A University of Wisconsin-Madison professor in the School of Medicine and Public Health announced recent findings, which include the need for sleep in order to create room for more learning the next day.
Category: Research
Winter birding in Wisconsin delivers sightings of snowy owls
Chickadees captured her heart when she was a field technician working for the UW-Madison Zuckerberg lab in well-below-freezing weather.
“I’d be sitting out in a wood lot at 8 degrees, waiting for birds to come by so I could catch and band them for tracking.”
New Silicon Chip-Based Quantum Computer Passes Major Test
Yesterday, a research group at TU Delft, called QuTech, announced that they’d successfully tested two “spin qubits” on hardware supplied by researchers from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. These qubits involve the interaction of two confined electrons in a silicon chip. Each electron has a property called spin, which sort of turns it into a tiny magnet, with two states: “Up” and “down”. The researchers control the electrons with actual cobalt magnets and microwave pulses. They measure the electron’s spins by watching how nearby electric charges react to the trapped electrons’ movements.
A NASA satellite spotted this strangely prominent pattern of long, sinuous clouds over the Pacific
Noted: Just to make sure, I checked in by email with Scott Bachmeier, a research meteorologist with the University of Wisconsin’s Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies. “Those are indeed ship tracks — a few cases are documented on our blog,” he wrote back. For more imagery, make sure to click on that link to the excellent CIMSS satellite blog.
Old-fashioned silicon might be the key to building ubiquitous quantum computers
In a paper published today in Nature, researchers at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands and the University of Wisconsin–Madison say they were able to program a two-qubit machine based on spin qubits to execute a couple of algorithms that are typically employed to test the effectiveness of quantum machines, including one that could be used for searching a database.
Quantum computers ‘one step closer’
The team of researchers, which also included scientists from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, turned to silicon to suspend single electron qubits whose spin was fixed by the use of microwave energy.
Here’s why it’s so hard to make a better flu vaccine
One vaccine in the works makes use of one of the less-changeable parts of the flu virus called M2. The ReDee vaccine made by FluGen, a spinoff from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, is not meant to be a completely universal vaccine, but might protect better against a range of flu strains.
Brain surgery could ‘spread’ Alzheimer’s disease
The researchers, from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, conducted a test on 400 healthy people.
‘Mark Cook Bill’ would streamline university research, professors argue
With the intention of streamlining approval of cutting-edge research projects, the state Legislature is considering a pair of bills named in honor of a deceased UW-Madison professor.
Finding love online: What research shows
It’s almost Valentine’s Day, and if you’re looking for love, chances are you may be thinking about looking online. News 3 sits down with Catalina Toma, an associate professor at UW-Madison, who has been researching online dating and the role of technology.
Researchers look into drug that may improve prognosis for dense breast tissue
Dr. Karla Esbona, from the UW Carbone Cancer Center, talks about a new research study that looks at an FDA approved drug that may improve the prognosis for patients with dense breast tissue.
Video gaming offers new, exciting way to educate children, researcher says
Jim Mathews, educational director of a team of game designers and education researchers at the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery, gave a speech Monday night on how games can be used to increase empathy, raise awareness on important issues and leverage a child’s learning ability.
UW-Madison Study Finds Reason Behind Bald Eagle Recovery
Scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison knew the bald eagle population grew by leaps and bounds over the last 50 years. They just didn’t know why.
What a Fossil Revolution Shows About the Evolution of ‘Big Data’
The analytical, data-driven palaeobiology pioneered by my father has now become a cottage industry. Much like algorithms are used in genomics to automate data analysis, a group of researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, for example, recently announced a project called ‘PaleoDeepDive’ – a ‘statistical machine-reading and learning system, to automatically find and extract fossil-occurrence data from the scientific literature’. Palaeobiology’s success has paralleled the advent of computing and the internet, and would seem like an obvious example of the determining impact of technology on science.
Bracelet could boost weak hands after a stroke
A study of ten patients led by the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, which developed the device, showed that applying the vibrations at the wrist instantly increased touch sensation.
