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Category: Research

Massachusetts Governor Opposes Stem Cell Work

New York Times

BOSTON, Feb. 9 – Setting up a political battle over stem cell research, Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts said this week that he would propose legislation to outlaw a type of embryonic stem cell research that is being planned by laboratories at Harvard University and other institutions in the state.

Ants, bacteria wage 50-million-year-old battle for food

Daily Cardinal

A UW-Madison researcher has discovered a startling relationship between a breed of ants and the fungus from which the ants derive nutrients. The ants produce chemicals that protect the fungus from bacterial parasites. As the bacteria evolve to survive the pesticides, the ants evolve new pesticides against the bacteria, in a 50-million-year-old chemical arms race that could one day help humans design more precise antibiotics.

UW students compete during Innovation Days

Capital Times

Undergraduate student inventors at the UW-Madison will display medical devices, collapsing stools, water filters, a fishing lure, a device to walk on water and more inspired ideas during the 11th annual Innovation Days competition Thursday and Friday.

For Science Programs, Bush Proposes Mostly Cuts; NIH and NSF Would Get Minimal Increases

Chronicle of Higher Education

President Bush’s budget for science would provide slight increases for the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation and cuts for several other agencies that provide most of the federal funds for research in the physical sciences and engineering. Spending for basic research overall would fall by 1 percent

UW scientists studying Earth’s magnetic field

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

On the bottom floor of a nondescript building in the countryside near Stoughton, University of Wisconsin-Madison physicist Cary Forest and his colleagues are learning about the innermost parts of the Earth by studying what happens when 300 gallons of liquid sodium are beaten and stirred like a cake mix in a bowl.

Weekly laurels and laments

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Another example of the fact that we live in an age of scientific breakthrough came to light this week. Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison reported that they have successfully created a formula that allows human embryonic stem cells to turn into motor neurons.

UW stem cell team gets $1.2M grant

Capital Times

University of Wisconsin-Madison stem cell researchers have received a $1.2 million grant from the W.M. Keck Foundation of Los Angeles.

The team, led by renowned researcher James Thomson, will use the money for a three-year project focusing on the ability of embryonic stem cells to proliferate indefinitely while being able to develop into any of the cell types in the human body.

UW Uncovers Piece to Evolution

NBC-15

UW researchers say a major discovery came from an animal no bigger than the head of a pin.

Genetics researchers used fruit flies to study evolution. They took a close look at the nuts and bolts of DNA to see how changes in a species become permanent.

UW gets grant for stem cell research

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Stem cell researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison received a three year, $1.25 million grant from the W.M. Keck Foundation of Los Angeles. (Third new item).

Back in the private sector

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

In his first Wisconsin appearance as a private citizen in 38 years, former cabinet secretary Tommy G. Thompson said Thursday that he supports all types of stem cell medical research but refused to criticize controversial limits on that research imposed by President George W. Bush.

Fruit flies the key to evolution?

Wisconsin State Journal

Curious about how amorous male fruit flies dance and display their spotted wings during courtship, UW-Madison researchers dug deeply into the genetic underpinnings of the behavior and are shedding new light on the mechanisms that drive evolution.

Biotechnology appears to be withering as a food source

USA Today

The promise of biotech crops � foods genetically engineered to resist pests and weeds or even to produce drugs for humans � may be going to seed.

After years of significant growth, the number of biotech crops in the regulatory pipeline has plummeted, says a report out today from the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a group that supports a cautious approach to biotechnology.

Actor Fox sees embryonic research in action

Capital Times

Michael J. Fox has long spoken about the virtues of studying human embryonic stem cells. And on a visit to UW-Madison, he finally got to see them.

He peered through a microscope to see the technological wonders at the Waisman Center, where scientists study human development, developmental disabilities and neurodegenerative diseases.

Fox: ‘It’s good science’

Daily Cardinal

On the heels of a major breakthrough involving stem-cell research and the nervous system, UW-Madison brought out the heavy hitters at the Waisman Center Tuesday-Gov. Jim Doyle, Chancellor John Wiley and, most notably, actor Michael J. Fox-in its ongoing crusade to highlight the importance and potential of the scientific discoveries occurring every day on this campus.

