Category: Research

Three bills on stem-cell research, one of which would fundamentally shift federal science policy, passed the Senate on Tuesday afternoon after two of days of extensive, exhaustive, and contentious debate. The landmark bill — which passed 63 to 37, and which President Bush has vowed to veto — would relax the federal government’s tight limits on which embryonic-stem-cell lines are eligible for federally subsidized research.

Washington, D.C. – The United States Senate, by a vote of 63-37, has enacted a bill that would overturn President Bush’s ban on new federal funding for embryonic stem cell research, setting the stage for a promised presidential veto.

MADISON, Wis. — University of Wisconsin researchers and Gov. Jim Doyle applauded the U.S. Senate on Tuesday for passing a bill that lifts federal restrictions on stem-cell research. Both Wisconsin senators voted for the bill.

In a challenge to President Bush�s ban, the Senate passed a bill Tuesday that would allow federal money to be used for human embryonic stem cell research.

We know now that Abbas Ourmazd wasn’t the person to manage the ramp-up in research at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee after his overly public dust-up with his boss last week.

The U.S. Senate is expected to vote today on a bill on embryonic stem cell research of vital economic importance to Wisconsin and of equal importance to millions of people who suffer from a wide range of incurable and debilitating illnesses and conditions. The bill would loosen restrictions on federal dollars for such research, imposed five years ago by President Bush. The research was pioneered at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The developments are being closely followed in Wisconsin, because the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus, in the words of officials there, is a “world leader in the field.”

Ambiguous loss “is the most stressful loss,” writes Pauline Boss, an emertitus professor at the University of Minnesota who developed the concept and coined the term while a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the 1970s.

An emotion-charged debate opens Monday in the U.S. Senate on whether to unleash more federal dollars to fund research on embryonic stem cells.

The debate about embryonic stem cell research cuts across party lines in Wisconsin as much as in the rest of the country.

WASHINGTON, July 15 � Before Sept. 11 changed everything, President Bush wrestled publicly with the issue of embryonic stem cell research, then opened the door to federal financing for the science in the first major decision of his nascent administratio

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee was roiling in shock and confusion Thursday to news that its research czar had threatened to resign, with the administration sending mixed messages about whether the resignation was final and the rank and file expressing mixed feelings about leadership of the university.
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Recent Coverage
6/13/06: UWM vice chancellor threatens to resign
5/8/06: UWM touts its big ideas
3/17/06: Region lags in race for funding
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Q. What’s the best way to dispose of unused fishing bait?
A. It may seem counterintuitive, but the best thing to do with leftover bait is to fertilize the garden, says UW-Madison limnologist John Magnuson.

Abbas Ourmazd, vice chancellor of research and dean of the Graduate School at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, is threatening to resign unless he receives more support from Chancellor Carlos Santiago.

Healthy older people who burn higher amounts of energy in their day-to-day activities are much less likely to die prematurely than those who have a more sedentary daily regimen, according to an intriguing new study.

It is believed to be the first longevity study to use a novel, physiological laboratory method to measure how much energy a person actually expends daily rather than relying on potentially erroneous self-reported exercise estimates.

The study, which involved researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, included 302 healthy men and women aged 70 to 82 who were followed for about six years.

A research dog at the University of Wisconsin-Madison suffered and died after it was denied sufficient veterinary care, according federal inspection reports that detailed numerous problems with the care of research animals at the university.

The inspector, Dawn Barksdale of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, highlighted more than a dozen violations of animal protection regulations in inspection reports dated between April and July 2005.

A helium-based imaging technique may help doctors detect smoking-related lung damage in healthy smokers sooner and more accurately than existing imaging methods, according to a study by researchers at the University of Wisconsin at Madison.

Should commercial airplanes be equipped to deflect shoulder-launched rockets? What would be the financial fallout of a radioactive attack on Southern California ports? Which bridges deserve the most money to bolster protections against Al Qaeda assaults?

The patenting foundation of the University of Wisconsin at Madison filed a patent-infringement lawsuit last month against a company that sells dietary supplements used for toning muscles and reducing body fat.

An FBI official told 27 News a break-in and theft at UW-Madison’s Harlowe Primate Research Laboratory was the work of one suspect and not connected to any animal rights group

Q: Why are vitamins needed to maintain human health?
A: Proof that food is about function as much as flavor, vitamins are essential compounds that for the most part can only be obtained through diet — the body can’t make them. They drive chemical reactions, unlock stored energy, build structures and prevent damage.

