choked lakes, dead fish and contaminated wells are sending Wisconsin a warning:
Itâ??s time to do more to protect the quality of our water.
Thatâ??s why itâ??s important for Wisconsin to update its regulations to reduce polluting runoff from farm fields and construction sites.
Embryonic stem cells are the progenitors of all tissues in the body. Since 1998, when a University of Wisconsin team first isolated human embryonic stem cells into colonies, or lines, researchers have contemplated using the cells to screen drugs, investigate organ development and perhaps grow rejection-free replacement tissues for victims of diabetes, paralysis and other ailments.
A National Institutes of Health advisory committee Friday voted to recommend the first human embryonic stem cell line leftover from Bush administration rules receive federal research funding.
An academic staff committee is opposing a plan to create a new office to oversee research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. UW-Madison leaders have proposed creating a vice chancellor for research to oversee the office managing research grants.
An ad hoc committee examining a proposal by the University of Wisconsin-Madison administration to restructure the universityâ??s highly successful research enterprise released its final report to the Capital Times late Thursday night.
In a nutshell, the Academic Staff Ad Hoc Committee on the Research Enterprise found that while some changes could be made to make things run more smoothly, there is no evidence to support the administrationâ??s contention that an organizational restructuring is the answer.
The University of Wisconsin and UW-Milwaukee announced a joint grant program this week that would create collaborative research initiatives between the two universities.
One Wisconsin Now, an advocacy group based in Madison, says it has evidence that a University of Wisconsin-Madison polling project downplayed state opposition to private school vouchers after a think tank — which helped pay for the poll — raised concerns.
If true, this would be a blow to the credibility of the polling project, which is run as a partnership between UW-Madisonâ??s Department of Political Science and the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute. The project is directed by UW-Madison political scientist Ken Goldstein.
If youâ??re looking for a can of freeze-dried turkey tetrazzini that has a shelf life of 25 years or need a handbook on emergency food storage and survival, the website 2012Supplies.com has you covered.
The much-hyped theory that the world will end on Dec. 21, 2012 â?? a premise that is often attributed to the fact that the Mayansâ?? 5,125-year-long calendar ends on that date â?? has spawned a virtual industry, including movies, television shows and websites that variously entertain, explain and help one prepare for the impending cataclysm.
Itâ??s not the first doomsday prediction, and likely will not be the last, as Peter Sobol, a historian of science, told an audience of about 50 last week at UW-Madisonâ??s Space Place.
Oshkosh Corp. said Wednesday it has partnered with University of Wisconsin-Madison and others in research to produce lighter, stronger metals.
A liberal group is raising questions about the polling done by a UW-Madison researcher and paid for by a conservative think tank. One Wisconsin Now said that the think tank changed how the results of the polling on the Milwaukee private school voucher program were presented to the public to make it appear more popular.
Just about every number was a grim one for Wisconsin farmers in 2009, particularly in dairy.T he just-released â??Status of Wisconsin Agriculture 2010â? reports that farm income plummeted 56 percent to $1.1 billion, the lowest since 2002. â??2009 was a lousy year. 2010 will be better,â? said Ed Jesse, emeritus professor of agricultural and applied economics at UW-Madison and an editor of the report.
A new report says net farm income dropped in Wisconsin by 56 percent in 2009. The report by University of Wisconsin-Madison agricultural economists notes the $1.1 billion in farm income last year was the lowest total since 2002.
A new report says net farm income dropped in Wisconsin by 56 percent in 2009. The report by University of Wisconsin-Madison agricultural economists notes the $1.1 billion in farm income last year was the lowest total since 2002.
Dear Editor: The UW Animal Care and Use Committee took its usual stance when challenged by Rick Marolt (Cap Times, Jan. 13-19). Prof. Sandgren, a committee member, stated that ethical considerations are built into reviews of proposed use of animals for research, and that the question is asked: Does this research advance knowledge, improvement of human or animal health?
However:
Provost Paul DeLuca Jr. recently told the University of Wisconsin community that the graduate school program and connected research enterprise was in a state of crisis., but recent federal reviews suggest the situation is in fact less dire.
Serious question …Would the University of Wisconsin-Madison allow an experiment in which 29 live pigs are buried under snow to study human survival chances in an avalanche?
After an outcry from the public, scientists in Italy and Austria called off just such an examination, according to a report by the Agence France-Presse.
The 2010 census form has a box to check for race, but what do the categories mean? Some scientists say thereâ??s no biological basis for dividing people into races. Others say race can be an important marker for disease. Ira Flatow and guests look at the science of race.
Interviewed: Pilar N. Ossorio, associate professor of law and bioethics, University of Wisconsin, School of Law and School of Medicine, Madison, Wis. (Audio.)
The top animal research oversight committee at UW-Madison concluded recently that experimenting on monkeys is ethical. Hereâ??s what happened: A group of insiders who are constituted by law not to make ethical decisions but to ensure that the care of animals in labs meets a minimum standard, decided that the work that pays their salaries, funds their labs, and gives them a basis for tenure and promotion is ethical.
If I had seen or read only the news coverage about research animal care at UW-Madison, without knowing the full story, I would have written a letter of complaint to myself. Fortunately, as director of the animal program, I know the full story. Unfortunately, some early news coverage misrepresented it.
Quoted: Jake Vander Zanden, an expert on invasive species at the UW-Madison Center for Limnology.
Noted: Cameron R. Currie, an associate professor of bacteriology at UW-Madison, is among the 100 winners of this yearâ??s Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on scientists in the early stages of independent research careers.
A team of UW-Madison scientists manipulating collagenâ??s triple helix â?? the structure that holds our bodies together â?? has created that important protein in â??the strongest form known to science.â? The step takes biochemistry closer to discovering a way to treat such diseases as arthritis, and a way to heal wounds.
An intercampus program is designed to foster cooperation and attract more grant money. Looking for a bigger piece of the grant pie, UW-Madison and UW-Milwaukee will mingle research ideas that support cooperation and promote partnerships among faculty, chancellors of the stateâ??s two doctoral-research universities announced Saturday.
Despite Haiti being on a major fault line seismic activity has not been active there on a mass scale. â??I believe the last major earthquake in Northern Haiti was at least 100 years ago,â? says UW-Madison Geophysics professor Clifford Thurber.
While the science behind the earthquake in Haiti is taking a backseat to humanitarian efforts, some geologists are still paying attention, including one at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who has been researching the area for years.
Although they were the first generation to endure rock concerts, boom boxes and iPods, the baby boomers have lost less of their hearing than their parents, according to a study by researchers at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.
The findings, which are to be published Friday in a medical journal, suggest that hearing can be preserved even as people age.
I have a difficult time believing that any university that touts itself as a â??place of higher learningâ? â?? which UW-Madison loves to do â?? can possibly condone medical experiments conducted on animals.
Quoted: John Magnuson, a professor emeritus at the UW-Madison Center for Limnology.
A state-appointed committee will soon consider whether raw milk should be sold in Wisconsin, and if so, under what conditions. The groupâ??s chair will be Richard Barrows, a retired Associate Dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
