“This is a very important time of their life, where they’re growing independent, making career decisions and planning a future,” said Traci Snedden, a UW-Madison assistant professor of nursing leading the research. “If their academic experience is affected because of their cognitive deficits, there potentially could be long-term ramifications.”
Category: Research
UW scientist says ‘zero evidence’ to support link between vaccination, autism
Malia Jones said despite government rules, parents are reluctant to vaccinate their child.
Study Questions Effect of Performance Funding
A growing number of states — 35 so far — have created performance-based funding models that tie portions of appropriations for public colleges to outcome measures such as degree production or student graduation rates. A new research paper examines results of performance-funding formulas in Ohio and Tennessee, which are home to two of the most established of such policies. Advocates also cite the two states has having particularly sound approaches to performance funding.
UW prof points to Voter ID law, candidate absence as reasons for drop in student turnout
A Voter ID law and presidential candidates’ failure to show up in the state contributed to a surprising drop in voter turnout among Wisconsin college students, said Barry Burden, director of the Elections Research Center at UW-Madison.
PA Fresh Set of Eyes: Rotating Plant Inspectors Reduces Risk of Medical Device Recalls
The study, by researchers at Indiana University, the University of Wisconsin and the University of Minnesota, found that plant inspections worked well when they were conducted by someone new, rather than by an investigator already familiar with the manufacturing facility.
WISCONSIN DAIRY NEWS: Happy Cows
We’ve all heard the phrase “happy cows”, but a study being done at UW-Madison proves just what it takes to help bovines achieve udder bliss.
UW Carbone Center researcher gets $185K grant from Komen Foundation
A cancer researcher in Madison will receive a $185,000 grant to study breast cancer.
‘IceCube’ telescope could solve ‘alien’ FRB signals
They have mystified astronomers for decades. Fast radio bursts or FRBs are ephemeral but incredibly powerful radio bursts from space, which some have dubbed ’alien signals’ – and astronomers admit they know virtually nothing about them. Now, a new neutrino telescope could help uncover the mystery.
UW Study: Up To 23,000 Didn’t Vote Because Of Voter ID Law
The study from UW-Madison estimates that up to 23,000 people in Dane and Milwaukee counties did not vote in November 2016 because of the state’s voter ID law.
IceCube helps demystify strange radio bursts from deep space
“It’s a new class of astronomical events. We know very little about FRBs in general,” explains Justin Vandenbroucke, a University of Wisconsin-Madison physicist who, with his colleagues, is turning IceCube, the world’s most sensitive neutrino telescope, to the task of helping demystify the powerful pulses of radio energy generated up to billions of light-years from Earth.
UW survey: 11% didn’t vote in 2016 due to Wisconsin Voter ID law
11.2 percent of registered voters in Dane and Milwaukee counties were deterred from casting ballots in the 2016 presidential election because of Wisconsin’s Voter ID law, according to a survey conducted by a UW-Madison political science professor.
Wisconsin voter ID law deterred nearly 17,000 from voting, UW study says
A study released Monday estimates 16,800 or more people in Dane and Milwaukee counties were deterred from casting ballots in November because of Wisconsin’s voter ID law.
These satellite photos show just how bad the situation is in Puerto Rico
To get an idea of how dire the situation is in hurricane-battered Puerto Rico, take a look at these before-and-after photos of the island.The images, from a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration satellite [and the UW–Madison Cooperative Institute of Meteorological and Satellite Studies], offer aerial views of the US commonwealth.
UW-Madison study: More than 16,000 registered voters deterred by state photo ID law
Nearly 17,000 registered voters in Dane and Milwaukee counties may have been deterred from voting in the 2016 presidential election because of the state’s voter ID requirement, according to a UW-Madison study released Monday.
South Pole observatory could solve the mystery of all those fast radio bursts
Around the world, efforts are ramping up to try and uncover the mystery of fast radio bursts – extremely powerful, milliseconds-long radio bursts from somewhere out beyond the solar system.
