With recent shifts in stem cell support, voters could be confused by each candidate�s political rhetoric laced with scientific information in their campaigns. Traditionally, Republicans have not supported government funding of stem cell research, but U.S Rep Mark Green has taken a more progressive approach after announcing a $25 million plan to fund adult stem cell research.
Three decades ago, Madison leaders went to North Carolina to learn about an exciting and thriving research park there.
Last week, the roles were reversed – a significant sign of progress that’s worth celebrating.
More than 100 academic, government, community and nonprofit leaders from Chapel Hill, N.C., came to Madison for several days last week to learn about our hugely successful University Research Park as well as exciting plans for a second phase on Madison’s Far West Side.
It’s been six months since Wisconsin wowed the world at BIO 2006 in Chicago, and Capital Region biotech firms are reporting success in forming partnerships with potential collaborators and investors from contacts made at the conference.
The State of Wisconsin and the foundation that owns the University of Wisconsin’s patents on embryonic stem cells have raised the stakes in the informal battle with California and other states to attract financial support for research in this controversial field.
The U.S. Army is giving Madison biotech ConjuGon a $730,000 grant to keep working on a treatment for bacterial infections that haven’t been cured by antibiotics up to now.
Established in 2002 and based on UW-Madison research, ConjuGon has developed genetically engineered, harmless bacteria that have been proven successful in animal tests, said Sal Braico, chief operating officer.
The Legislature’s failure to require most gasoline in Wisconsin to contain 10 percent ethanol remains a glaring void in an otherwise flourishing effort to develop a homegrown biofuels industry.
Doyle, Green walk a tightrope over controversial issue
With elections rapidly approaching, both gubernatorial candidates seem eager to establish a position on the popular issue of stem cell research.
Doing stem-cell business in Wisconsin just got easier.
Under a new partnership agreement announced Thursday by Gov. Jim Doyle, companies will not have to pay royalty fees to use stem-cell lines patented by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation if they partner with non-profit academic institutions in state.
Technology at the microscopic level is attracting researchers but practical applications are lagging behind, said a nanotechnology expert from Madison Thursday while visiting Eau Claire.
While academics continue researching and working with materials the size of molecules and atoms, Franco Cerrina said real-world applications are in smaller supply.
Cerrina, director of UW-Madison�s Center of Nanotechnology, spoke to 50 employees on their lunch break at Silicon Graphics Inc., 100 Cashman Drive, in Chippewa Falls.
Stem cell research doesn’t just present challenges in the science lab but in the political laboratory as well.
That has been demonstrated time and again as Democrats and Republicans squabble over what kinds of experiments should be allowed when involving embryonic stem cells.
All types of catheters and other devices that allow access to the bloodstream can potentially be a source of infection, researchers report.
These “intravascular devices” (IVDs) have become the leading cause of bloodstream infections in the United States and worldwide.
“We thought this analysis might provide a unique opportunity to wave the flag and convince both health care workers and patients that all types of IVDs pose a risk,” lead author Dr. Dennis Maki, a researcher and infectious disease and critical care specialist at the University of Wisconsin Hospital, Madison, said in a prepared statement.
MADISON ââ?¬â? Companies sponsoring stem cell research in Wisconsin will no longer have to purchase a costly license to use the technology under an agreement announced by Gov. Jim Doyle on Thursday.
Q: Why can’t you tickle yourself?
A: “You can try to tickle yourself, but you won’t respond by feeling tickled,” said Misha-Miroslav Backonja, a professor of neurology at UW-Madison. Evolution has placed great significance on the sensation of light stimulation of the skin, he added.
Companies sponsoring stem- cell research exclusively in Wisconsin will no longer have to buy a costly license to use the technology under an agreement announced by Gov. Jim Doyle on Thursday.
Doyle said the agreement between his administration and Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, which holds patents covering embryonic stem- cell research, will give the state a significant advantage in attracting biotechnology companies and research dollars.
WASHINGTON – Federal legislation likely to pass before Congress recesses Friday outlines the future of the National Institutes of Health, the primary source of money for UW-Madison biomedical research. But the real fight for money may come after the Nov. 7 elections.
Global warming is a “planetary emergency” that threatens irreparable harm to the Earth and its inhabitants unless individuals take decisive action to return society from its wasteful energy ways.
So warns Laurie David, environmental activist, founder of the Stop Global Warming Virtual March and a producer of “An Inconvenient Truth,” a documentary from former Vice President Al Gore on the perils of global warming.
