Investigators at South Korea’s leading university announced Thursday that all of the cloned stem cell lines created by its disgraced star scientist are fake. The Seoul National University panel found that Hwang Woo Suk ââ?¬â? who until recently was celebrated as a pioneer in stem cell research ââ?¬â? lied and did not produce stem cells individually tailored to patients as he had claimed.
2005 saw a host of committees, task forces, hearings and press conferences devoted to improving – or touting – Wisconsin’s response to a possible outbreak of avian influenza. Though no confirmed human or bird cases of the H5N1 influenza virus have occurred in the United States, the disease has spread rapidly among birds and poultry in Asia and Europe.
Gov. Jim Doyle directed three state departments – Health and Family Services, Natural Resources and Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection – to form an Avian Influenza Coordination Team to bolster the state’s preparedness efforts.
….University of Wisconsin-Madison scientists, especially Yoshihiro Kawaoka, have been working on several fronts to fight avian influenza.
The University of Wisconsin’s Center for Tobacco Research is looking for up to 700 Madison area smokers for a study intended to compare five stop-smoking treatments.
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Genetically modified nerve ‘progenitor’ cells can be used as mini-pumps to deliver nerve growth factor to the brain, a new study in animals shows.
The results suggest such an approach could be used to treat Parkinson’s disease and other brain diseases in humans, Dr. Clive D. Svendsen of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and colleagues report.
Sean Carroll, professor of genetics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is the author of Endless Forms Most Beautiful, an introduction to the new science of evolutionary developmental biology written for the lay reader.
Officials at a South Korean university said Monday that they expect results next week from DNA tests meant to determine whether disgraced scientist Hwang Woo Suk made tailored stem cells, as he claims.
Disgraced South Korean scientist Hwang Woo Suk was forced to quit his post at Seoul National University after the college said his pioneering stem-cell research was partly faked.
Hwang, who until last month was feted as a national hero, was flanked by weeping researchers as he apologized for the fabrication of a 2005 study that was heralded as a breakthrough in finding cures for diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease. The government said it is considering cutting funding for his work.
Q&A interview with UW-Madison researcher and author of a book on evolutionary developmental biology.
Young women with type 1 or insulin-dependent diabetes are apt start menstruating later than young women without diabetes, a University of Wisconsin-Madison study suggests.
CHICAGO – To celebrate the 125th anniversary of its founding by Thomas Edison, the journal Science asked more than 100 of the world’s top scientists what they thought were the 25 most important scientific questions likely to be answered in the next 25 years.
The 25 big questions range from what is consciousness (the mysterious interplay of brain cells and neurotransmitters that conjures up awareness and the ability to ask questions) to what is the universe made of.
Is it a matter of shoddy work in the lab? A problem of excessive deference by junior researchers to senior scientists? Or does the case of the suspect stem-cell experiments in South Korea – an episode that is shaking the biomedical field worldwide – point to a severe lapse of research ethics?
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have demonstrated that embryonic stem cells can develop into three different kinds of heart cells to help recover from a heart attack.
The experiments, performed on mice, could be a step in the right direction toward repairing human heart tissue, said Dr. Timothy Kamp, the lead researcher. He is a UW-Madison stem cell and heart specialist.
Some of Silicon Valley’s largest firms, including Intel Corp. and Hewlett-Packard Co., joined forces with big-name universities like UC Berkeley and Stanford on Monday, announcing a new set of guidelines intended to expedite research collaborations on new technology and eliminate legal wranglings over intellectual property rights.
It seems like we just can’t get enough of the gigantic ape. Three versions of King Kong have been made. Each one more elaborate than the next. But, could this story of the beauty and the beast have its roots in reality?
Yes, according to Dr. Gregg Mitman, who teaches History of Science and Medical History at UW-Madison. “In part based on a 1920 expedition to film and capture the komodo dragon in Indonesia– this search for a prime evil monster in a prime evil time.”
From new evidence that could render a DNA sample, to questions about the victim’s bloodââ?¬â??alcohol level … there are a few new things Benjamin Broeren’s journalism class discovered about an old murder.
“I think there’s some things that can be pursued and there are certain questions that were not answered,” said Broeren.
