Students involved in this research will interact closely with industry partners, creating new career opportunities and strengthening synergies between academia and industry. The institute will include researchers at the University of Washington; the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Duke University; the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities; the California Institute of Technology; Purdue University; the University of California, San Diego; and the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
Category: Research
Life expectancy in Austin among highest in Texas
Travis, Hays and Williamson counties rank in the top 10 of Texas’ 254 counties for average life expectancy, according to 2021 data from the University of Wisconsin’s Population Health Center.
The rise of bioethics: How the discipline began, persists at UW
From pioneering the field of bioethics 50 years ago to applying morality to science’s greatest controversies today, the field’s evolution continues on campus.
UW group receives grant to advance technology for seniors facing chronic conditions
“The purpose of the system was to help older people age in place,” UW scientific director says.
This Is America’s Least Obese County
Methodology: To determine America’s least obese county, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed adult obesity rates from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute joint program’s 2021 County Health Rankings & Roadmaps (CHR) report.
UW group receives grant to advance technology for seniors facing chronic conditions
“The purpose of the system was to help older people age in place,” UW scientific director says.
Gain-of-Function Research: All in the Eye of the Beholder
During the H5N1 research, Ron Fouchier, from Erasmus University Medical Center in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and Yoshihiro Kawaoka, from the University of Wisconsin, Madison and the University of Tokyo, both virologists, wanted to understand how pandemic flu viruses might evolve.
Virus Research Has Exploded Since Covid-19 Hit. Is It Safe?
The researchers, working independently at the University of Wisconsin and Erasmus University Medical Center in the Netherlands, ignited a storm when they sought to publish their work in science journals. The National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity, which makes recommendations to the government on potentially risky research, asked journals to hold off while panel members debated the risks of publishing the scientists’ methods, including the risk of providing bad actors with the means to create a bioweapon.
New app helps farmers, researchers track bee populations
See a bee? Mark it on WiBee! A new smartphone app developed by the Gratton Lab at the University of Wisconsin harnesses the power of citizen science and community efforts to track wild bee populations and diversity.
Century of discoveries: Interconnected tale of UW’s most innovative research epiphanies
Every major breakthrough at UW built off of previous research, and without that collaboration, some of the scientific world’s most significant developments would never have been realized. From the fundamental discovery of vitamins, to collecting images in outer space, and even to the pressing issues of COVID-19 research today, UW has been involved in every facet of the developments which are still affecting our lives today.
Stroke victims recover best if rehab starts 2-3 MONTHS after the event
’Our approach shows that patients can tolerate much more intensive motor training than is traditionally provided if they are free to choose the activities used in their training,’ said author Dorothy F. Edwards, from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Discrimination Persists in Society–but Who Discriminates?
A new study published by social psychologists Mitchell Campbell and Markus Brauer, both then at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, tested these hypotheses through a series of survey studies and field experiments involving 16,600 students at the university. The results overwhelmingly supported the concentrated discrimination account, challenging the view that the main problem is implicit bias.
UW-Madison announces $175 million in support for a new computer, data and information sciences building
The University of Wisconsin-Madison announced plans to build a new, $225 million academic building for its new School of Computer, Data and Information Sciences, one it plans to fund entirely through donor and private support.
An Ex-Drinker’s Search for a Sober Buzz
In the early nineteen-seventies, G. Alan Marlatt, a clinical psychologist then at the University of Wisconsin, published the first account of his now famous “balanced placebo design” experiments, which demonstrated the influence that expectations and setting can have on alcohol’s psychotropic effects.
UW-Madison to build $225M hub for Computer, Data & Information Sciences
Two buildings will be torn down to clear room for the 300,000 square-foot development, which will be located next to the Discovery Building at the corner of Charter and University Avenue. Designed to be the most sustainable campus building, with seven stories divided into research, learning and student “ecosystems,” CDIS is set to open in 2024.