….David addressed an audience at the Wisconsin Union Theater Wednesday as part of the Wisconsin Union Directorate’s Distinguished Lecture Series.
The Doyle administration has reached an agreement with the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation that will give Wisconsin stem cell researchers a considerable competitive advantage over those in other states.
Gov. Jim Doyle announced today that WARF, which holds patents and royalty rights on some of the world’s most promising stem cell lines, has agreed that companies conducting research in partnership with nonprofit and academic institutions in Wisconsin will receive a free research license under the stem cell patents held by WARF.
Markets and superstores across the country offer consumers a variety of milk choices, but the UW-Madison community is left with only one.
With the organic food market so lively Wal-Mart hopes to expand into it and backlit by a UW-Madison report identifying Wisconsin as a principal source of organic dairy products, the flagship university of one of the most organically friendly cities in the United States has yet to dabble in the field of organic dairy.
Several prominent scientists said yesterday that they had formed an organization dedicated to electing politicians ââ?¬Å?who respect evidence and understand the importance of using scientific and engineering advice in making public policy.ââ?¬Â
Patents are big business and big philanthropy at the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, which helps keep UW-Madison in the top tier of research universities.
Cancer is a devastating diagnosis to receive.
But it can also become a community rallying point for empowerment and entertainment, as advocates for breast cancer awareness and support have proven in recent years with a variety of community, athletic and artistic events.
This Friday night, men will take their cue from women and turn to the topic of prostate cancer.
It’s difficult to empathize with, let alone have sympathy for, a psychopath. But one scientist believes psychopaths, despite their sometimes terrifying behavior, deserve compassion.
At its core, he argues, psychopathy is a learning disability that makes it difficult for psychopaths to stop themselves from pursuing harmful behavior.
Many psychopaths end up in jail, where they comprise up to 25 percent of the incarcerated population. Outside of prison, just 1 percent is diagnosed with the disorder.
The incidence of psychopathy is about the same as schizophrenia, but a clear differential exists when it comes to studying the former, says Joseph Newman, chairman of the psychology department at the University of Wisconsin at Madison.
The University of Wisconsin received another boost in the scientific community Monday, winning a $30 million donation for a collaborative project along with 10 other universities and laboratories nationwide.
With a recent resurfacing of public interest in energy conservation, the University of Wisconsin hosted a panel discussion Monday in an attempt to inform the public of global warming and its effects.
Accidental discovery cuts research times
Drug research takes a lot of time. The process of creating a new drug candidate takes up to six months of tedious chemistry, and most candidates produced end up without therapeutic effects. But a recent discovery in UW-Madison�s pharmacy department may change all that.
A Wisconsin researcher believes Tasers can stop the human heart in rare situations.
“If the Taser dart lands on a thin person over the heart and between the ribs, in my opinion . . . it could electrocute the heart,” John Webster, a professor emeritus of biomedical engineering at the University of Wisconsin, said in an interview Monday.
Gov. Jim Doyle was set to announce a plan today to invest $80 million in state funds in an effort to encourage the development and use of renewable energy.
The governor says the state money would help leverage an additional $370 million in private investment and put the state at the forefront of the national movement to find alternative sources of fuel.
The plan includes a $50 million fund to give loans to companies expanding their use and production of renewable fuels and energy, tax credits to prod more gas stations to add ethanol-based gasoline and millions of dollars in grants for energy researchers.
As voters select a governor this November, architects will be drafting plans for the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery, a $150 million research complex at UW-Madison.
The public-private complex, to expand research on stem cells and related fields, will be built whether or not Republican Mark Green defeats Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle, organizers say. It is to open in late 2009 in the 1300 block of University Avenue.
Lois Anderson, a “card-carrying, lifelong” Republican from Madison, isn’t sure who to vote for this November in the race for governor.
The reason: stem cells.
Anderson would normally support Republican candidate Mark Green, whose opposition to much embryonic stem-cell research is shared by her Christian Reformed church.
UW-Madison scientist James Thomson was the first in the world to grow human embryonic stem cells in a lab in 1998.
Gabriela Cezar is a stem-cell researcher at UW-Madison, but she’s not studying the cells as potential cures.
She’s trying to come up with tests to detect developmental disorders such as autism.
In her lab, Cezar exposes dishes of embryonic stem cells to the epilepsy drug valproate. Studies have shown that the drug, when taken by pregnant women, increases a baby’s risk of autism, spina bifida and skeletal deformities.
