When we contacted Taylor’s office, legislative aide Michelle Bryant provided links to various articles on the topic, including a 2018 article by the Observatory, a fact-checking website staffed by students and faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication, and a 2017 Wisconsin Public Radio article titled “Milwaukee’s Lead Problem Is Complex And Could Cost Billions To Fix.”
Category: Research
Expanding a neutrino hunt in the South Pole
In July 2019 the IceCube collaboration announced that the US National Science Foundation had granted it $23 million to put toward a $37 million upgrade, with additional financial support coming from Michigan State University, the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and agencies in Germany and Japan.
Lawmakers release $10M plan to address water contamination in Wisconsin
Noted: It touted efforts it plans to focus on over the coming years, such as developing a program in conjunction with the University of Wisconsin to assist farmers to reduce leaching nitrates from fertilizer into groundwater. The report also noted the administration had started a program to monitor water chemistry and fish tissue near sites contaminated with PFAS.
Where people live can affect their brains, UW study says
People who live in disadvantaged neighborhoods may have smaller centers of learning and memory in their brains, according to a UW-Madison study.
Why We Need Real Food & Real Jobs In American Public Schools
Guests: Jennifer E. Gaddis, assistant professor of Civil Society and Community Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison & author of The Labor of Lunch: Why We Need Real Food and Real Jobs in American Public Schools
UW study shows retreating snow cover could produce winter rains over Great Plains
Wisconsin’s snow line is expected to shift about 350 miles to the north by the end of this century, said Stephen Vavrus, a senior scientist with the Nelson Institute Center for Climatic Research and a contributor to the study.
For Your Post-Holiday Enjoyment, Healthy ID Snacks
Soil has been called “that thin layer on the planet that stands between us and starvation.” Phys.org reported on work at the University of Wisconsin-Madison that “shows how bacteria can degrade solid bedrock, jump-starting a long process of alteration that creates the mineral portion of soil.”
The super-cool materials that send heat to space
Zongfu Yu at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and Qiaoqiang Gan at the State University of New York at Buffalo found that an aluminium film coated in polydimethylsiloxane could not only stay cool, but also enhance water condensation during the day12. The pair started a company in Buffalo called Sunny Clean Water to commercialize the device.
Researchers Develop Video Game ‘Tenacity’ To Improve Mindfulness In Middle Schoolers
It is estimated that a staggering 97 percent of adolescents play video games during their spare time. While many often see video games as mere time-killers, a team of researchers from the Center for Healthy Minds at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of California, Irvine see them as an opportunity to develop mindfulness in the youth.
Good News for Dogs with Cancer
New treatment techniques and diagnostic tools have likewise been created. Technology for targeted radiation that avoids damaging tissue near a tumor was developed on pet dogs with sinus tumors at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
Kate Miner’s Tragic Journey Through the U.S. Indian Health Service
On much of the Cheyenne River Reservation, life expectancy is 67.6 years, according to data from a University of Wisconsin research group, more than 10 years less than the U.S. average and lower than in North Korea.
UW-Madison students design cart for dog without front legs
Louie was born without his front legs
Researchers Find High Levels of PFAS Chemicals in Rainwater in United States
Martin Shafer, principal researcher with the National Atmospheric Deposition Program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, told the Guardian, “There were folks not too long ago who felt the atmospheric transport route was not too important. The data belies that statement.”
Smart toilet: Technology could check urine to detect diseases early
That’s the thinking of two scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Joshua Coon and Ian Miller, who believe a “smart toilet,” can become a tool to closely monitor your health, and eventually learn more about the early molecular signs of diseases like cancer and diabetes.
Scientists Seeking Cause of Huge Freshwater Mussel Die-Off
Quoted: University of Wisconsin epidemiologist Tony Goldberg is helping with the investigation. He specializes in wildlife diseases of unknown cause — and recently he’s been busy.“ Along with invasive species, we’re seeing invasive pathogens,” Goldberg said. “Often it’s the coup de grace for a species that is holding on by a thread.”
Rainwater in parts of US contain high levels of PFAS chemical, says study
“There were folks not too long ago who felt the atmospheric transport route was not too important,” says Martin Shafer, principal researcher with the National Atmospheric Deposition Program (NADP), based at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “The data belies that statement.”
How to avoid an Election 2020 misinformation nightmare
According to a study I published this year from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, these Russian trolls are more coordinated than we thought when the news first broke.
2019 Is The Wettest Year Ever Recorded For Wisconsin And The Midwest
Wisconsin received 41.75 inches of precipitation through last month. The amount of rain and snow so far this year beat out the previous record of 40.09 inches set back in 1938, according to Steve Vavrus, senior scientist with the Nelson Institut’s Center for Climatic Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Geoscientists Rethink The Calamity That Killed The Dinosaurs
Quoted: “Our data suggest that the environment was changing before the asteroid impact,” said Benjamin Linzmeier, the study’s first author, said in a statement. “Shells grow quickly and change with water chemistry,” Linzmeier, a postdoctoral geoscientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said in a statement. “Because they live for such a short period of time, each shell is a short, preserved snapshot of the ocean’s chemistry.”