Major donation launches new building for UW-Madison school on computer and data sciences
The recently launched School of Computer, Data and Information Sciences will have a new home at the corner of Orchard Street and University Avenue, officials announced Friday. UW-Madison will demolish two service buildings currently located there to make way for the 300,000-square-foot, seven-story building. The estimated price tag is $225 million, all of which will be privately funded.
The climate crisis is getting worse, but the solutions have improved dramatically
Written by Gregory Nemet, a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s La Follette School of Public Affairs. He is a lead author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 6th Assessment Report, which will be released by the United Nations in spring 2022. He is co-chair of the La Follette School’s Climate Policy Forum on Oct. 6.
As the House gears up for debate federal infrastructure spending to fight climate change, signs of a planetary-scale crisis are everywhere. Intense rainfall and floods, searing heat in normally cool locations, and relentless wildfires of enormous scale raging continuously.
Where you live could determine how long you stay independent, new study says
The latest study paired their research with what’s called the Area Deprivation Index, a tool by the University of Wisconsin that quantifies the level of advantage or disadvantage a neighborhood has down to the zip code.
Latina moms create Lil’ Libros for kids to see themselves represented in bilingual books
According to data from the Cooperative Children’s Book Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, less than 7% of children’s books by U.S. publishers in 2020 were by or about Latinx people, and a different 2020 study by The Diversity Baseline Survey that tracked diversity in publishing houses found that the industry is 76% white and 6% Latinx.
New Study Examines Eating Less Protein
New UW-Madison research suggests eating less of some proteins could improve health and longevity. We discuss the study and other advances in nutrition science.
Two UW-Madison researchers have spent 20 years studying how 9/11 is taught in schools. Here’s what they learned.
As the World Trade Center towers collapsed, Diana Hess wondered if she should cancel class.
It was Sept. 11, 2001.
Hess, then an assistant professor in the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s School of Education, started hearing whispers that the entire campus would shut down. She had been preparing for an evening class for social studies student teachers, who were working in area middle schools and high schools.
But now, the world was changing before her eyes — and so was the social studies curriculum.
The Next Chapter for Farm to School: Milling Whole Grains in the Cafeteria
Last year, researchers at the Center for Integrated Agriculture Systems at the University of Wisconsin-Madison College of Agriculture & Life Sciences and the Artisan Grain Collaborative in Madison received a $516,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farmers’ Market Promotion Program to expand the value chain for Midwest grain growers in institutions over the next three years.
Researching Snake Fungus In UW–Madison’s Zoological Museum
We talk with a museum curator and researcher who used a special collection at UW-Madison to learn more about a fungus that affects snakes.
UW-Madison Launches Center To Study Psychedelic Drugs For Use In Mental Health Treatment
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison studying the use of psychedelic drugs to treat PTSD, substance abuse and depression are coordinating efforts through a new Transdisciplinary Center for Research in Psychoactive Substances.
Better Wages, Stronger Benefits Key To Post-Pandemic Economic Recovery, UW-Madison Study Finds
Economic recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic will depend on providing workers better wages, consistent schedules and stronger benefits, including accessible health care. That’s according to a new report from University of Wisconsin-Madison.
The report from COWS, formerly the Center on Wisconsin Strategy, indicates Wisconsin still has 114,000 fewer jobs available as of July than it did before the onset of COVID-19. Leisure and hospitality in particular have been affected, losing 49,600 jobs. According to the report, that has disproportionately affected women and people of color.
Laura Dresser, the associate director of COWS, said the problems in Wisconsin’s job market came about well before the pandemic.
“Many of the problems that the State of Working Wisconsin has documented for more than two decades were really exposed and exacerbated by the COVID pandemic and its impact on work,” said Dresser. “The very workers that have faced the worst wage trends, faced the hardest conditions in their jobs were the workers who were either unemployed, lost their work through the pandemic, or who faced exposure in their jobs and could not be protected from exposure.”
Report: Unions weaker, wages stagnant in Wisconsin in recent years
Unions in Wisconsin are significantly weaker than they were a decade ago and wage growth over the past quarter-century was stagnant, according to a new report from the Center on Wisconsin Strategy, a left-leaning policy institute housed at UW-Madison.
