National Institutes of Health chief Francis Collins approved another 27 human embryonic stem cell lines for federal research funding Monday, but limited support to diabetes-related pancreatic cell experiments. The 27 Harvard University cell lines join 13 from Childrenâ??s Hospital Boston added earlier this month to a NIH stem cell registry.
A new focal point of the University of Wisconsin campus is almost half finished. The project manager for the Wisconsin Insitutes for Discovery says the building is 46% completed.
Quoted: Paul E. Miller, a clinical professor of ophthalmology at the UW-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine.
When Forest â??Woodyâ? Shomberg was freed Nov. 13, he became the ninth Wisconsin prisoner whose conviction was overturned at least in part on the strength of DNA test results, according to a review of the stateâ??s online court database and cases examined by the Wisconsin State Journal and the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism. To date, about one-third of the post-conviction DNA testing in Wisconsin has resulted in a conviction being overturned, the review found, with several cases still pending. That number could increase as the Wisconsin Innocence Project embarks next year on an 18-month, $647,000 federally funded project to identify potential DNA exoneration cases and officials scramble to collect DNA profiles from 12,000 convicted felons discovered missing this fall from the stateâ??s database.
Cynthia Murphy has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s Disease, and connected with an organization formed to advocate for medical research. At the end of March a group of people toured the Wasiman Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and met with Gov. Jim Doyle to ask for more state funding for research. Cynthia didnâ??t go; itâ??s too difficult, she wrote to the governor, to see other people in other stages of the disease — the stages where she may go. Last December scientists at Waisman used modified stem cells to deliver a nerve growth factor directly to muscle cells in mice. An editorial in the scientific journal that published the results called it a major step because the growth factor did seem to work in animals not showing any symptoms, however it didnâ??t slow the progress of the disease.
State budgets are tight and getting tighter, but politicians in Wisconsin are determined to promote the Badger State in a slightly cheesy way: The state Assembly is considering a bill that would name the bacterium that converts milk into cheese as — ready for it? — the official state microbe.
The University of Minnesota is making progress toward its goal of becoming one of the nationâ??s top public research universities.
When David Teie, a cellist with the National Symphony Orchestra, wanted to test his ideas about where our emotional response to music originates, he decided to try them out on monkeys. He figured that if his theories were right â?? namely, that our response to the “emotional vocalizations,” pulses and heartbeats that we first hear in the womb establishes our sense of music â?? then he should “be able to write music for another species thatâ??s effective for that species.” He contacted Charles Snowdon, a psychology professor who ran a colony of cotton-top tamarins in Madison at the University of Wisconsin, who sent him recordings of tamarin calls that demonstrated fear and calm.
UW-Madison Chancellor Biddy Martin wants the Board of Regents to keep the UW System competitive in the global economy by investing in international research. (Fourth item.)
A decline in invasive breast cancer cases has been linked to a dramatic drop in the use of hormone therapy, University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers report, and that is certainly good news for women and their families.
Whatâ??s troubling is that so many women were pushed into this therapy in the first place by drug companies, doctors and even universities such as UW-Madison.
Quoted: Phil Moy, a researcher with the University of Wisconsin.
There is no question that Wisconsinâ??s biotechnology industry is one of the most highly regarded in the world. The stateâ??s 608 biotechnology companies, many of them spun out of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, employ nearly 20,000 people. These companies have secured close to 2,400 patents, and they continue to attract federal research and development funding.
Quoted: University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Dairy Science chairman Ric Grummer.
It might go against the adage “oil and water donâ??t mix,” but a University of Wisconsin professor and the City of Beloitâ??s fleet manager are experimenting with technology that allows motor scooters, cars and trucks to use a combination of gasoline and water as fuel.
Theyâ??re testing a system that uses voltage from a vehicleâ??s battery and alternator to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. Those molecules are then burned as supplemental fuel – reducing the amount of gasoline needed and resulting in a cleaner-running engine.
The declining use of hormone therapy among women has led to 6,000 fewer invasive breast cancer cases a year, according to an analysis by researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
City of Beloit officials have taken a big step in their hydrogen project: They got a Vespa moped to run entirely on hydrogen. Beloit Public Works Fleet Manager Dan Lutz, along with a group of University of Wisconsin-Madison students, demonstrated a new hydrogen-assisted system that runs a Vespa on a hydrogen-gasoline fuel mix, according to a UW-Madison press release.