High cancer-related expenses take a toll on quality of life
“When cancer patients spend more on their cancer treatment and other health care, they have less to spend on activities they enjoy and other needs, which can negatively affect their well-being,” said coauthor Joohyun Park, a doctoral student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Pharmacy.“It turns out that financial burden is directly related to health and well-being,” Park told Reuters Health by email. “The more a cancer patient spends on health care, the worse the quality of life and mental health.”
How to Stay Warm At a Bitter-Cold Olympics? Face Tape and a Whistle-Like Gadget
In 1988, University of Wisconsin researchers studied the device, called a Lungplus, when used by 91 subjects in various cold-weather conditions. Over all, Lungplus users reported more comfort breathing in very cold temperatures. The researchers noted that Lungplus breathing at minus 15 degrees Celsius received similar scores, in terms of comfort, as regular breathing in 20 degrees Celsius, according to the research published in Applied Ergonomics.
As West Fears the Rise of Autocrats, Hungary Shows What’s Possible
But Fidesz voted to give itself complete power in choosing the candidates. Eight years later, the court is made up entirely of judges appointed during Fidesz’s tenure. Two were previously Fidesz lawmakers. A third was once a top aide to Mr. Orban. And the vast majority have usually voted with the government, according to research published by the University of Wisconsin.
Study: Mississippi River Shutdown Would Cost Millions
The study by researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison estimates that a shutdown of the river at Hannibal, Missouri, would require trucks to move more than 12 million tons of grain during a nine-month shipping season, costing millions of dollars and damaging roads.
UW Carbone Cancer Center releases study showing untreated depression in spouses of patients
The study found that spouses of cancer patients who experience depression are 33 percent less likely to obtain treatment for depression than people battling depression whose spouses do not have cancer.
Cities May Be Altering the Natural Instincts of Foxes and Coyotes
Under a dimly lit streetlight in Madison, Wisconsin, a woman witnessed a standoff between a fox and a coyote—two predators that have made the city their home. In an email to wildlife researcher David Drake at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, she described the brief (and quite frankly, anti-climatic) interaction: For about 15 seconds, they stood face-to-face, about 10 feet part. They then turned around—and sauntered off in the opposite direction.
Polisis AI Reads Privacy Policies So You Don’t Have To
Today, researchers at Switzerland’s Federal Institute of Technology at Lausanne (EPFL), the University of Wisconsin and the University of Michigan announced the release of Polisis—short for “privacy policy analysis”—a new website and browser extension that uses their machine-learning-trained app to automatically read and make sense of any online service’s privacy policy, so you don’t have to.
New NASA instruments aim to answer atmospheric unknowns
The PREFIRE team consists of experts in Earth system modeling, Arctic ice, and remote sensing, and is led by Tristan L’Ecuyer of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
UW-Madison Chancellor: Foxconn interested in our research on AI, automated vehicles
Taiwanese electronics maker Foxconn is interested in UW-Madison research that includes artificial intelligence and automated vehicles, Chancellor Rebecca Blank said Thursday.
Book outlines resentment among rural residents
Cramer was the keynote speaker at the Jan. 25 Ag Outlook Forum in Madison where she talked candidly about her research and conclusions.
Coaching reduces opioid prescribing at UW Health clinics
Opioid doses dropped 11 percent at UW Health clinics that paid special attention to urine drug testing and other monitoring of patients, while doses went up 8 percent at other UW clinics, a new study found.
AI embodies stereotypes with real consequences, UW professor says
Leslie Bow, a professor of Asian-American studies at the University of Wisconsin, spends her time conducting research within the uncanny valley. Bow is discovering how artificial intelligence has begun to embody stereotypes of Asian women seen in popular culture.
UW professor hopes to provide aid to Africa with development of new tuberculosis test
University of Wisconsin biomedical engineering professor David Beebe is working to bring a new type of tuberculosis test to places in Africa that experience high rates of the disease.
Zero-deforestation pledges need help, support to meet targets, new study finds
“These companies stand poised to break the link between commodity production and deforestation,” co-author and environmental scientist Holly Gibbs of the University of Wisconsin-Madison said in a statement. “To do that, more immediate action is needed to demonstrate commitment to change and to clear the haze surrounding these efforts.”