UW-Madison Researchers Filed More Conflict Of Interest Statements Than Any Other Institution Since 2012
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison receiving grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) filed more financial conflict of interest disclosures than any other institution, according to data published by the nonprofit news organization ProPublica.
More Americans than ever say they’ve postponed seeking care for a ‘serious’ medical condition over cost concerns
Noted: What’s more, severely rent-burdened respondents in that survey were more likely than renters overall to have postponed a routine check-up because they couldn’t afford it. Around 11% of U.S. households are severely housing cost-burdened, according to a report published this year by County Health Rankings & Roadmap, a collaboration between the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin’s Population Health Institute.
Fixing nature’s genetic mistakes in the womb
Quoted: “Any advance in fetal therapy, however welcome for good and important reasons, poses a risk of increasing pressure on pregnant women to sacrifice their own interests and autonomy…with women being subject to civil commitment or even criminal charges for failing to optimize the health of their fetuses,” said bioethicist Alta Charo of the University of Wisconsin, now a fellow at Stanford University.
UW lab pioneers new approach to study origin of life
Sitting on a laboratory shelf on the third floor of the state-of-the-art Wisconsin Institute of Discovery building are a collection of small vials, each containing a primordial chemical soup. They are all a part of University of Wisconsin botany professor David Baum’s experiment that may change the way scientists study the origin of life.
University of Wisconsin – Madison researchers had 1,015 financial conflicts of interest since 2012, ProPublica finds
A National Institutes of Health database tracking significant financial conflicts of interest involving federally funded researchers has been made public for the first time — and the University of Wisconsin — Madison has reported the most conflicts, by far.
George Church: The complicated ethics of genetic engineering
Not everyone agrees. A 2017 survey at the University of Wisconsin-Madison asked 1,600 members of the general public about their attitudes toward gene editing. The results showed 65 percent of respondents think gene editing is acceptable for therapeutic purposes. But when it comes to whether scientists should use technology for genetic enhancement, only 26 percent agreed.
‘No silver bullet’ to reverse UW-Madison’s slide in national research ranking
UW-Madison’s national research ranking, cemented for nearly 45 years as one of the top five in the country, has dropped in recent years, with the latest figures placing the university eighth among hundreds of institutions.
Black and brown children not represented in children’s books
Believe it or not, these numbers actually represent progress. The CCBC, based at the University of Wisconsin – Madison, has been compiling these statistics since 1985, and the numbers have slowly but steadily improved.
Federally Funded Health Researchers Disclose at Least $188 Million in Conflicts of Interest. Can You Trust Their Findings? — ProPublica
Most of the researchers who reported conflicts of interest work in academia. The University of Wisconsin-Madison filed 1,015 conflict disclosures for its researchers since 2012, the most of any institution. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was second with 358 disclosures, and the University of California, Los Angeles, was next with 294.
Madison, University Of Wisconsin Collaborate To Face Down Climate Change Future
The city of Madison is teaming up with the University of Wisconsin-Madison to identify the problems that come with climate change and ways to adapt to them.
UW study: Fear-based language on cyberbullying
Bullying and cyberbullying on social media can be a significant risk factor for depression, substance abuse and even suicide.
Madison forms partnership with Nelson Institute to study climate resilience
As the Madison region anticipates warmer temperatures and heavier rains in the future, the city and UW-Madison are partnering in a new effort to identify and proactively plan for the risks that climate change poses for infrastructure and operations.
Londinium Romans’ blood lead levels so high they may have lowered birth rates
Environmental health scientist Sean Scott of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and colleagues found that lead levels in bones taken from three cemeteries in Londinium may be more than 70 times higher than those in remains from pre-Roman Iron Age Britain.
Madison to partner with UW to study effects of climate change in city
The city will be working with the UW’s Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, the Wisconsin Institute on Climate Change Impacts (WICCI) and UW-Extension Dane County on the project.
UW-led research reports high level trust in science among American public over past decades
Trust in science remained high even on controversial issues like climate change.
CRISPR Vehicles Break Down Barriers to In Vivo Genome Editing
“The molecules are much larger than an antisense RNA,” says Krishanu Saha, PhD, associate professor of biomedical engineering, University of Wisconsin–Madison. “The Cas9 enzyme is a pretty large protein, and then it’s complexed with a guide RNA.”
Le maïs du futur
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin are developing a variety of corn that can draw nitrogen from the air rather than from the soil. This new corn from natural crosses could one day reduce the use of chemical fertilizers and create an agricultural and environmental revolution, reportsLa semaine verte. Microbiologist Jean-Michel Ané takes us to the experimental fields at the University of Wisconsin in Madison where rare specimens of ancient corn grow.
The corn of the future?
UW–Madison agronomy and bacteriology professor Jean-Michel Ané and his partners on campus are growing a strain of corn that can acquire its own nitrogen from the air in partnership with bacteria. A report from La semaine verte.
Smart Toilets: The Jetpack of the Bathroom
Now, researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison are envisioning a toilet that can analyze urine for indicators of disease (such as blood, protein, or metabolites), connect to the internet, and send the information to your phone or your doctor.