Study Shows Metabolism Doesn’t Slow Down In Middle Age—Here’s How To Speed Up Your Metabolism
She notes that s four-year joint study by the University of Wisconsin and Stanford University found that adults who regularly slept for only five hours a night increased their levels of hunger-inducing ghrelin by 14.9% and lowered their levels of appetite-suppressing leptin by 15.5%.
How Trump devastated Republican trust in the media
Over the course of 15 months, study authors Jianing Li and Min-Hsin Su of the University of Wisconsin-Madison found an uptick in the number of tweets that used the words “we” or “our” and “they” or “their” in conjunction with the phrase “fake news.”
Wolf Populations Drop as More States Allow Hunting
“The state was trying to maintain a tolerable level of mortality” through the February hunt, says Adrian Treves, a carnivore ecologist at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and an author of the study. “They didn’t.”
Report: For working Wisconsin, ‘new normal’ must mean big changes
More jobs, but not a full recovery. Better wages, but fewer unions — and, as a consequence, weaker protections for workers. And gaping inequalities by race and ethnicity.
That’s the picture painted in the 2021 edition of the State of Working Wisconsin, an annual assessment that COWS, a University of Wisconsin research and policy center, has been producing for more than two decades.
COWS Associate Director Laura Dresser acknowledges a widespread urge to get “back to normal” under those conditions.
“But ‘normal’ for low-wage workers has long been unsustainable, leaving too many families struggling to get by,” she writes. “Adding jobs is important, but ensuring strong job quality and supports for low-wage workers is equally important.”
UW chemist has used showmanship to excite people about basic science for more than a half-century
Bassam Shakhashiri stood before a packed theater, all eyes riveted on the bright red handkerchief in his hand.
“The blue is there. It’s hiding,” Shakhashiri said, having playfully promised his audience that he could change the cloth’s color. “I’m going to sho
There are pockets of growth, but many parts of rural Wisconsin continue to lose people
Quoted: In a Harris Poll of 2,050 U.S. adults last year, nearly one-third said they considered moving to a less densely populated place because of the pandemic. The age group 18 to 34 was especially interested.
Still, it’s unknown whether the pandemic-related population gains are sustainable, according to David Egan Robertson, a researcher with UW-Madison’s Applied Population Laboratory.
The number of young people in Wisconsin’s metropolitan areas has fallen about 4% over the past 20 years. But it’s down about 13% in the non-metro areas, according to Robertson.
“That’s a real issue for a lot of school districts,” he said.
Animal Protection Groups Sue To Halt Wisconsin’s Fall Wolf Hunt
Noted: Researchers have warned the board that the state’s wolf population could be drawn down to unsustainable levels with another hunt. A recent study by University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers concluded that hunters and poachers might have killed a third of the wolf’s population since the animal’s delisting.
Smith: Milwaukee River assessment highlights value of fish diversity
Noted: Identifying fish in Wisconsin is easier than ever thanks to an app that can be dowloaded to smartphones.
The app includes color photographs and information on 174 fish species. It was developed by the University of Wisconsin Center for Limnology, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and the University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute.
Madison addiction recovery program reduces six-month recidivism odds
“[Madison Addiction Recovery Initiative] works or at least is doing what it is intended to do,” said Veronica White, a University of Wisconsin-Madison doctoral student and research assistant for the program. “MARI needs more support to make it more effective to help more people stay engaged.”
SpaceX launches ants, avocados, robot to space station
The Girl Scouts are sending up ants, brine shrimp and plants as test subjects, while University of Wisconsin-Madison scientists are flying up seeds from mouse-ear cress, a small flowering weed used in genetic research. Samples of concrete, solar cells and other materials also will be subjected to weightlessness.