Wisconsinâ??s quaking aspens are growing much faster than in the past, and scientists think that rising levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere provide the explanation.
A sample of nearly 1,000 aspen trees in different parts of the state showed an annual growth radial rate of 53% over the past five decades, according to scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Minnesota Morris.
The extinction of mammoths in North America at the end of the last ice age was not caused by a change in the ecosystem: itâ??s what triggered the changes, a new study suggests.T he study also elucidates a possible cause for the demise of mammoths and mastodons 15,000 years ago, and researchers say that the expanded incidence of fire in the landscape – suspected of being caused by human arrival – only appeared after the extinction.
“For the first time, we have a very close linkage between this major ecological event and some evidence about the consequences of this extinction,” said John Williams, a professor at the University of Wisconsin in Madison and the senior author of the study published in the U.S. journal, Science.
Aspen trees grow faster with increasing amounts of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, say researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Minnesota. â??We were quite surprised to see this large of a response,â? says Rick Lindroth, an ecologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an author of the study. â??We wouldnâ??t have been surprised to see some effect, but a 53% increase is a whopping increase.â?
The miracle of the dramatic drop in Dane Countyâ??s black infant mortality rate has become more of a mystery, as the rate shot up last year after years of surprising declines that received national attention. Health officials learned last month that the countyâ??s rate of black babies who die before their first birthdays, which dropped nearly 70 percent from 1990-2001 to 2002-2007, increased last year to slightly above the previous level. Researchers, who have been studying what seemed to be going right, also are looking at what apparently went wrong last year. The recession could be to blame, said Dr. Thomas Schlenker, director of the Madison-Dane County Health Department.
A federal advisory panel Friday suggested approval of 27 more human embryonic stem cell lines for research funding, with restrictions. Earlier in the week National Institutes of Health chief Francis Collins approved 13 other stem cell lines for federal funding after they met ethics guidelines released by the Obama administration this year.
Quoted: Daniel Einstein of the UW-Madison Division of Facilities, Planning and Management.
Could leftover fat from liposuctions heal other peopleâ??s wounds?It could, if a UW-Madison study in rabbits, published Friday, proves successful in humans.
Becky Hoffman, an advanced microbiologist at the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene at UW-Madison, has received the Golden Spigot Award from the Water Quality and Technology Division of the American Water Works Association.
It would seem to hold all the appeal of listening to someone read the dictionary aloud. But hundreds of people will pack into a room on the UW-Madison campus Saturday to attend a presentation on the properties of carbon dioxide, liquid nitrogen and zirconium.In short, the choice activity in Madison on Saturday is a chemistry lecture.If it sounds like a snooze, then you donâ??t know Bassam Shakhashiri. This is the 40th time the UW-Madison professor has held his annual Christmas show extravaganza, otherwise known as “Once upon a Christmas cheery, in the lab of Shakhashiri.”
Aspen trees grow faster with increasing amounts of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, say researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Minnesota.
A majority of Wisconsin residents responding to a recent poll say they disapprove of the job being done by Gov. Jim Doyle. That is the first time in Doyleâ??s seven years in office that a majority of those participating in the University of Wisconsin Survey Centerâ??s Badger Poll had that negative of a reaction to Doyle.
President Barack Obamaâ??s approval rating in Wisconsin is holding steady, while anger at Congress is subsiding. Results of a poll by the University of Wisconsin Survey Center released Thursday show that 60 percent of respondents approve of the job Obamaâ??s doing. In the spring his approval rating was 63 percent.
A majority of Wisconsin residents responding to a recent poll say they disapprove of the job being done by Gov. Jim Doyle. That is the first time in Doyleâ??s seven years in office that a majority of those participating in the University of Wisconsin Survey Centerâ??s Badger Poll had that negative of a reaction to Doyle.
Aspen trees, the backbone of Minnesotaâ??s paper industry, are liking the extra carbon dioxide in the air linked to global warming. New research published Friday found that aspen growth rates increased by 53 percent during the past half-century, as carbon dioxide in the atmosphere increased about 20 percent. “Trees eat carbon dioxide for a living,” said Don Waller, study author and University of Wisconsin-Madison botany professor.