A Well-Known Hollywood Actor Comes To Madison

WIBA Newsradio

Actor Michael J. Fox hopes that the stem cell research that’s going on at the UW will lead to some treatments for dibilitating diseases…and eventually cures. Fox, who has Parkinson’s disease, toured the Waisman Center on campus yesterday….

Fox called the work the UW is doing the “gold standard,” and added that “there isn’t another Madison. There isn’t another Waisman Center.”

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Professor discusses outbreaks

Badger Herald

One month after the tsunami that hit shores of countries bordering the Indian Ocean, fear of a potential infectious-diseases outbreak arose. In a presentation at the Overture Center Tuesday evening, University of Wisconsin Medical School professor Dennis Maki said the potential plagues in the region are also a concern for tsunami victims.

Michael J. Fox tours UW research labs

Badger Herald

Former actor Michael J. Fox, who suffers from Parkinson�s Disease, toured the University of Wisconsin Waisman Center Tuesday afternoon with Gov. Jim Doyle to view the building�s science facilities in an effort to advocate scientific research dedicated to the condition.

NIH limits scientists’ outside work

USA Today

Declaring that ââ?¬Å?we need at least one source of public health information in this country that can be completely trusted,ââ?¬Â National Institutes of Health Director Elias Zerhouni on Tuesday announced a ââ?¬Å?sweepingââ?¬Â new ethics regulation barring all employees from moonlighting for any company or organization that could benefit from such a relationship.

Stem Cell Breakthrough

NBC-15

It’s being billed as a scientific breakthrough. Xue-Jun Li says, “I was very exciting, the first time, after I really got the very, very high population of the cells, what I want.”

Since 2001, Li’s been a part of a team of researchers, led by University of Wisconsin instructor, Dr. Suââ?¬â??Chun Zhang, which has been trying to develop a method to guide stem cell development. They’ve succeeded.

Meditation provides long-term benefits

Daily Cardinal

In addition to improving attention and concentration, meditation might also create long-term changes in the brain that improve focus even when a person is no longer in a meditative state, according to a recent UW-Madison study of Buddhist monks and meditation scholars.

UW lab creates motor neurons from stem cells

Badger Herald

University of Wisconsin scientists are the first researchers to coax human embryonic stem cells into spinal motor neurons, a feat that could eventually lead to treatment of individuals with damaged nervous systems, causing disorders such as Lou Gehrig�s disease or muscular dystrophy.

UW stem cell experts make motor neurons

Capital Times

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have whipped up an exciting – but intricate – new recipe that could someday treat spinal cord injuries or provide a cure for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, better known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

UW Stem Cell Breakthrough

NBC-15

The attention of the scientific community is centered right here in Madison, after UW researchers announce a major breakthrough in stem cell research.

Led by University of Wisconsin neurodevelopmental biologist Dr. Suââ?¬â??Chun Zhang, a team of scientists has developed a way to encourage human embryonic stem cells to become spinal motor neurons. Since spinal motor neurons dictate almost every bodily movement.

Stem cells become motor neurons

USA Today

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison reported Sunday that they have been able to coax stem cells into becoming motor neurons in an experiment that could someday help scientists treat spinal-cord injuries or provide a cure for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, better known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. The success, which was reported online in the science journal Nature Biotechnology, is important because scientists have struggled to do what researcher Su-Chun Zhang and his colleagues say they have accomplished after two years of tedious trial and error. Perhaps more important, Zhang’s recipe shows researchers that timing is everything when adding their chemical cocktails to stem-cell ââ?¬Å?stews.ââ?¬Â Stem cells are vulnerable to human manipulation for only the briefest of moments ââ?¬â? and at different intervals, depending on the results each researcher craves. ââ?¬Å?It’s very specific,ââ?¬Â Zhang says. ââ?¬Å?You have to have the right cocktail in the right amount at the right time.ââ?¬Â

UW scientists grow human motor neurons

Wisconsin State Journal

UW-Madison researchers have grown human motor neurons in the lab for the first time using embryonic stem cells.

