Category: Research

LANGHORNE, Pa. (AP) — First lady Laura Bush, defending her husband’s policy on embryonic stem cell research, accuses proponents of overstating the potential for medical breakthroughs and says it is “ridiculous” for John Kerry to claim the president has banned the research.

OXFORD, England – Construction had barely begun in February on a research laboratory at Oxford University – one scheduled to experiment with animals – when the string of violent incidents began.

Kerry renewed a previous pledge to reverse Bush administration policies on stem cells if he should win the White House and said he would increase funding for stem cell research by federal agencies.

Growth hormones and a last-minute relocation helped coax UW-Madison’s Titan Arum III into finally unfurling its stinky bloom Thursday, and hundreds were on hand throughout the day to see and smell it.

The U-W Madison is lending a hand in the efforts of Homeland Security. It’s working with other universities around the country looking at the potential risks and economic impacts of terrorist activities on the United States. Vicki BierÃ? is one of the researchers. She tells WIBA News it’s not just the cost of re-building they’ll be looking at but also whatÃ? have the costsÃ? been for September 11th for the economy…and what other types of terrorist events can we envision and what consequences will those have on the economy.Ã?  Researchers will also look at what “landmarks” are most at risk for terrorism, although Bier admits it would be impossible to protect all of them. The studies are funded by a three-grant from the U-S Department of Homeland Security.

What follows is a small taste of a voluminous set of records obtained by Isthmus through an open records request. The paper asked only for the primate experiments classified by the university as being the most highly invasion. In response, the UW released records from 43 experiments.

Americans who build homes in the woods may be speeding the decline of many native bird species, according to a research team at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Forest Service.

The Titan Arum III, dubbed “Little Stinker,” remains stubbornly benign after 20 days.

A seven-year study funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that male prisoners who had multiple counseling sessions before and after their release were more likely to report using condoms during sex than inmates who had only one pre-release counseling session

A UW-Madison study found road building in northern Wisconsin doubled over 60 years. Researchers say this disrupts native plant life, and they tried to find out how much and how fast invasive species could take over. (2nd item.)

Scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison say they think they know the reason for so-called maternal aggression in animals.

Every road or subdivision we build, and even where we put a child’s jungle gym and whether we use bark chips or crushed rock for walkways, can affect the risk of getting or spreading infectious diseases.

Mouse mothers become fearless when levels of a particular hormone drop, reveals a new study. This gives mothers the courage to ferociously attack any would-be assailants to their offspring.

Stem cell research was back in the news with a vengeance last week. The Bush Administration announced plans to speed up work on approved cell lines, while Democrats revealed that Ron Reagan Jr. will address their national convention on the promise of stem cell research (see p. 473). A conservative senator held a hearing to showcase the virtues of adult stem cells, which are ethically less troublesome than embryonic cells. All this activity suggests that the issue will be visible in the fall election despite the lack of any planned votes in Congress.

Backers of stem cell research in Wisconsin say the push at Tuesday’s Domocratic National Convention to lift restrictions on federal funding could bring economic and scientific benefits to the state.

Ron Reagan told Democratic delegates Tuesday that voters face a choice between “the future and the past, between reason and ignorance, between true compassion and mere ideology” on the matter of embryonic stem cell research.

Nearly 350 people gathered at the hotel for a conference of the International Association for Relationship Research. They are psychologists, sociologists, communications scientists and researchers into human development.

More than 1,800 fisheries scientists from 30 countries will gather in Madison next month to share the latest research, technology, and management techniques for the conservation, development and sustainable use of fisheries

Stem cell research was back in the news with a vengeance last week. The Bush Administration announced plans to speed up work on approved cell lines, while Democrats revealed that Ron Reagan Jr. will address their national convention on the promise of stem cell research.

The Automotive Research Center, an eight-university consortium that includes UW-Madison, has received a $40 million U.S. Army grant to develop advanced engine technologies.

A researcher at the University of Nebraska Medical Center has applied for a grant for a project involving two embryonic stem cell lines.

The proposed study would use two existing stem cell lines from the University of Wisconsin and the University of California, San Francisco,

A nationwide, highly detailed analysis of presidential campaign advertising, released Sunday and originating in large part from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, confirms what anyone watching television in Wisconsin already knows: Advertising is flooding the airwaves in unprecedented volumes, and Wisconsin is right near the highest level of the flood.

ASTRONOMY: At dusk on July 24 in the amphitheatre at Ottawa Lake Park, Highways ZZ and 67, Ottawa. Graduate students from the astronomy department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison will present a slide show. Weather permitting, telescopes will be set-up for participants to view the moon, planets, star clusters, constellations, satellites and other celestial bodies. Call Rob Wessberg at 594-6200

A natural stink bomb is ticking in Birge Hall, and greenhouse director Mohammad Fayyaz can barely wait to smell it.

“In a matter of 10 to 14 days it will fully open,” Fayyaz said Thursday, sounding breathless on the phone. “It’s great news.”

UW-Madison resident chemistry magician Bassam Shakhashiri has received one of the science world’s highest tributes with his inclusion in the Hall of Fame of the chemical fraternity Alpha Chi Sigma.