Emerging Cancer Therapies Rely On Patient’s Immune System
University of Wisconsin Hospital in Madison has treated two children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia using the recently approved therapy KYMRIAH. One child is very early in the process and another is in remission, said Dr. Mark Juckett, chief of bone marrow transplant at UW Carbone Cancer Center in Madison.
To help cranberry growers, UW researchers prototype crop-scanning technology
As a University of Wisconsin-Madison computer and electrical engineering professor, Susan Hagness doesn’t typically field emails about cranberry farming. Her background is in cancer detection, not agriculture.
‘The Ride’ funds $352,000 in cancer research
Research efforts at the University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center received a $352,000 boost this weekend when The Ride announced the winners of 14 scholarships during the Badger hockey game Saturday night.
UW professor outlines what attracts millennials to Wisconsin in report
Many young people choosing small, rural communities in close proximity to urban areas
Morgridge Institute fellow shares scientific breakthroughs on heart disease
A regenerative biology team working at the Morgridge Institute for Research at University of Wisconsin was developing artificial methods to grow arterial endothelial cells in a lab when they made an unexpected discovery regarding stem cell research.
Here’s a sweet recipe for cheap, green plastic—sugar and corncobs
Plastic has a huge carbon footprint: Producing the petroleum-based material accounts for at least 100 million tons of carbon emissions each year. Now, a team of researchers at the University of Wisconsin in Madison has invented an inexpensive way to make plastic with a much lighter touch, from sugar and corncobs. If it can be made cheaply enough, the material could one day replace one of the world’s most common plastics—polyethylene terephthalate (PET)—found in food packaging, soda bottles, and even polyester fabric.
3.5 Billion-Year-Old Fossils Challenge Ideas About Earth’s Start
Last month, researchers lobbed another salvo in the decades-long debate about the nature of these forms. They are indeed fossil life, and they date to 3.465 billion years ago, according to John Valley, a geochemist at the University of Wisconsin. If Valley and his team are right, the fossils imply that life diversified remarkably early in the planet’s tumultuous youth.
New study examines effects of fish oil on Alzheimer’s Disease
A study out of UW Madison and the VA will determine if fish oil can slow down the effects of Alzheimer’s Disease in veterans.
States Getting the Most (and Least) Sleep
To determine the states where residents report getting the most and least sleep, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the share of adults in every state who get less than seven hours of sleep. These figures were obtained from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s 2014 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). The share of adults in each state reporting frequent mental distress was compiled by County Health Rankings & Roadmaps, a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute joint program using 2014 CDC data.
The Lovely Tale of an Adorable Squid and Its Glowing Partner
A few years ago, in a laboratory at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, I walked into a mostly dark room, with a single light illuminating a plastic cup. Within the cup were dozens of tiny white blobs, each smaller than a pea. They were baby Hawaiian bobtail squid, and they were adorable. Their diminutive arms trailed behind them as they bobbed in the water, and the pigment cells that would eventually allow their adult selves to change color gave their infant faces a freckled appearance.
UW students present costs of EMS merger
As they consider whether to merge, the Deer-Grove and Cambridge EMS Departments are weighing the financial impact of such a move.
UW Arboretum joins conservation co-op to protect the monarchs
The arboretum has joined more than 70 institutions in the venture dedicated to researching monarch butterflies, conserving their habitat and educating people about the charismatic insects.
Left behind: Who looks out for children when their parents go to prison?
Quoted: “The children of incarcerated parents have been invisible for a long time because of stigma,” says Julie Poehlmann-Tynan, UW-Madison professor of human development and family studies. Poehlmann-Tynan has researched this population since 1996. She’s done the first ever observational study of children visiting incarcerated parents. Her work focuses on what will help children cope and thrive while a parent is incarcerated.
Protein Plight: Brazil Steals U.S. Soybean Share in China
Another study – conducted by the University of Wisconsin and paid for by the Illinois Soybean Association and the U.S. Soybean Export Council – suggests that farmers can better compete with synthetic alternatives by planting beans with a specific amino acid balance.
A Push To Get Older Adults In Better Shape For Surgery
The Patient Preferences Project at University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health has developed and is testing a list of useful questions for older patients. Even if your local hospital doesn’t have a program like those at Duke, Michigan Medicine or UCSF, you can ask your surgeon to address these questions.