A New Study Shows Just How Many Americans Were Blocked From Voting in Wisconsin Last Year
Rebecca Brinkman moved to Baraboo, Wisconsin, an hour north of Madison, from Ohio in the spring of 2016 for a job as a zookeeper. She worked from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Election Day before rushing to her polling place.
New study shows effects of voter ID law on 2016 election
MADISON, Wis. – Six percent, or 9,000 people, in Dane and Milwaukee counties were prevented from voting in the 2016 presidential election because they lacked an ID, according to a recent study.
Wisconsin Strict ID Law Discouraged Voters, Study Finds
WASHINGTON — Nearly 17,000 registered Wisconsin voters — potentially more — were kept from the polls in November by the state’s strict voter ID law, according to a new survey of nonvoters by two University of Wisconsin political scientists.
Happiness may be healthier for some cultures than others
In a study published last month in the journal Psychological Science, a team of psychologists from the University of Wisconsin-Madison reported that positivity was related to improved health markers in Americans, but not in Japanese people.
Far-off galaxies are firing rare high-energy cosmic rays at us
Noted: Other telescopes have also been looking at the extreme universe of high-energy particles by searching for highly energetic neutrinos and gamma rays. “The energy density in the extreme universe observed in cosmic rays, in neutrinos and gamma rays turns out to be the same,” says Francis Halzen at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the principal investigator of the IceCube Neutrino Observatory. “This may point at common sources and not be an accident.”
Chris Rickert: UW-Madison lab’s mission blurs line between science and activism
Republicans can and will quibble with the mostly left-leaning UW-Madison over what its professors teach, what kinds of activism its students engage in, and which speakers are welcomed to campus and which draw protests.
New app to help Wisconsin farmers calculate corn prices
Wisconsin Public Radio reports that two University of Wisconsin-Extension agents Greg Blonde and Ryan Sterry have developed the Corn Silage Pricing App, which uses data from national and local reports to estimate prices.
UW-Madison students in Houston to aid with mosquito control
After Hurricane Harvey’s widespread flooding resulted in the surfacing of millions of mosquitos that hampered recovery efforts, two UW-Madison students headed to Houston last Wednesday to assist with the infestation.
UW-Madison students lending a hand in Texas
Two UW-Madison students are helping to control an issue plaguing cleanup crews in southeastern Texas: a post-floodwater mosquito boom.
Study shows large preparation gap in Wisconsin kindergartners
UW–Madison: Kindergartners starting school this year across the state enter the educational system with widely different preparation levels.
Lager Beer May Originate in South America and Not Germany, Research Suggests
Noted: The cold-resistant missing parent remained a secret until 2011 when Dr. Chris Hittinger from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an international team of geneticists and microbiologists from the U.S., Portugal and Argentina identified S. eubayanus in wild samples from a Nothofagus tree in Patagonian forests.
Specializing in one sport leads to more stress, study finds
Focusing on one sport rather than participating in multiple different sports could lead to more stress for young athletes, one study found.
Pets and pests in infancy can lower asthma risk, UW-Madison study says
Cockroaches, mice, cats and dogs can make asthma worse, but exposure to the pests and pets during infancy can lower the risk of developing the breathing disease, according to a national study led by a UW-Madison doctor.
UW-Madison students travel to Houston to squash severe mosquito problem
Two University of Wisconsin-Madison students traveled to Houston after Hurricane Harvey to aid in mosquito control and study mosquito-borne diseases.
UW-Madison students help identify disease-carrier mosquitoes in Texas
Two University of Wisconsin-Madison students are in Texas helping identify the millions of nuisance mosquitoes that are hampering Hurricane Harvey recovery efforts and raising concerns about mosquito-borne diseases as floodwaters recede.
Houston: UW-Madison students aiding post-Harvey mosquito control
MADISON – As the floodwaters recede in Houston following Hurricane Harvey, millions of mosquitoes have emerged to blanket southeastern Texas, hampering recovery efforts and raising public health concerns about mosquito-borne diseases.