Most of the more than 600 dogs used each year by the UW-Madison in various experiments are at some point put to death.

A group of scientists from the University of Wisconsin-Madison have applied for a patent for their new method of creating a chemical intermediate called HMF (hydroxymethylfurfural) from fructose, the sugar found in fruit.

A UW official disputes claims of animal neglect, and praises his research facility. Joe Kemnitz, Director of the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center, hopes that someday animal research would no longer be needed, but he says, for now, this type of research is necessary to discover new techniques to ward off and to cure diseases that affect many people.

Madison, Wis. – The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation has finalized a commercial licensing agreement with BD Biosciences to develop new research tools for embryonic stem cell researchers and life scientists.

It’s not exactly a canine version of a health club but a new doggy treadmill at the UW-Madison’s School of Veterinary Medicine is proving a popular option for helping patients get back on four legs after surgery.
The treadmill is unique because it is underwater, which allows dogs to get a head start on exercise after surgery because the water helps support their weight.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to actually hold DNA or use some of the tools that UW-Madison researchers work with every day?
At this week’s Wednesday Nite @ The Lab, 7 p.m. at the UW-Madison Biotechnology Center, the public is invited to connect with the university at a hands-on workshop in an exploration of DNA through models and experiments.

Three studies released yesterday indicate that the newly approved drug varenicline is more effective than bupropion or a placebo in helping smokers overcome nicotine addiction. One was done at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Clowns and party-goers suck helium from balloons to make their voices squeaky, but soon seemingly healthy smokers could inhale it to explore such conditions as emphysema and asthma.

A new test devised by University of Wisconsin-Madison scientists starts with smokers breathing in a liter of the harmless gas, mixed with nitrogen, through a straw and finishes with an MRI that can detect how far the gas has penetrated into the tiny air cavities of the lungs.

Human embryonic stem cells are isolated and cultured by researchers at the University of Wisconsin.

Dolly the sheep, the first mammal cloned from an adult cell, was born 10 years ago today, a birth met with elation by scientists who see cloning as a potential cure for illnesses and alarm by those who are fearful of a future populated by less-than-human clones.But Ian Wilmut, the scientist whose team at Scotland’s Roslin Institute cloned Dolly ââ?¬â? born July 5, 1996, and euthanized in 2003 because of lung disease ââ?¬â? says the most interesting thing about the past decade is what has not happened.

Q: Why does the sky turn green before a tornado?

A: Scott Bachmeier, a research meteorologist at the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies at UW-Madison, says that particles in the air scatter light. In the day, the particles scatter more violet and blue light, but our eyes are more sensitive to blue light – that’s why the sky appears blue.

Researchers from a wide range of disciplines, universities, and companies such as 3M, Amgen and GE Healthcare have submitted 220 applications for $3 million in seed money from the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery.

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have found a more economical way to use fructose, the sugar in fruit, as an alternative to petroleum in the development of raw materials used to build plastics, fuels and pharmaceuticals.

http://www.nature.com/news/2006/060626/full/060626-8.html
Apple juice and corn, rather than petroleum, could be the raw materials for some of the plastics and pharmaceuticals of the future, thanks to a new chemical process devised by researchers at the University of Wisconsin in Madison.

A new report claims the UW research lab is among the top nationally-known labs to torture animals. The advocacy group SAEN — Stop Animal Exploitation Now — says the University of Wisconsin National Primate Research Center is among the “Top 20” worst US research facilities for violations of federal law, which can often invalidate the research itself.

Madison, Wis. – A collaborative project between the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa has shown that while it might be best to let sleeping dogs lie, thousands of sleeping computers can unravel the twisted code of genetic diseases.

John Morgridge spent 18 years guiding the expansion of one of this country’s fastest-growing technology companies.

The chairman of Cisco Systems Inc. and his wife, Tashia, hope to be doing the same in their home state, only on a much broader scale. The Morgridges in April donated $50 million to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the biggest single gift ever made to the school.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Women with the highest levels of cadmium in their urine have more than a two-fold higher risk of breast cancer than women with the lowest levels, according to a new study. However, further studies are needed to determine if these elevated levels are a cause or effect of breast cancer.

More food for less money sounds like a great deal. But Wisconsin researchers say there’s a hidden cost. They calculated the real cost of upsizing your next meal.