It’s called bioremediation, and UW microbiologists hope to use this bacteria to clean-up toxic oil spills.
Quoted: Judd Aiken, a prion researcher at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Q: Is it safe to drink or cook with hot water directly from the tap? Can hot water leach minerals such as lead in from the pipes?
A: It may sound like a faster way to prepare pasta or a cup of tea, but using hot tap water to cook or drink isn’t advised, said William Sonzogni, a UW-Madison environmental chemist.
Gov. Jim Doyle promised once again this week to propose the state spend $2.5 million for biomedical research in southeastern Wisconsin. Now, what about the Legislature?
Whoever is elected governor this fall should push to fund this key initiative for southeastern Wisconsin in the next state budget, and the Legislature should set aside stem cell politics and approve it without the strings that some legislators will undoubtedly want to attach.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison has selected Uihlein Wilson Architects of Milwaukee and Ballinger of Philadelphia to design the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery.
The multidisciplinary scientific research facility planned for the 1300 block of University Avenue will include the public Wisconsin Institute for Discovery and the private Morgridge Institute for Research on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus.
The Milken Institute, an economic think tank, has issued a series of
new rankings of universities on biotechnology publications, patents and technology transfer. In biotechnology research, Harvard University leads the way, followed by the University of Tokyo and the University of London. California universities hold 5 of the top 25 slots, and British and Japanese univeristies hold 3 each.
Read the report here: http://www.milkeninstitute.org/publications/m2m.html
The University of Wisconsin System ranks among the top 10 universities worldwide in biotechnology patents but falls behind several other Big Ten universities in transferring that technology to commercial uses, according to a study released today by the Milken Institute of Santa Monica, Calif.
Gov. Jim Doyle thrust the politically charged issue of embryonic stem cell research back onto the front burner of his November re-election race Wednesday with a proposal to free up $2.5 million in state funding for biomedical research in metropolitan Milwaukee.
Scientists for the first time have used human embryonic stem cells to preserve the vision of rats with a degenerative eye disease, a feat that advances the prospect of the prized cells one day being used to treat common human eye disorders such as macular degeneration. Also quotes Dave Gamm, an ophthalmologist and researcher at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – University of California, San Francisco, has agreed to deposit its federally approved stem cell lines in the national stem cell bank at University of Wisconsin-Madison, the bank announced this week.
The addition of the two California lines will give the bank 13 of the 21 cell lines available for federal funding from the National Institutes of Health, leaders of the bank said.
MADISON ââ?¬â?? The University Research Park on this cityââ?¬â?¢s west side is a major force in not only local commerce, but a player in the regional marketplace.
A study of the factors that play the greatest part in helping universities turn their biotechnology research into economic payoffs shows that scientific prowess is just part of the equation. Having an established and well-staffed technology-transfer office, and being located in a region with the right kinds of businesses, will also have a significant impact on the institution’s success, it found.
The University Research Park, already one of the shining jewels in the state’s economic development crown ? the University of Wisconsin ? is only growing in its impact on the state. A new study out this week shows the park now contributing more than 680-Million dollars to the state’s economy each year, supporting 91 hundred jobs and generating 46 Million dollars in annual state and local tax revenue.
The WiCell Research Institute, announced the addition of two new stem cell lines Tuesday, in an effort to bring all 22 National Institutes of Health-approved stem cell lines into one internationally accessible database.
As part of its initiative to house all 21 federally approved human embryonic stem-cell lines, the National Stem Cell Bank at the WiCell Research Institute in Madison added two stem-cell lines Tuesday from the University of California-San Francisco, bringing its total to 13.
Madison, Wis. – Almost everybody knows the University of Wisconsin-Madison stimulates the local economy by generating high-tech spin-off companies. But a new study has produced figures to back that assertion.
Dr. Richard Davidson, a neuroscientist at UW-Madison and director of the university’s Lab for Affective Neuroscience, pioneered some of the world’s first research on meditation and its affect on the brain. With meditation, says Davidson, a person can train his or her mind to improve attention and regulate emotions; it can also improve a person’s level of happiness and well-being.
Women in science and engineering are hindered not by lack of ability but by bias and ââ?¬Å?outmoded institutional structuresââ?¬Â in academia, an expert panel reported yesterday. The panel, convened by the National Academy of Sciences, said that in an era of global competition the nation could not afford ââ?¬Å?such underuse of precious human capital.ââ?¬Â Among other steps, the report recommends altering procedures for hiring and evaluation, changing typical timetables for tenure and promotion, and providing more support for working parents.
