Category: Research

The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine issued a plan today for how it would spend the $3 billion assigned by the state�s voters to finance stem cell research.

With flu season looming, there is at least some good news from UW-Madison about a potential new treatment – a tiny but powerful protein that blocks a broad number of flu viruses from attaching to and entering host cells.

CHICAGO (Reuters) – A fragment of a human protein that blocks influenza viruses — including avian flu — from attaching to and infecting cells holds promise if laboratory experiments are borne out, researchers said on Wednesday.

Madison, Wis. – Federal health officials may not be saying it, but they are frightened to death of the following scenario: an outbreak of the deadly avian flu virus begins quietly in scattered areas of the country, and spreads before they can get a handle on it – with substantial harm done to public health and the economy.

A potential breakthrough out of UW Madison tonight in the bird flu battle.Researchers there have found a new drug that blocks influenza.� A team of UW scientists say they just happened to stumble across this new drug.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office has agreed to re-examine the validity of fundamental patents on human embryonic stem cells granted to a scientist at the University of Wisconsin.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office will re-examine three key patents on embryonic stem cells held by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation.

MADISON, Wis. – The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office will re-examine patents covering embryonic stem cell discoveries made by University of Wisconsin researchers.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has agreed to re-evaluate the validity of three core stem cell patents held by a Wisconsin foundation that has been accused of strangling U.S. research in the field with sweeping demands for license fees and royalties from other investigators.

A liner on a 1.5 million-gallon swine manure storage pit at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Arlington Agricultural Research Station leaked during the summer, requiring a cleanup of soil beneath the liner and an expensive replacement.

The State Building Commission will consider the $275,000 cost for general fund-supported borrowing on Wednesday morning at the State Capitol, because the low bid came in above the $150,000 limit that can be acted on without commission approval, university officials said.

Name: Phil Pellitteri

Age: 54

Occupation: UW-Extension entomologist

To be honest, when I was a kid, I did collect butterflies. I went to the UW for school and was originally interested in wildlife ecology. I eventually took an introductory course in entomology and basically got interested enough to transfer into the program and got my undergrad and master’s degrees here.

Someday, we may have the lowly fruit fly to thank for a better understanding of neurodegenerative diseases in humans such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

A large, long-term study of calorie restriction in rhesus monkeys at the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center has shown that the diet prevents diabetes and may reduce the risk of arthritis and other age-related diseases. The leaner monkey on the left is on the restricted diet, the one on the right is on a normal diet.

An ongoing study at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in which rhesus monkeys are being fed an extremely calorie-restricted diet gives preliminary evidence that the regime prevents age-related diseases

Madison Area Technical College and the UW-Madison announced a $20,000 award by the Focus on Energy program to construct a solar collector testing facility at MATC – just the second of its kind in the U.S.

The lab will join the University of Central Florida’s Solar Energy Center as the only facilities in the country authorized to certify solar panels, which qualifies the homeowners who install them for tax credits and rebates. There is a certification backlog in the U.S.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

UW-Madison scientist James Thomson was the first in the world to grow human embryonic stem cells in a lab in 1998.

It’s called bioremediation, and UW microbiologists hope to use this bacteria to clean-up toxic oil spills.

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.

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.