As Consumer Demands Shift, Wisconsin Ag Experts Encourage Innovation
Bill Tracy has spent the last 30 years thinking about and breeding new varieties of corn at the West Madison Agricultural Research Station.
UW-Madison ‘Kindness Curriculum’ Nurtures Emotional Awareness In Preschoolers
UW-Madison’s Center For Healthy Minds is providing its “Kindness Curriculum” to preschool teachers. Thousands of teachers have requested the curriculum, including Sesame Workshop. The researchers at the Center For Healthy Minds consulted on kindness episodes for the 47th season of “Sesame Street” premiering Sept. 18 on Wisconsin Public Television.
Hurricane scientists aren’t afraid to make eye contact
Noted: To put the effects of storm winds into perspective, Steve Ackerman, director of the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, compared a brisk wind to hurricane-level gusts.
Little refuge for wildlife as smoke lingers over region
SPOKANE, Wash. — Wild critters can’t heed health agency warnings to take refuge indoors from the pall of wildfire smoke smothering the West.
Why five patients in the same hospital contracted a rare blood infection
As an infectious disease doctor, Nasia Safdar is a detective of sorts at the University of Wisconsin Hospital in Madison.
Planting crops by plane; new method for area farmers
Noted: Farms in DeForest, Waunakee, Sun Prairie and Fitchburg are participating in a project to help clean up Dane County lakes. Around nine farms are partnering with Dane County land and water resources department, UW-Extension, Yahara wins, and the natural resources conservation service.
Trust science for more than hurricanes — Linn Roth
Noted: These actions were initiated based on mathematical models utilizing data generated by techniques and technologies substantially developed at UW-Madison.
What’s the buzz? Officials helping to strengthen bee populations in Dane County
Bees aren’t necessarily welcome at picnics and outdoor events, but they are essential for pollinating crops worth millions of dollars to the Wisconsin economy. To that end, UW-Madison and UW-Extension staff in Dane County are working with the Dane County Environmental Council to increase bee education and get the most out of bee-friendly land use and development.
Fire on the mountain: 2 forests offer clues to Yellowstone’s fate in a warming world
What will happen to the forests of Yellowstone if a changing climate means not only old forests burn, but young ones, too? That’s what (former UW graduate student) Brian Harvey and his colleague, Monica Turner, an ecologist at the University of Wisconsin, are here investigating. Yellowstone’s recent fires offer a rare natural experiment to see how forests regenerate after burning and reburning at short intervals.
Cave Explorers Find New Fossils of Mysterious Human Relative
A new trove of fossil bones found in a cramped South African cave is adding to our understanding of an unusual cousin of modern humans, scientists announced today.
Despite Climate Change Concerns, Water Quality Is Unchanged In Wisconsin Lakes
A new study from the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Center for Limnology found that despite concerns over climate change, the conditions of Wisconsin’s lakes have remained relatively stable over the past 20 years.
Fire on the Mountain: 2 Forests Offer Clues to Yellowstone’s Fate in a Warming World
This is a tale of two forests, Densetown and Stumptown, whose paths diverged after a succession of wildfires. One illustrates the historic resilience of the dense Yellowstone pinelands; the other portends a much sparser future for these forests under climate change.
UW lab urges hunters to test deer for CWD
The UW-Madison lab that checks deer carcasses for chronic wasting disease says new scientific research shows the importance of testing. Keith Poulsen at the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, says it would be a mistake to not get your deer tested for CWD this fall.
Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Jose: View from Space
We can now watch Irma and Jose’s stunning fury nearly in real time. Researchers and engineers at the Space and Science Engineering Center at University of Wisconsin-Madison stitched together daytime and nighttime imagery for a full, composite picture of the storms, made available to TIME.