Higher vitamin D intake has been associated with a significantly reduced risk of pancreatic cancer, according to a study released last week. Lead author of the study is Halcyon Skinner, an assistant professor of population health at the University of Wisconsin.
Ah, the start of a new semesterââ?¬â?the awkward classroom introductions, the reading and rereading of the syllabi and of course, the dreaded sign-up sheet for classroom presentations. While you may not be nervous about that day right now, as the weeks and days before your debut slip away, chances are you will be.
The Trace Research and Development Center in UW-Madison’s College of Engineering has pioneered the creation of products with ease-of-use features using universal design. Trace Center director Gregg Vanderheiden said technology designed just for the disabled is missing the point.
Local artists and scientists are working together to create an art exhibit to help the public understand global warming.
The exhibit, titled “Paradise Lost? Artists on Climate Change in the Northwoods,” will bring the work of scientists and artists together to tour Wisconsin and Michigan during the next two years, with a stop in Madison in early 2008.
John Magnuson, professor emeritus of limnology at UW-Madison, said the unlikely match between the two fields was complementary.
Jo-Anne Lazarus was washing her hair when she noticed something odd: Her right hand was moving in circles but her left hand wasn’t. Later, she had trouble getting keys out of her left pocket. She saw a doctor and got a diagnosis: Parkinson’s disease. The condition gradually slows movement, makes muscles rigid and causes tremors, usually leading to severe disability.Unlike most of the 500,000 to 1 million Americans with Parkinson’s, Lazarus didn’t need to read up on the disease. A UW-Madison associate professor of kinesiology, the study of movement, she had been researching Parkinson’s long before she learned she had it.
One of the most terrifying things the parents of a newborn can hear is that a screening test has detected an abnormality in their child.
In Wisconsin, which screens newborns for more inherited disorders than many other states, such news can be devastating to parents. To the relief of many, treatment options are clear and can help a host of disorders.
However, now the concern is that with better screening technology, more conditions are detected – and researchers don’t know if those genetic defects will lead to health problems for kids.
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and their colleagues are trying to deal with one recently discovered condition.
Oil giant British Petroleum – Amoco wants to pour half a billion dollars into researching alternative fuel sources over the next decade…and they may do it in our own backyard.Ã? 27 News has uncovered that a BP-Amoco executive visited UW’s campus Monday, as part of a fact-finding mission.Ã? That representative visited the Engineering and Ag and Life Sciences departments, to evaluate the potential for the university to partner with BP-Amoco for what will be called the “Energy Bioscience Institute.”Ã? It’s a research facility that will focus on alternative and renewable transportation fuels.
Q: Why is there such variation in the sound of thunder, from the sharp crack to long rumblings?
A: The energy released by lightning — which can get as hot as 50,000 degrees — rapidly heats up surrounding air molecules, which expand faster than the speed of sound and create a shock wave that sounds like an explosion, said Thomas Achtor, a researcher with the Space Science and Engineering Center.
NAIROBI, Kenya, Sept. 14 ââ?¬â? The number of people killed in Sudanââ?¬â?¢s Darfur conflict has reached into the hundreds of thousands ââ?¬â? not tens of thousands as has often been reported, according to an article appearing Friday in the journal Science.
By using scientific sampling techniques and data from camps for displaced persons, two researchers based in the United States estimated that as many as 255,000 people have died, though they believe the actual number may be much higher.ââ?¬Å?We could easily be talking about 400,000 deaths,ââ?¬Â said John Hagan, a sociologist at Northwestern University and an author of the article, along with Alberto Palloni, a demographer at the University of Wisconsin. ââ?¬Å?And when youââ?¬â?¢re talking about genocide, itââ?¬â?¢s essential to properly identify the scale of death,ââ?¬Â Dr. Hagan said in a telephone interview.
Researchers are exploring whether vitamin D might prevent pancreatic cancer, one of the deadliest malignancies. The study’s main author is Halcyon Skinner of the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.
David S. Liebl, a faculty associate at the UW-Madison College of Engineering and a member of the Friends of Lake Wingra, said the sediment comes from normal dirt related to cars, construction and other sources. Some is due to sand used on snowy streets and a substantial amount comes from erosion caused by storm water. And some is fine particles of phosphorus that cause algae problems.