(MADISON) Science educators at the University of Wisconsin-Madison may soon be able to broadcast their lectures and research presentations via satellite to remote villages in India. It�s part of a new collaboration linking 15 U.S. universities with EDUSAT, the Government of India�s first educational satellite. (Third item.)
Developing Clough Island could add millions to the local economy and create hundreds, even thousands, of jobs, according to an economic impact study conducted by graduate students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
American biomedical researchers were reeling on Thursday after hearing reports from South Korea that members of a top team of scientists there had admitted to fabricating at least part of a landmark study on embryonic stem cells.
The revelations, the Americans said, had the potential to undermine research on cloning human embryos and developing embryonic-stem-cell lines for treating diseases such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and diabetes.
A UW-Madison program is quietly finding ways to bring the state’s businesses together to help them solve each other’s problems.
The E-Business Consortium, established seven years ago by industrial engineering professor Raj Veeramani, is designed to help state companies learn from one another and compete successfully in the world of electronic business.
A collaborator of South Korean scientist Hwang Woo Suk, a hero in his country for his stem cell research, says his colleague has admitted fabricating some of his test results. In May, Hwang and his team published a landmark report in the journal Science announcing that they had created 11 lines, or colonies, of cloned human embryonic stem cells. This achievement made South Korea a leader in this field of research. But a co-author of the report, Roh Sung Il, told Korean television and newspapers that Hwang told him Thursday that most of the supposedly cloned lines were fakes and the fate of the others is unclear.
In a study that could lead to a therapy for people with Parkinson’s disease and other neurological disorders, UW- Madison researchers have used stem cells to deliver a disease-fighting protein to the brains of rats.
The protein, called GDNF, has already shown promise in small trials of Parkinson’s patients.
The State of Wisconsin Investment Board has given preliminary approval to allocating up to $50 million to two new venture capital funds proposed by state firms Mason Wells and Venture Investors.
The Mason Wells Biomedical Fund II and Venture Investors Early Stage Fund IV are planned to focus on seed and early stage financing of life science opportunities coming out of Wisconsin universities and medical research facilities, said Monica Jaehnig, Wisconsin private equity portfolio manager. But the investments will not be limited to state firms.
University of Wisconsin-Madison scientists have used stem cells to deliver a protein to the brains of rats in an experiment that could lead to treatment of Parkinson’s disease and other neurological disorders.
BERKELEY, Calif., Dec. 12 – With federal funds for basic computer science research at universities in decline, three of the industry’s leading companies are joining to help fill the void.
University of California computer scientists plan to announce on Thursday that the companies – Google, Microsoft and Sun Microsystems – will underwrite a $7.5 million laboratory on the Berkeley campus. The new research center, called the Reliable, Adaptive and Distributed Systems Laboratory, will focus on the design of more dependable computing systems.
Human stem cells genetically engineered to produce a substance that might protect the brains of Parkinson’s patients were successfully transplanted into the brains of monkeys and rats by University of Wisconsin-Madison scientists, a feat that represents a crucial step in developing a promising treatment for the disease.
No one was required to be there, yet physicist Brian Greene filled the Union Theater to the top of its balcony for a discussion on general relativity, quantum physics and his own area of expertise, string theory.
String theory, also called superstring theory, attempts to provide an overall theory of the universe by unifying Albert Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity and quantum mechanics and proposing that all matter can be described in terms of the vibrations of tiny “strings.”
Robert P. Wollersheim, age 66, passed away peacefully on Sunday, Dec. 11, 2005. He was an electrical engineer for the UW Space Science program and helped develop weather radar and space satellites during the ’60s and ’70s. He was also a professor at UW-Madison in electrical engineering and taught mini-courses on wine appreciation for more than 20 years.
If you are among those grumbling about having to shovel your sidewalk yet again, UW-Madison researcher Stephen Vavrus has some news for you. Without that snow, our planet would be in big trouble.
Vavrus is a climate modeling specialist at the Center for Climatic Research. With reports of melting Arctic ice becoming more frequent, Vavrus did what scientists do: He posed a question.
Three top executives of Milwaukee-area start-ups said Monday that southeastern Wisconsin has the potential but nowhere near the critical mass of companies needed for a vibrant biotech effort.
