Lane Manning said he got word of a Regeneron trial at UW-Health, the study which examines an experimental drug, that is trying to stop COVID-19 in its tracks. He signed up right away.
“It’s hard to know what’s going to be the next pandemic,” said Kristen Bernard, a UW virologist who studies animal-borne viruses, like the one that turned the world on its head this year. Bernard spoke with Kelly Tyrrell, an award-winning science writer and director of UW-Madison’s research communications, in a one-on-one session for the Cap Times Ideafest on preparing for the next pandemic.
Another saliva LAMP test is being tested by David O’Connor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Their technique bears many similarities to the Columbia test, including a color-based readout, but takes slightly longer and involves a couple of extra steps. Early trials of the test on volunteers in Wisconsin have gone well, Dr. O’Connor said, and one school district in Illinois is using the test to screen about 1,400 students and teachers on a weekly basis.
Both the Marquette University Law School and the University of Wisconsin-Madison Elections Research Center polls showed Mr. Trump moving within the margin of error in September, with just a 4-point lead for Mr. Biden among likely voters. That’s the tightest Marquette result since May and a 4-point improvement for the president in the University of Wisconsin poll since August — a period in which he also narrowed Mr. Biden’s lead among independents in the UW poll.
Stem cells are a promising experimental treatment for a variety of diseases. Now researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have found that transplanting neurons grown from stem cells into the brains of mice with Parkinson’s disease repaired the damaged brain circuits, improving the animals’ motor skills.
The innovation came after a study by two University of Wisconsin-Madison mechanical engineering professors revealed that various existing masks and face shields allow tiny particles to escape, both through the material and at the edges. If the wearer is infected with the novel coronavirus, that means the virus could travel from the wearer’s mouth or nose and infect those around them.
A new research study from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health hopes to lower the amount of coronavirus spread in nursing homes throughout the state by expanding telehealth infrastructure.
Eventually, different plants come in, usually invasive, nonnative species, says Bradley Herrick, an ecologist and research program manager at the University of Wisconsin–Madison Arboretum. And now, new research shows the worms are also changing the soil chemistry and the fungi, bacteria and microbes that live in the soils.
Researchers are developing a new experimental vaccine which would be taken through the nose. The vaccine activates a different part of the immune system called T-cells, which can rapidly protect against multiple strains of influenza.
Core battlegrounds: A new Franklin & Marshall survey of Pennsylvania put Biden’s lead at 9 points among all registered voters, up from 7 points last month. The race tightens to a 6-point Biden advantage among likely voters. New surveys from the University of Wisconsin-Madison find Biden leading in Michigan (+8), Pennsylvania (+5) and Wisconsin (+5) among registered voters.
Biden has led in every major poll of Pennsylvania going back to June and currently leads by an average of 4.1 points. A Franklin & Marshall survey of Pennsylvania released Thursday found Biden ahead by 6 points among likely voters, although a University of Wisconsin-Madison survey found his lead shrink from 9 points to 5 points over the past month.
A new poll from the University of Wisconsin-Madison shows Joe Biden beating President Donald Trump in three key battleground states, including Wisconsin.
The Wisconsin poll, coordinated by the UW-Madison Elections Research Center in collaboration with the Wisconsin State Journal, found that Biden has the support of half of likely voters — those who say they’re certain to vote. When compared to previous Wisconsin polls this year, one of the standout results is how little voters have changed their minds.
“One of them, George Weidner of the University of Wisconsin, was able to provide us with an incredible amount of information and data regarding that project and this particular automated weather station,” Cerveny said.
But this could be the year that freshwater mussels get the attention that Jordan Richard, a biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the University of Wisconsin, believes they’re owed.
After years of searching for a potential explanation for the mysterious and massive die-offs that have suddenly killed thousands of mussels in streams from Washington to Virginia, Mr. Richard and his colleagues have finally identified a potential “mussel-bola” culprit.
University of Wisconsin Health is working to improve diversity in clinical trials by including a diverse trial population in a series of clinical trials for a COVID-19 vaccine.
Following an earlier complaint against one of its animal facilities, the University of Wisconsin-Madison released a statement claiming the accusations misrepresented a UW lab in its treatment of primates.
UW-Madison will get $22.7 million over six years from the National Institutes of Health to create a national center for imaging techniques that flash-freeze biological molecules to let scientists see a better picture of their function, the university said Monday.
The research looks at whether commonly used oral and nasal antiseptic can help prevent coronavirus infections. Now they are calling on any health care worker nationwide to participate.