Archaeological Skeletons From London Prove Some Romans Were Lead Poisoned
Writing in the journal Archaeometry, lead author Sean Scott of the University of Wisconsin-Madison along with an international team composed of Martin Shafer, Kate Smith, Joel Overdier, Barry Cunliffe, Thomas Stafford, and Philip Farrell detail their novel method for identifying lead (Pb) levels from ancient skeletons and the results they obtained.
Ancient history news: Archeologists no closer to unearthing Mohenjo Daro’s deepest secrets
According to University of Wisconsin, Madison, archaeologist Jonathan Mark Kenoyer, the mounds grew organically over the centuries as people kept building platforms and walls for their houses.
Researchers: ‘smart toilets’ could capture stream of health data
Now UW-Madison researchers hope to add to the growing field of personalized medicine by developing a device based on a common activity — urination.
Climate Change Is Making the Future of Cranberry Growing Uncertain
One morning in mid-September, Jed Colquhoun, an expert in fruit and vegetable production systems, hopped on the phone to discuss the state of cranberries and climate change in the state of Wisconsin, our country’s most bountiful producer of that tart indigenous berry.
Israel’s Stalagmites Have Climate Stories to Tell
LONG BEFORE THE STALAGMITES SAT on Ian Orland’s desk in Madison, Wisconsin, they jutted up from the floor the Soreq Cave in Israel’s Judean Hills, 18 miles west of Jerusalem. There, in the dripping darkness, the mounds of calcite were standing witness to the world outside.
Wisconsin Receives Over $1M To Help People With Disabilities Get Affordable Housing
Madison and Dane County officials say the area is in a housing crisis. Home values and median rent in Madison have been on the rise for years, according to a city report from August. And a University of Wisconsin-Madison study found about a quarter of all people in Dane County spend more than half their income on rent.
Straight flush: Why smart toilets could be the health revolution of the future
“Wearable devices that collect data continuously are disrupting healthcare in a positive way,” Joshua Coon, a professor of biomolecular chemistry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, told Digital Trends.
Meteor in Milwaukee: County buses caught fireball on camera, in video
University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Space Science and Engineering Center caught video of the meteor, too, flying over Lake Mendota.
Flu ‘wonder drug’ may cause the virus to dangerously mutate
However, researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have found worrying evidence that, in the process of banishing the virus, the drug may cause it to mutate while it is still infectious, and that drug-resistant mutation can be passed on to others.
New flu drug makes influenza viruses develop resistance
On analyzing samples taken from the two children, the University of Wisconsin-Madison professor Yoshihiro Kawaoka found that the H3N2 strain harbored a new kind of drug-resistant mutation that is capable of passing between individuals and just as capable of causing illness as the non-mutated strain.
UW study says ‘hidden overharvest’ contributing to decline of walleye population
A new study by UW-Madison researchers says Wisconsin needs to change its approach to walleye management to halt decades of “hidden overharvest.”
UW rooftop camera appears to capture meteor
A camera on the roof of the Atmospheric & Oceanic Space Sciences building at the University of Wisconsin caught what appears to be a meteor on Saturday.
How Video Games Can Teach Us to Play Well with Others
Fair Play was developed by a group of researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison to let faculty mentors experience the academic world through the eyes of a virtual black graduate student.
When Being Big, Strong, and Sexy Comes at a Cost
Benjamin Martin, a doctoral student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, discovered this burst of speed when he set Atlantic sand fiddler crabs on a sand-and-mud track and chased them around with his index finger, measuring the speeds at which they sprinted to the finish line.
City-dwellers have higher trust in science than country folk
There are large geographic divides in the US public’s trust of science, with rural residents being more sceptical than those from cities and the suburbs, according to new analysis by researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Memory loss diagnoses come early with Down syndrome
Researchers hope to inspire preventative measures with study.
Wisconsin’s dairy industry would collapse without the work of Latino immigrants — many of them undocumented
Noted: Hiring immigrants caught on among Wisconsin dairy farms in the late 1990s and early 2000s, according to University of Wisconsin research.
UW study to try to get 4,000 to quit smoking in effort to find best treatment plan
Breaking Addiction to Tobacco for Health 2, or BREATH 2, will do this by comparing current treatments to help people quit in clinic.
New pilot study suggests quitting smoking could cause changes in gut bacteria
Carried out by researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, US, the new study looked at 26 smokers who were trying to kick the habit and analysed their stool samples at the start of the study and then again two weeks and 12 weeks later.
What Is A “Botox Facial” — & Is It Safe For Skin?
And sure, Botox is largely considered safe — but new research from the University of Wisconsin presents “clear evidence that [botulinum] toxin is moving between neurons in a lab dish.”
UW study seeks 4,000 smokers looking to quit at clinics
About 4,000 smokers in Wisconsin will be asked to quit using a pill or patches and lozenges — or to consider quitting later — in a UW-Madison study supported by a new $14 million federal grant.
Rural Wisconsin STEM teachers build connections to researchers at UW event
On Friday and Saturday, RERIC hosted 19 teachers from the state’s rural districts at the University of Wisconsin-Madison for the event’s third year.