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Category: Research

Cuttlefish Arms Are Not So Different From Yours

The New York Times

Noted: In the 1990s, researchers found that flies use these genes to build their limbs. In an influential paper, Neil Shubin of the University of Chicago, Sean Carroll of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Cliff Tabin of Harvard University speculated that flies and vertebrates — and other animals with appendages — inherited this network of genes from a common ancestor.

Technique pulls interstellar magnetic fields within easy reach

Science Blog

A new, more accessible and much cheaper approach to surveying the topology and strength of interstellar magnetic fields — which weave through space in our galaxy and beyond, representing one of the most potent forces in nature — has been developed by researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

1984 Barneveld tornado: Deadly Wisconsin storm killed 9, injured 200

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Barneveld became part of a landmark study of tornado debris by University of Wisconsin-Madison meteorology professor Charles Anderson. In the days following Barneveld’s tornado, Anderson and his students placed ads in newspapers, conducted a ground survey and a mail and phone campaign seeking information on the fallout of debris.

The Reason Why So Many American Families Are in Debt

Fatherly

In their paper published in the journal Pediatrics in 2016, they wrote that high mortgage and student loan debt didn’t have the same negative impact on parents’ and kids’ well-being as credit card or medical bill debt, says lead author Lawrence M. Berger, director of the Institute for Research on Poverty and professor and doctoral program chair in the School of Social Work at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

What to know about the F5 tornado that destroyed 90% of a Wisconsin town in 1984

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Noted: Barneveld became part of a landmark study of tornado debris by University of Wisconsin-Madison meteorology professor Charles Anderson. In the days following Barneveld’s tornado, Anderson and his students placed ads in newspapers, conducted a ground survey and a mail and phone campaign seeking information on the fallout of debris.

Trump administration restricts fetal tissue research in win for anti-abortion groups

Inside Higher Education

The Trump administration on Wednesday said it would bar scientists at federal agencies from pursuing research using fetal tissue and add new hurdles for researchers on college campuses to renew funding for research using the materials. It also said it would drop a contract with the University of California, San Francisco, to research HIV infection using the tissue.

Pushed by anti-abortion groups, HHS restricts fetal tissue research

Politico.com

The Trump administration Wednesday imposed new restrictions on federal use of fetal tissue obtained from abortions, barring government scientists at NIH from doing such research, and canceling an existing HIV research contract with the University of California, San Francisco.

“There is no evidence that the use of donated tissue from fetal remains has any effect on whether women choose abortions, and no evidence that decades of research using donated tissue has ever led to an increase in the number of abortions,” said Alta Charo of the University of Wisconsin.

Trump’s HHS Bans Government Scientists From Fetal Tissue Research

Buzzfeed News

WASHINGTON — Government scientists must stop research that uses human fetal tissue, the Department of Health and Human Services announced Wednesday in a series of new restrictions.

“It is a clear indication that this administration values symbolic statements over research aimed at saving lives,” Alta Charo, a bioethics professor at the University of Wisconsin Law School, wrote to BuzzFeed News in an email Wednesday. “Indeed, in one of the greatest ironies, this tissue might be used for research on the Zika virus that can cause devastating birth defects, so a policy aimed at symbolically valuing fetal life may end up devaluing the lives of actual children.”

How trees are like nature’s air conditioners

Health24

“Once you have a certain critical mass of canopy, then each tree becomes more important when it comes to cooling temperatures. That has serious implications for how we design our cities and plan our neighbourhoods,” said Ziter, who did the research while completing her doctorate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

‘Slothbot’ monitors the environment very, very slowly

Futurity

“The life of a sloth is pretty slow-moving and there’s not a lot of excitement on a day-to-day level,” says Jonathan Pauli, an associate professor in the forest & wildlife ecology department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who consulted with the Georgia Tech team on the project.