Andrew Vanderburg at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who led the study, said in a statement: WD 1856 b somehow got very close to its white dwarf and managed to stay in one piece. The white dwarf creation process destroys nearby planets, and anything that later gets too close is usually torn apart by the star’s immense gravity. We still have many questions about how WD 1856 b arrived at its current location without meeting one of those fates.
Black young adults hold 10.4 percent less wealth, on average, than their white counterparts due to student debt, according to research by Fenaba Addo at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Black and Latinx borrowers also have higher rates of default than white borrowers, and two in five Native American or Alaska Native borrowers have defaulted on a federal student loan.
Noted: The group will be co-chaired by inaugural members Dr. Tiffany Green, assistant professor in the Departments of Population Health Sciences and Obstetrics & Gynecology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Alia Stevenson, Chief Programs Officer with the Foundation for Black Women’s Wellness.
“The Black Maternal & Child Health Alliance is comprised of Black women serving in important roles in health care, our community, and as decision-makers and knowledge experts. Our highest priority is to ensure that the health and wellbeing of Black mothers remains front and center,” says Co-Chairs Green and Stevenson in a statement. “As the Alliance moves forward, we are pleased to join the Dane County Health Council as we work together to advance the health of Black mothers, babies and their families in this county.”
Noted: Bayfield County is projected to lose 28% of its child population by 2040. Pepin County, 25%; Price County, 20%, according to the Applied Population Laboratory at University of Wisconsin-Madison.
“Those communities that lose too much of their youth population are in danger of becoming unsustainable,” the university said.
Even though UW-Madison’s in-person instruction will be suspended from Sept. 10-25, students will be allowed to report to their jobs in research labs under strict guidelines, Steven Ackerman, Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Education, said in a press release Thursday.
In March, Martin Shafer, a scientist at the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene (WSLH) and UW-Madison College of Engineering, noticed a trend in COVID-19 testing techniques.
UW-Madison research monkeys suffered this year from diarrhea, traumatic injuries and psychological stress, in numerous alleged violations of federal regulations, according to complaints filed this month by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
Noted: In the last presidential cycle, University of Wisconsin-Madison professor Young Mie Kim found that Russian-linked disinformation campaigns focused ads on the swing states of Virginia, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin in particular, targeting both sides of the political spectrum with inflammatory posts on race, gun rights and increasingly, feminism.
“That’s why,” explained astronomer Elena D’Onghia of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, “we came out with a new solution that is excellent at explaining the mass of the stream.”
’Our goals are to help reduce the spread of COVID-19 infection and promote the safety of our human research participants and our community,’ the announcement says.
Carl Ross is the director of Waisman Biomanufacturing, which is affiliated with the university. He says the drug, GIGA-2050, is different from a vaccine because it won’t provide long-term immunity.
The COVID-19 vaccine trial underway at multiple locations, including UW Health, is on hold after one participant in the United Kingdom suffered a serious adverse reaction.
The COVID-19 vaccine clinical trial at UW Hospital just started last week, but it’s now on hold.
UW Health is halting their AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine trials on Tuesday after a suspected adverse reaction in the United Kingdom.
Anew study from UW-Madison confirms what more than a million anglers already know: Wisconsin’s lakes are a major source of food.
The University of Wisconsin’s Cooperative Children’s Book Center analyzed about 3,100 children’s books published in 2018 and found that White characters were featured in half of the books. Books with animal characters were the second-most common, clocking in at 27 percent, and books featuring Black protagonists came in third at 10 percent of the total. Works with Latinx, Asian American and Indigenous characters trailed even further behind, the study said, with American Indians making up 1 percent of characters.
University Health Services also opens testing sites in preparation for the upcoming semester.
’It’s an honor for UW now to be able to contribute to the effort to find a vaccine, to do our part in helping bring the world back to normal,’ associate professor of anesthesiology says
UW Health and the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health is starting to vaccinate the first participants in the AstraZeneca COVID-19 clinical trial Wednesday.
’There’s no one out there doing anything like this,’ spokesperson of biotech company said.
A crucial Phase III clinical trial of a vaccine against COVID-19 begins this week at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health and its teaching hospital UW Health.
“In Minnesota, it’s 47-47,” Moore continued. “In Michigan, where Biden had a big lead, Trump has closed the gap to 4 points.” In a poll published on August 20, the GOP-leaning Trafalgar Group found support for Biden and Trump tied at about 47% in Minnesota, while another poll by the University of Wisconsin-Madison found Biden with a 4-point lead over Trump in Michigan.