An educated work force, the relatively new master of science in biotechnology program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison geared toward producing managers, and a desire to develop a biotech industry are all helping efforts in the region and the state, said Frank Langley, chief executive officer at PointOne Systems LLC in Wauwatosa.
If you’re catching a cold, and need some quick money for holiday shopping, consider enrolling in a research study to test the effectiveness of echinacea, a popular herbal medicine.
Study participants with a scratchy throat and the sniffles can earn up to $120 in the cold study being conducted by researchers in the department of family medicine at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Children adopted from abroad often have difficulties adjusting to their new families and to life in the United States, exhibiting poor social skills, problems bonding with new family members and reticence in dealing with strangers.
Those difficulties are generally traced back to emotional deprivation in large orphanages, where infants often outnumber staff by 40 to 1, and caregivers do little more than feed and change the infants.
Wisconsin researchers have found that such deprivation can produce relatively permanent changes in a child’s brain chemistry, impairing production of hormones, such as oxytocin, that are crucial to bonding and social interaction.
Thirty years after the legendary and controversial sinking of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald in Lake Superior, atmospheric scientists at the UW-Madison and the National Weather Service use modern techniques to recreate the harsh storm.
UW-Madison scientists recently obtained the detailed structure of a light-sensing protein, gaining a better understanding of the mechanics of how light governs plant growth and development. This discovery is the end result of almost 30 years of research in mapping phytochromes, plant proteins that can be manipulated to alter plant behavior to better suit agricultural needs.
A University of Wisconsin scientist presented his study on climate change and snow coverage at the American Geophysical Union fall conference in San Francisco last week. The study could help scientists learn more about climate change in the Arctic as carbon dioxide pollution continues to grow in the atmosphere.
The University of Wisconsin may be a leader in scientific research and education, but a study conducted recently indicates primary and secondary science education in Wisconsin is among the worst in the country.
A senior scientist at the Waisman Center on the UW campus was killed Friday morning when his car skidded out of control on a slippery rural road and was struck by a pickup truck.
Killed was Vladimir Budker, 64, who lived on Sunrise Ridge Trail in the town of Springfield. Along with his work at the Waisman Center, Budker was a co-founder of the Mirus Bio Corp., a gene therapy firm that has been exploring ways to combat such diseases as muscular dystrophy and anemia.
A group of students and faculty from the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine are being credited for coming to the rescue during last summer’s devastating hurricane season. Campus officials say that while most people watched in horror as news details of Hurricane Katrina unfolded, a few dedicated souls traveled south to help by bringing back numerous animals that needed foster care or adoptive homes.
A University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health research team has found a chemical compound common in many fruits, lupeol, which proved promising in preventing prostate cancer, the second-leading cause of cancer death among men.
University of Wisconsin assistant professor Donald Moynihan recently released a report on avian flu entitled ââ?¬Å?Leveraging Collaborative Networks in Infrequent Emergency Situations.ââ?¬Â
Dane County businesses that depend on local customers to buy their products are not as confident about adding to sales, profits and employees in 2006 as are companies that sell to a broader base, according to a new report.
The Dane County Economic Survey, released Wednesday, shows that 68.5 percent of companies with clients nationwide expect their earnings to rise next year. But among businesses that operate mainly in the Madison area, 51.8 percent are expecting higher profits in 2006.
Wisconsin scientists say agriculture dominates more than a third of the Earth’s landscape and is a major source of global environmental change.
Critical mass is important in building collaborations such as the one about which InvivoSciences is in preliminary discussions with Madison-based Gilson Inc.
Gilson is a privately held business started by a University of Wisconsin-Madison professor in 1953 that makes lab equipment like the Gilson Pipetman, a range of pipettes, or glass tubes that lab workers use to suction fluids.
WASHINGTON, Dec. 7 – Nearly half the states are doing a poor job of setting high academic standards for science in public schools, according to a new report that examined science in anticipation of 2007, when states will be required to administer tests in the subject under President Bush’s signature education law.
Prostate cancer research has been in the spotlight recently at UW-Madison, with new developments.
The first one is actually a group of three potential improvements to brachytherapy, also known as “seed therapy.” In the procedure, an alternative to surgery, radioactive seeds are implanted in prostate tumors to shrink them.