Almost 600 Genetic Locations Linked to Antisocial Behavior, Addiction, and More Identified
It was led by Dick; Philipp Koellinger, Ph.D., professor of social science genetics at the University of Wisconsin Madison and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam; Kathryn Paige Harden, Ph.D., professor of psychology at the University of Texas at Austin; and Abraham A. Palmer, Ph.D., professor of psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego.
California delays decriminalizing psychedelic substances
The University of Wisconsin–Madison said this week it is launching a research center to coordinate ongoing studies and education in psychedelic compounds. It cited growing evidence of their utility in treating substance abuse and psychiatric disorders, such as major depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.
UW-Madison Launches New Center To Research Psychedelic Substances
UW-Madison is launching a new research center to study the applications of certain psychedelic substances. The Center for Research in Psychoactive Substances will study the scientific, cultural and historical aspects of everything from ecstasy to magic mushrooms.
U.S. Tennis Association Adds Quiet Rooms, More Mental Health Resources Ahead of U.S. Open
Dr. Claudia Reardon, a professor at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine’s psychiatry department, is working with USTA on the initiative. She also provided a comment in the statement, saying, “We are working to create an environment that supports overall mental well-being.”
Study Says Face Makes for Kids Has Low Risk
Still, there is evidence that children are adaptable. In a December 2020 study of children’s ability to read the facial expressions of masked people, researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison found that “while there may be some challenges for children incurred by others wearing masks, in combination with other contextual cues, masks are unlikely to dramatically impair children’s social interactions in their everyday lives.”
U.S. controls on experiments with supercharged pathogens have been undercut despite lab-leak concerns
The experiments, conducted separately at the Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam and at the University of Wisconsin, had altered a strain of highly virulent, bird-carried flu in a way that enabled it for the first time to cause airborne infections among mammals.
UW-Madison further commits to the study of psychedelics
After years of research, the University of Wisconsin-Madison is finally launching a new center for its ongoing studies into psychedelic compounds.
New book explores the unique opportunities and challenges facing Hmong American media
One day pre-pandemic, Lori Lopez, a UW-Madison associate professor of media and cultural studies, joined a Hmong teleconference call with more than 1,000 listeners.
The call was not a meeting or presentation, but a live call-in radio program where people could share their stories, listen to conversations or get news about their community.
She said it was a radio station — without being a radio station.
“I was like Hmong people are being really entrepreneurial and coming up with all sorts of really cool media solutions to the fact that they’re such a small community and they can’t really have a traditional media structure,” the director of the Asian American Studies Program told Madison365.
Now, seven years later, she released her book titled “Micro Media Industries: Hmong American Media Innovation in the Diaspora” on Aug. 13.
For the sake of rural science students in Wisconsin, we have to get broadband right
Noted: One of the best examples demonstrating both the limitations and the potential of broadband for science is our collaboration with the Morgridge Institute for Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Each summer, Morgridge holds a series of Rural Summer Science Camps designed to expose students from isolated settings to some of the world’s top scientists who lead them in cool experiments on campus. They are exposed to exciting ideas and the joy of science. Most importantly, kids walk away from these camps with the confidence in knowing “I can compete at this level.”
UW-Madison announces new psychoactive substance research center
The University of Wisconsin-Madison announced Monday the creation of their Transdisciplinary Center for Research in Psychoactive Substances, a research center dedicated to ongoing research and education in psychedelic compounds. According to a UW-Madison release, the center will conduct research into the science, history and cultural impact of psychedelic agents, as well as potential therapeutic use of psychoactive substances.
Psychedelic drug research center started at UW-Madison
UW-Madison is starting a center to expand its research on psychedelic drugs such as psilocybin and MDMA, which have shown promise in treating conditions such as depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Dog Goes Crazy After Hearing ‘Favorite Song’ Being Played in Viral Video
Studies show that dogs and some other animals do appear to respond emotionally to human music, although the type of music they react to can differ significantly depending on the species or breed, Charles Snowdon, an animal psychologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, told Live Science in a 2012 article.