“The abstract builds on the evidence that has been accumulating over the past couple of decades about the influence of partners on lifestyle changes,” Corrine Voils, primary investigator of Partner2Lose, a clinical trial evaluating partner involvement on long-term weight loss, at University of Wisconsin, Madison, who did not participate in this research, told TODAY.
UW Health and the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine will enroll about 1,600 people over the next eight weeks at University Hospital to be part of a study on whether an investigational vaccine developed by the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca can prevent COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2.
UW-Madison researchers hope the people of Wisconsin can play a pivotal role in ending the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Our entire team has been working diligently for months to bring this important clinical trial to our state, and now Wisconsinites have an opportunity to be part of solving this crisis,” chief clinical research officer at UW Health and SMPH Betsy Nugent said.
UW Health and University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health have been selected as one of the first clinical sites in the country to study whether an investigational vaccine developed by the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca can prevent COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2.
Without federal aid to reinforce city budgets, cuts to public services made necessary by the coronavirus pandemic will be more severe, according to new research from a University of Wisconsin-Madison public affairs professor and his two colleagues.
Quoted: The idea of using azithromycin for COVID-19 was based on preliminary French research suggesting a benefit that later was found to be flawed, said Ann Misch, an assistant professor of infectious disease at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.
Separately, laboratory research showed hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin reduced viral replication of cells infected by the virus, though not azithromycin alone. But, she said, “there’s a huge chasm between an effect in cell culture and in humans.”
She said there is no evidence azithromycin is effective against COVID-19.
“If people are using azithromycin, I am sorry to hear that,” she said.
These warmer-than-average waters are, in part, the result of climate change. A new study published earlier this year in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by a group of NOAA and University of Wisconsin Madison researchers found that from 1979 to 2017, the odds that a given tropical cyclone would become a Category 3, 4 or 5 hurricane increased about 8 percent per decade as the planet has warmed.
“The findings of this study suggest that institutions should streamline infection control bundles, prioritizing a small number of highly cost-effective interventions,” the authors noted in the study, which was completed by investigators at the University of Michigan, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital.
AMadison nonprofit started by the head of Promega Corp. is resuming a study of psilocybin, the hallucinogenic ingredient in “magic mushrooms,” to treat depression at UW-Madison and six other sites after the COVID-19 pandemic halted the research.
Health care workers, older adults, people with serious medical conditions and minorities are among groups that might get COVID-19 vaccines first if supply is limited, as federal and state committees rush to set priorities before vaccines become available.
But such tests face regulatory hurdles before they can be produced widely. Other rapid tests that are available now may need to be refined further before they can be “operationalized,” or used effectively in an actual setting, like a school, according to Dave O’Connor. He and colleagues in the AIDS Vaccine Reseach Laboratory at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, have been piloting what is called a loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) test, which can be done on saliva, as part of the N.I.H. Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics initiative. They’re running their project out of a minivan. “The first day we tested five or six people,” he told me. “Today we ran 80.”
Anew federal advisory board’s rejection of nearly all research proposals it reviewed involving fetal tissue has reignited the debate over such research, which opponents have tried several times to ban in Wisconsin.
“For the first time, we can look at how species responded immediately following extreme weather conditions over the scale of an entire continent,” said Jeremy Cohen, who led the research as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Written by Robert N. Golden, MD, is dean of the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. Joseph E. Kerschner, MD is dean of the Medical College of Wisconsin School of Medicine.
“Opioid use disorder and opioid overdoses continue to be a major epidemic in this country,” says Cody Wenthur, from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. “A relatively new therapeutic approach entering clinical trials is what in shorthand we call an opioid vaccine, where the immune system generates a response against the drugs. But for this approach to be successful, we need to identify the people who would benefit from that approach.”
Quoted: But raw numbers don’t always tell the whole story, said Ajay Sethi, an epidemiologist with the University of Wisconsin-Madison. For example, a rise in cases can also be due to a rise in testing.
“If you think about something too simplistically, you can fall into the trap of believing something that is partially or maybe not even true at all,” Sethi said.
In a shaded parking lot on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus, so-called spit concierges guide volunteers though giving a saliva sample. On the other side of the parking lot is a pared-down biology lab where scientists test the spit-filled plastic vials for the virus that causes COVID-19.
They’ll have the results within one or two hours.
A CBS News and YouGov poll released Sunday morning found Biden leading Trump 48% to 42% among likely voters, and the Election Research Center of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, looking at registered voters, found Biden ahead with 49% to Trump’s 43%. The Marquette University Law School Poll, released on Tuesday, finds Biden at 50%, in a close race with Trump at 46% among likely voters.