UW’s Davidson teams with famed science writer to dive deep into the science of meditation
Renowned scientist Richard Davidson and science writer Daniel Goleman collaborated on a new book that explores a simple, yet transformational, idea: Good mental hygiene.
New urgency for hunters to test deer for CWD, lab says
The UW-Madison lab that checks deer carcasses for a deadly brain disease said Monday there may be increased urgency for hunters to test for chronic wasting disease this year based on new scientific research.
Hawks: Renewed excavations in the Rising Star cave
ur team is underground this month in the Rising Star cave system, in South Africa. Project leader Lee Berger and I, along with several other team members, are doing periodic updates from the site on Twitter and Facebook, with hashtags #Homonaledi, #LesediChamber, and #DinalediChamber.
Energy generating floor installed at Union South
University of Wisconsin researchers are behind cutting edge technology in the field of renewable energy, and they’re collecting data with the help of thousands of Wisconsin Badgers.
New Research Shows Solar Energy May Have Been Undervalued
Has the future reach of solar energy been underestimated? New research shows it may be so.
This Wisconsin floor has some powerful potential
If you recall, yesterday we told you about Michigan State engineer Dr. Nelson Sepúlveda and his groundbreaking ferroelectret nanogenerator, or FENG, device which can produce energy anywhere there is mechanical movement, such as the soles of your shoes.
This Wisconsin floor has some powerful potential
Well, if you liked reading about this innovative source of green energy, then you might want to check out University of Wisconsin-Madison engineer Dr. Xudong Wang’s equally astonishing triboelectric nanogenerator, or TENG, technology.
Telehealth, mHealth Studies Show the Value of Proper Preparation
Noted: Conducted by researchers at the University of Wisconsin and the University of Pennsylvania, the five-year study found that a health clinic’s telephone-based e-visit platform boosted office visits by 6 percent. This meant that providers spent more time with those patients in the office, and ultimately led to a 15 percent drop in new patients.
UW researchers have key role in tracking Hurricane Irma
nside the “cave,” Sarah Griffin looked over a rainbow of satellite data showing Hurricane Irma passing over Cuba Saturday afternoon.
What Goes Into Hurricane Forecasting? Satellites, Supercomputers And More
Noted: “We have a whole suite of numerical forecast models ranging from those at the global scale, that have less spatial resolution, to other models that cover smaller domains, but have higher resolution,” Christopher Velden, a senior researcher at the University of Wisconsin, Madison’s Space Science and Engineering Center, tells NPR.
Wisconsin researchers first to spot Irma
Irma was spotted before it was a hurricane by satellites tracking it for UW-Madison’s Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies.
UW-Madison chancellor announces new faculty recruiting effort to drive critical research areas
After a 15-year hiatus, the University of Wisconsin-Madison is launching a hiring program to recruit clusters of faculty from different disciplines who will work together in emerging areas of research.
Far from actual storms, UW scientists provide indispensable data on developing hurricanes
While Hurricane Harvey washed through neighborhoods in and around Houston last week, a small group of University of Wisconsin-Madison scientists noticed something unusual off the coast of Africa.
Marshfield study: Kids raised on dairy farms less likely to get allergies, rashes
A study of rural children in the Marshfield area suggests that kids raised on dairy farms are much less likely to suffer severe respiratory illnesses, allergies and chronic skin rashes, according to the University of Wisconsin.
Christine Seroogy, associate professor of pediatrics, and James Gern, professor of pediatrics at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health, worked with researchers at the Marshfield Clinic on the study.
Next wave breeding
Inside the Wisconsin Institute of Discovery, Madison chef Tory Miller stands over a tiny bamboo serving boat, concentrating as he pipes a dollop of bearnaise to finish off a bite-sized dish.“Tomato,” he says, almost reverently, placing the specimen in front of a hungry dinner guest. But it’s not your standard grocery-variety (or even garden-variety) fruit — it’s from a special breeding line developed as part of UW-Madison’s Seed to Kitchen Collaborative.