You may know Wisconsinâ??s state animal (the badger), the state bird (the robin), or even the state dance (the polka). Now Wisconsin lawmakers want to name an official state microbe. Itâ??s called Lactococcus Lactis, and itâ??s the microbe that turns milk into cheese. Supporters presented Assembly Bill 556 Thursday to the Committee on State Affairs and Homeland Security.
Shares of companies developing stem cell therapies surged Wednesday on news that the federal government has cleared 13 new stem cell lines for testing, bringing to a close nearly a decade of restrictions.The news from the National Institutes of Health should provide some relief to companies that have been squeezed by limited funding from both the federal government and the private sector.
Health officials Wednesday gave the green light to federally funded research on 13 human embryonic stem cell lines, the first approved since the Bush administration imposed limits eight years ago.
Shark teeth, cephalopod shells, and replicas of Tyrannosaurus rex teeth will be for sale at the UW-Madison Geology Museum Friday. The one-day sale is a trial run, designed to raise money for the museum and its education programs.
A new poll shows that Wisconsin residents are more satisfied with the way things are going in the state than they were in the spring.The University of Wisconsin Survey Center poll released on Wednesday also shows that nine out of 10 Wisconsinites believe the state is in bad economic times. However, 51 percent say they are generally satisfied with the way things are going in the state. Thatâ??s 9 percentage points more than in the spring.
This fossilized tooth of a shark called Otodus obliquus that lived 45 to 60 million years ago will be available at the Holiday Sale at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Geology Museum Dec. 4, 2009. The shark may have reached 30 feet in length.
The Wisconsin Legislature is pushing an economic growth package with some strong provisions worthy of support. This includes expanded tax credits for investors in early-stage companies and more support for commercializing university research at campuses beyond just UW-Madison.
A new poll shows that Wisconsin residents are nearly evenly divided over national health care reform. The poll released Tuesday done by the University of Wisconsin Survey Center shows that 46 percent of respondents oppose the changes being developed in Washington, D.C., based on what theyâ??ve heard or read. Forty-four percent support the changes.
A new poll shows that Wisconsin residents are nearly evenly divided over national health care reform.The poll released today done by the University of Wisconsin Survey Center shows that 46 percent of respondents oppose the changes being developed in Washington, D.C., based on what theyâ??ve heard or read. Forty-four percent support the changes.
Noted: As she adjusted to the disease, Cynthia connected with the ALS Association, an organization formed to advocate for medical research and to help families and patients deal with the disease. At the end of March a group of people toured the Wasiman Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and met with Gov. Jim Doyle to ask for more state funding for research.
Cynthia didnâ??t go; itâ??s too difficult, she wrote to the governor, to see other people in other stages of the disease – the stages where she may go.What she also asked for was more money for research, and the Waisman Center, which investigates human development and neuro-degenerative diseases like ALS, is involved in stem cell investigations where much hope is now focused.
Tuesday is World AIDS Day. Itâ??s the day we think about the people who have died from the disease, as well as the 33 million people living with HIV and AIDS.
A University of Wisconsin lab, however, could help create a future with a cure.
Quoted: Patrick McBride, a professor of cardiovascular medicine at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.
Rick Marolt will be giving a talk titled “Why Primate Research at the UW is Unethical” on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. “Whether or not you agree with me, I hope that you will attend and will encourage your friends and colleagues to attend because this topic is very important,” Marolt wrote in an e-mail promoting his lecture.
The University of Wisconsin Survey Center will post Badger Poll results in each of the next three days on a range of interesting topics. The polls will be released at 10 a.m.
A young researcher at the University of Wisconsin Law School is launching an ambitious project to find more effective ways of managing criminals who arenâ??t dangerous enough to send to prison. A recent study of Wisconsinâ??s Prison system found that the driving force in Wisconsinâ??s growing prison population is people on probation or parole who violate the terms of their parole or commit new crimes and end up in prison. (Fifth item.)
Steven A. Ackerman and Jonathan Martin, professors in the UW-Madison department of atmospheric and oceanic science, write about “steam devils.”