If only . . . one of the giant pharmaceutical companies would build in Wisconsin. That’s been the mantra of those who have tried to push the state forward as a national biotechnology center.
At a conference in the Madison area Monday, they got a glimmer of encouragement.
New questions have arisen over a human stem cell experiment that was hailed as a tremendous advance when it was announced in May.
Hwang Woo Suk, the South Korean researcher whose laboratory performed the experiment, told the journal Science yesterday that he was correcting some of the photographs that appeared as an online supplement to an article reporting a highly efficient recipe for producing human embryos through cloning, and then extracting their stem cells.
NEW maps show that the Earth is rapidly running out of fertile land and that food production will soon be unable to keep up with the world’s burgeoning population.
The maps reveal that more than one third of the world’s land is being used to grow crops or graze cattle.
Scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison combined satellite land-cover images with agricultural census data from every country to create detailed maps of global land use. Each grid square was 10 kilometres across and showed the most prevalent land use.
Professor Jonathan Martin knows why cold weather was his professional destiny and snow shoveling would be one of his greatest personal pleasures.
As a child, Martin, with his two brothers, delivered the Boston Globe, the Boston Herald, and the Christian Science Monitor.
“I got to be the first one outside on those mornings. When we had a giant snowstorm, I was the first person to put footprints in it. I imagined I was Neil Armstrong on the moon,” said Martin, who heads the UW-Madison department of atmospheric and oceanic sciences. “And after that I never really got weather out of my system.”
MADISON, Wis. – The Bush administration’s plan for a bank of federally approved stem cells unveiled here two months ago is being met with apathy, confusion and derision.
Madison, Wis. ââ?¬â? A report from the Association of University Technology Managers has ranked UW-Madison and the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation third in the country in value of the inventions created by faculty members for 2004, behind only the University of California System, counted as a single entity in second place, and New York University.
A lack of sex may be the first step toward extinction for a species, according to recent research from Imperial College London.
Science can be an intimidating subject for a lot of folks. The dense jargon, arcane chemicals and microscopic worlds that scientists study can seem unapproachable for the uninitiated. Smashing these stereotypes, professor Bassam Shakhashiri speaks in the universal language of music, electricity and explosions.
UW-Madison and its technology transfer organization — the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation — received more than $47.5 million last year in licensing revenues, or fees paid to use the patents the university holds for inventions and discoveries made by campus faculty and researchers. That’s the third highest in the nation, according to the Association of University Technology Managers, behind only the University of California System and New York University.
By military standards, $300 million a year is small change. This amount, the U.S. military budget for nanotechnology research, pales in comparison to its total budget for war or peacekeepingââ?¬â?both of which are possible applications for the minute technology.
Low-carb, low-fat, low-cal, Atkins, South Beach, The Zone � wouldn�t dieting be easier if the human body was equipped with an ON/OFF switch that controlled our appetite?
University of Wisconsin researchers have found that a common compound in some fruits shows promise in fighting prostate cancer.
A UW School of Medicine and Public Health research team investigated whether Lupeol – a chemical compound found in fruits including strawberries, mangoes, figs, grapes and olives – would kill existing cancer and help prevent a tumor or malignancy from starting or progressing.
Early childhood neglect has been associated with a host of behavioral maladies: Emotional and social abnormalities that researchers have investigated and observed since Harry Harlow first conducted his primate isolation experiments at the University of Wisconsin.
The Engineering Centers Building on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus was the site of an early morning flood today, the university reported.
…an estimated 30,000 gallons of water cascaded down the building from the top floor at about 5 a.m.
(12/2/05 Capital Times print edition)
Twenty suites for early-stage companies will be added at University Research Park in a $1 million renovation of space being vacated by Epic Health Systems with its move to its new Verona headquarters.
The “incubator” space will feature suites ranging from 700 square feet to nearly twice that size on the east side of the MGE Innovation Center, 510 Charmany Drive. Construction is set to begin Monday.
The Innovation Center currently houses 34 companies, mostly start-ups, and Research Park director Mark Bugher said the demand for incubator space continues to grow as tech firms spin out of the UW-Madison or young companies with UW ties look for ways to relocate in Madison.