The breakthrough could let researchers more easily and quickly test drugs to treat neurological diseases. And researchers hope that in the future, these cells might replace dead motor neurons – which carry messages from the brain directing the body to move – in patients with spinal cord injuries or neurological diseases.

UW’s Time Machine — Gadget Will Help Telescope Reach Outer Universe Gadget Will Help Telescope Reach Outer Universe

Wisconsin State Journal

Only in the strange world of astronomy does it make sense to travel halfway around the world to an observatory at the edge of the Kalahari Desert to get a better look at ourselves. But that makes perfect sense to UW-Madison astronomer Ken Nordsieck. In fact, his bags are packed. Nordsieck is part of a group of UW-Madison astronomers who will be traveling to South Africa next month to help complete and christen the largest optical telescope in the Southern Hemisphere. When it is done, the telescope, the $18-million South African Large Telescope, or SALT, will allow astronomers to peer at the most distant objects ever observed, including remnants of the Big Bang itself.

Campus Notebook: UW building part for giant telescope

Capital Times

University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers are working on a $5 million imaging instrument that will be a major ingredient in a huge telescope being finished in South Africa.

The instrument is the Prime Focus Imaging Spectrograph. It will allow researchers to make digital images of objects in space. It will divide the object into many colors so they can study the composition and speed of movement.

Stem cells offer hope for cures

Badger Herald

Many regard regenerative medicine as the string theory of life sciences � elegant, global and controversial. Born in 1998, on the hands of Dr. James Thomson, the now world-renowned University of Wisconsin researcher, the science of stem cells already has scientists and economists gushing over its seemingly endless applications.

WARF director to advise U.S. patent office (WTN)

Wisconsin Technology Network

Madison, Wis. � Carl Gulbrandsen, the managing director of the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, will serve a three-year term on the national Patent Public Advisory Committee, officials have announced. He will help guide the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in its procedures.

Study finds bone growth occurs at night

CHICAGO (Reuters) – The perception that children seem to grow taller overnight is likely true, researchers say.

Scientists at the University of Wisconsin’s School of Veterinary Medicine in Madison placed sensors on the leg bones of lambs to monitor bone growth in the animals. Ninety percent of bone growth occurred when the animals were sleeping or otherwise at rest, according to the study published in the Journal of Paediatric Orthopaedics on Thursday.

Still: Life-science research plan is about more than stem cells (WTN)

Wisconsin Technology Network

As more states line up to promote human embryonic stem-cell research, policymakers and investors will ask, ââ?¬Å?Will it pay off for all?ââ?¬Â The most likely answer is no. But among those states poised to compete with Californiaââ?¬â?¢s $3 billion initiative, Wisconsin may be the best positioned for success.

Whether federal or private, research faces scientific obstacles

USA Today

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the nation’s medical research agency that conducts and funds research at institutions around the USA to improve people’s health. As a leader of medical research, NIH aims to make discoveries that will help prevent, detect and treat disease and disability. That includes funding research on existing human embryonic stem cells.

Can animals sense storms?

Daily Cardinal

The death toll from the Dec. 26 tsunami has reached between 160,000 and 230,000 people. As aid workers clean up the devastated areas, they notice something odd-while human corpses are everywhere, animal carcasses are rarely found. This observation has rekindled debates as to whether animals possess an innate sixth sense that enables them to foretell impending natural disasters and flee before the calamity strikes.

Sleep can help in battle of bulge

Daily Cardinal

As most any student will tell you, hunger and sleepiness seem to go together all too often. Recent findings from the Wisconsin Sleep Cohort Study offer new evidence that appetite and sleep are indeed linked, and that two hormones may cause people who get shortened sleep to feel hungrier when they are awake.

Magnetic field sought by researchers

Badger Herald

A new experiment led by University of Wisconsin researchers is attempting to create a magnetic field-generating dynamo, similar to what is found in the Earth�s core.