GOP Rigs Elections: Gerrymandering, Voter-ID Laws, Dark Money
African-Americans, who voted for Clinton over Trump by an 88-to-8 margin, were three times more likely than whites to be kept from the polls. “Thousands, and perhaps tens of thousands, of otherwise eligible people were deterred from voting by the ID law,” said University of Wisconsin political scientist Kenneth Mayer.
New Developments in Eagle Protection
The bald eagle population is still rebounding in the United States. But a new study from researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, the National Park Service and the U.S. Geological Survey found that protecting eagle nests from humans can help aid in their reproduction. We talk with one of the researchers about what this means.
Fossil Discoveries Challenge Ideas About Earth’s Start
Last month, researchers lobbed another salvo in the decades-long debate about the nature of these forms. They are indeed fossil life, and they date to 3.465 billion years ago, according to John Valley, a geochemist at the University of Wisconsin. If Valley and his team are right, the fossils imply that life diversified remarkably early in the planet’s tumultuous youth.
Congress: Why are university scientists accused of sexual harassment getting federal funding?
Following reports of sexual harassment by leading scientists at universities across the country, a congressional committee wants an investigation into what federal grant-funding agencies are doing about it.
Wound monitoring app may keep patients out of hospitals
According to recent studies, surgical site infections (SSIs) are the leading cause of hospital readmission following an operation. In hopes of catching those SSIs before readmission is necessary, scientists from the University of Wisconsin, Madison have developed an experimental app known as WoundCare.
UW-Madison professor develops new tuberculosis test to send to Africa
A University of Wisconsin Madison biomedical engineering professor has developed a new tuberculosis test similar to a pregnancy test.
Study: States less likely to take action against failing insurers during election years
The study, conducted by researchers at the Wisconsin School of Business, compared data from about 3,200 firms from 1989 to 2011 with data on the electoral cycles of insurance commissioners—or governors in states where the commissioner is appointed.
Counting cranberries gets easier with new technology developed at UW-Madison
With annual harvests of more than 5 million barrels — each barrel is 100 pounds of fruit — Wisconsin grows more than half of all commercial cranberries on the planet.
Counting cranberries gets easier with new technology from UW-Madison
Ben Tilberg figured there had to be a better way to count cranberries.
UW students, researchers to be minimally affected by government shutdown
Office of Federal Relations will continue to monitor the situation.
UW Botany Professor Grows Plants In Space
Since the 1960s, scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have been studying how plants will grow in space. We talk with a Professor of Botany at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, who has been leading a research team to study the effects of growing plants in a zero gravity environment.
The Psychology of Child Torture
This study, by authors based at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Eastern Virginia Medical School, University of Washington, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, University of Utah, and the National Center for Prosecution of Child Abuse, found abusers demonstrated little or no remorse.
A California City’s Plan to Turn Indebted Millennials Into Local Doctors
Riverside’s death rates from cancer, liver disease, and heart disease are well above the state average, for example. In 2016, the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation ranked each California county by overall health outcomes, and pegged Riverside at 40th out of 57. (Fellow Inland Empire counties San Bernardino and Imperial counties fared even worse.)
UW Botany Professor Grows Plants In Space
Since the 1960s, scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have been studying how plants will grow in space. We talk with a Professor of Botany at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, who has been leading a research team to study the effects of growing plants in a zero gravity environment.
Why Lupita Nyong’o’s upcoming children’s book is a major step for kids, authors, book publishers and basically everyone
The push for more diverse characters in children’s book has been a slow climb. Only 14% of kids books published in the US had black, Latino, Asian or Native American main characters featured, according to a 2015 study by the Cooperative Children’s Book Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. What’s more, around 80% of the people in editorial — authors, illustrators, editors — are white, according to industry data from publisher Lee and Low.
The Ad Industry Keeps Selling An American Dream That Most Aren’t Living
Would you consider yourself middle class? Chances are, whether you’re wealthy, lower income, or actually somewhere in the middle, you still identify as middle class. There are plenty of reasons why that is–“middle class” might be the most used word in modern politics–but a new University of Wisconsin study posits that it could also be because ads are telling us we’re middle class.