Quoted: Eric Sandgren, a cancer researcher at the UW-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine.
Anyone who has been in Lake Superior knows the water is cold year round.It may not be quite as cold in the future. Recent studies from U.M.D. and U.W. Madison indicate surface temperatures have been going up around two degrees per decade since the 1980â??s.
The boasts of teenagers on Facebook about their risky behavior such as drinking may or may not be real. But teens who view them take them for the truth, according to a team of researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Washington. The article quotes Megan Moreno, a pediatrician at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health and lead author of the study and Karyn Riddle, an assistant professor of journalism at UW-Madison who studies the effect of media on children.
The research focused on the amounts of the fungus Sporormiella present in the sediments, according to Jacquelyn Gill, a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin, Madison and a co-author of the paper appearing in todayâ??s issue of the journal Science.
Academic research and development, one of the few bright spots in Wisconsinâ??s economic landscape, doesnâ??t need to be a political football.
Political games abound in the absence of clear strategic direction, and thatâ??s what happened with the idea that the University of Wisconsin System should spread dollars for fresh water technology to all four-year campuses in the state.
The idea that fresh water technology should be proliferated, rather than focused, demonstrated a lack of understanding of the concept of clusters that grew out of the four economic summits early in this decade.
The state lab that tests the blood of suspected intoxicated drivers for drugs is facing a backlog of nearly 1,000 samples – and mounting – that threatens public safety, prosecutors and lab officials say. Delays at the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene mean both innocent drivers and serial offenders at risk of harming other motorists are waiting several months longer than needed to receive justice. The hygiene lab, which is part of UW-Madison, does a variety of tests, from testing for swine flu to screenings of newborns for genetic diseases. The drug testing delays at the hygiene lab are similar to a DNA testing backlog at the state Crime Laboratory that drew headlines in recent years.
Two Madison residents have been named distinguished fellows by the William T. Grant Foundation, based in New York. One is Maria Cancian, a professor of public affairs and social work at UW-Madison, who will use her award working with the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families.
Choppers and cheese may soon become official Wisconsin symbols. Bills to honor Harley-Davidson motorcycles and Lactococcus lactis — a bacterium used in the making of cheese — with the state symbol designation were introduced in the Legislature last week. Bill author Rep. Gary Hebl (D-Sun Prairie) said naming Lactococcus lactis the official state microbe would honor not only Wisconsinâ??s cheese-making history but also increase publicity about how important microbes and the stateâ??s biotech industry is. Bacteriologists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have been urging support for the microbe via their Web site.
University of Wisconsin tobacco researchers said that they have encouraging news for smokers trying to quit.
At the University of Wisconsin, a university-wide conflict plan has been in place since the late 1990s.Under the policy, about 9,000 employees are reviewed at least once a year by the schoolâ??s Conflict of Interest Committee. While about 8,000 report nothing, the remaining 1,000 are broken down, and management plans are created if a conflict is identified. While the University of Minnesota is heading in this direction with the new policy, there are still instances of ambiguity in the documentâ??s language.
About 15,000 years ago, North America was home to an astonishing number of large plant-eating mammals — giant sloths, mastodons, mammoths. A thousand years later, they were all gone, wiped from the face of the Earth with sudden finality.
Today people from all around Wisconsin will gather at the UW-Madison to show off high-tech mapping skills that tell communities everything from the location of fire hydrants to crime patterns. As someone who works with geographic information systems for the UW- Madison, Karen Tuerk, says she never had a job she could easily describe to her mother. She says very simply, GIS is a way to make maps, but â??itâ??s a lot more than that.â? (9th item.)
Donâ??t be surprised if you catch a glimpse of a man wearing 19th century garb on the UW-Madison campus next week. UW-Madison botany professor David Baum said he plans to dress as Charles Darwin — complete with mutton chops and coattails — in honor of the 150th anniversary of “The Origin of Species,” Darwinâ??s seminal book on evolution. Baum has reason to celebrate. In addition to the anniversary, UW-Madison is on the cusp of creating a new institute to study evolution.
Under pressure from Gov. Jim Doyle, the UW System withdrew Tuesday from a funding dispute between UW-Madison and UW-Milwaukee over research related to water technology.