UniverCity projects highlight opportunity

The Monroe Times

As University of Wisconsin seniors look to wrap up their final projects to graduate within the scope of the UniverCity Alliance with Green County, officials are considering how the different viewpoints can help bolster development in their municipalities.

Science On Tap Minocqua Looks At The Human Genome

WXPR-FM

A researcher says the study of the human genome is just beginning to revolutionize our lives. Professor Jason Fletcher of the LaFollette School of Public Affairs at UW-Madison is a health economist and Director for the Center for Demography and Health and Aging. He will be the next speaker in the “Science On Tap” series at the Minocqua Brewing Company. He will be addressing some of the social implications surrounding the genomics revolution.

Encountering backyard bloodsuckers? The Tick App tracks that

Capital Times

The app is part of a behavioral study being carried out by researchers at UW-Madison and Columbia University in New York who are seeking to better understand where and how people encounter ticks. They’re particularly interested in finding out what activities people are doing (and where they’re doing them) when they encounter black-legged (or deer) ticks (Ixodes scapularis), which often carry the bacterium that causes Lyme disease.

People With Depression May Face A Higher Risk Of Chronic Illnesses, A New Study Suggests

Bustle

Stress reduction techniques, such as meditation and deep breathing, getting some exercise into your routine, and optimizing your sleep at night can help, the School of Medicine and Public Health at the University of Wisconsin-Madison says. Turmeric, fresh produce, and probiotics are also considered anti-inflammatory foods, as Annakeara Stinson previously wrote for Bustle.

Chronic ozone exposure overlaps with injured arteries

Futurity

Wang’s study—which includes researchers from the University of Washington and the University of Wisconsin-Madison—has policy implications for the US, where the Environmental Protection Agency in 2015 lowered the federal health standards for ozone.

Can Yellowstone Forests Recover From Frequent Fires?

Yellowstone Insider

How resilient are Yellowstone forests when it comes to frequent fires? Kelly April Tyrrell of the University of Wisconsin–Madison provides this look at how researchers are addressing the issue.In August 2016, areas of Yellowstone National Park that burned in 1988 burned again. Shortly after, in October 2016, ecologist Monica Turner and her team of graduate students visited the park to begin to assess the landscape.

Donna Edwards: What Congress can do to save our national parks

The Washington Post

In a recent study, researchers from the University of California at Berkeley and the University of Wisconsin documented significant temperature increases and lower precipitation levels that threaten the biodiversity and ecosystems of the parks: Glacier National Park — loss of greenery, melting glaciers; Yellowstone, the world’s first national park — devastation of whitebark pine forests.

Lemon Or Lime, Which Citrus Fruit Is Best For Health?

International Business Times

“This can easily bulk up the stool, reduce constipation, and eliminate excess gas and bloat. With about 3g of fiber in each fruit, it represents about 10 percent of the daily recommended amount of fiber,” lead researcher Sherry Tanumihardjo from the University of Wisconsin- Madison said in the review study.

Survey: Public Workers Struggle With Out-Of-Pocket Health Costs

Wisconsin Public Radio

The complexity and cost of health care is a concern for people across the country. Having insurance helps, but a survey of public employees in Wisconsin finds many don’t understand their policies and most would have a hard time coming up with money for a medical emergency.

Madison-area stem cell clinics part of ‘gray market’ under increased scrutiny

Wisconsin State Journal

Alta Charo, a UW-Madison law and bioethics professor, said patients might not realize that stem cell injections from umbilical cord tissue are different from bone marrow transplants — which are approved and have been performed for decades — and experimental therapies using embryonic or induced pluripotent stem cells, for which clinical trials are in early stages or have not begun.

How climate change may affect the future of Wisconsin and the Chippewa Valley

Blugold Media

The declining lake trends ice are one way to show Wisconsin residents the different influences and economic effects climate change can have on a community, said John Magnuson, aquatic ecologist and emeritus director of the Center for Limnology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. “We are losing winter as we knew it,” Magnuson said. “We are degrading our sense of place.”