As California burns, some ecologists say it’s time to rethink forest management
Yet despite a universal desire to avoid more destruction, experts aren’t always in agreement about what should be done before a blaze ignites. Forest management has long been touted as essential to fighting wildfires, with one new set of studies led by the University of Wisconsin and the U.S. Forest Service concluding that there is strong scientific evidence to support the effectiveness of thinning dense forests and reducing fuels through prescribed burns.
‘Rescue’ of beagles from Blue Mounds animal testing facility leads to criminal charges against activists
A criminal complaint alleges they worked together to steal three dogs reportedly worth $3,600 from Ridglan Farms, a facility in the town of Blue Mounds that breeds and sells more than 3,000 beagles annually to medical researchers, including UW-Madison.
‘It’s all or nothing’: A small pay bump can cut benefits for Wisconsin workers
Quoted: University of Wisconsin-Madison economics professor Timothy Smeeding said the rise in wages for low-income workers means it’s a good time to reassess their jobs and find a better one.
“For those reasons, the job market is in favor of workers right now and turnover is good,” Smeeding said. “When people voluntarily leave jobs, economists think that’s good, because that meant they found something better.”
Exact Sciences, UW researchers search for cancer in ‘liquid biopsies’
UW Health has opened its own lab for cancer blood tests and recruited a scientist who helped invent a related technology licensed by Exact Sciences. For some cancer patients whose tumors are hard to reach or might have genetic mutations targeted by available drugs, UW doctors have started ordering blood tests instead of traditional tissue biopsies, typically with quicker results to guide treatment.
Metabolism in adulthood does not slow as commonly believed, study finds
In a commentary published with the new study, Timothy Rhoads and Rozalyn Anderson, who work in geriatrics at the University of Wisconsin, said the findings also may have implications for the study of age-related diseases.
Metabolism peaks at age one and tanks after 60, study finds
Drs Rozalyn Anderson and Timothy Rhoads, from the University of Wisconsin, said the “unprecedented” study had already led to “important new insights into human metabolism”.
Moderna COVID-19 vaccine study for children under 12 starting at UW Health
Aclinical trial of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine in children under 12 will start enrolling participants at UW Health Friday, as researchers and regulators move closer to potentially authorizing shots for the only age group not yet eligible in the United States.
UW Madison chosen to host pediatric clinical trial for Moderna COVID-19 vaccine
The University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health has been picked as a site for a phase three clinical trial meant to test the safety and efficacy of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine for children.
Wisconsin Natural Resources Board Sets Quota Of 300 Wolves For Fall Hunt
Quoted: Adrian Treves, an environmental studies professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said the population is at risk of dropping below 350 wolves. A recent study by Treves and other researchers concluded that hunters and poachers might have killed a third of the wolf’s population since the animal’s delisting.
In a statement following the vote, conservation group Wisconsin’s Green Fire said the quota is likely to cut the state’s wolf population in half.
“Removing 300 wolves in another hunt would likely have a destabilizing effect on almost every wolf pack in the state,” said Adrian Wydeven, a former DNR wolf biologist. “There is no other wildlife species where that level of reduction would be acceptable. And it’s highly likely it would trigger a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service review of state management.”
Does mask wearing harm children’s development? Experts weigh in
“There are sensitive periods in early childhood development in which language development and emotional development are really rapidly developing for the first few years of life,” said Ashley Ruba, a postdoctoral researcher in the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Child Emotion Lab.
UW School of Medicine to begin enrolling children ages 6 months to 11 years for Moderna COVID-19 vaccine trial
Vaccinating children as young as 6 months of age against COVID-19 may become the new front in the global pandemic fight, if the vaccines prove to be safe and effective.
One such trial by the American pharmaceutical company Moderna will begin enrolling children 6 months through 11 years old on Friday at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. UW will be one of 75 to 100 sites in the U.S. and Canada for the trial, which has been named the KidCOVE study.
UW-Madison selected as site for Moderna COVID-19 vaccine pediatric trial
The University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health has been selected for a clinical trial evaluating the safety and effectiveness of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine in children.