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Category: Experts Guide

Coal demand is up. Thank data centers and industrialization.

MarketPlace

In China especially, coal is sticking around largely because demand for electricity is growing so fast, said Greg Nemet, a professor at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

“And it’s been driven by very rapid uptake of electric vehicles in China, in addition, rapid uptake of using electricity for industrial heat in China and also for data centers,” he said.

Gen Z says ‘no’ to drugs

Newsweek

Dr. Ritu Bhatnagar, associate clinical professor of psychiatry and addiction psychiatrist, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health:

“As an addiction psychiatrist, I am keenly aware that people can become dependent on not only substances but also technology. Technology use really increased during the pandemic, especially among adolescents.”

What bird flu means for milk

Mother Jones

There are a handful of variables and factors that shape the financial losses of a dairy hit with an outbreak. Luckily, agriculture economist Charles Nicholson at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and some colleagues created a calculator to estimate this financial impact of a bird flu outbreak. Based on Nicholson’s estimates for California, a typical farm of 1500 cattle will lose $120,000 annually. For context, this is about $10,000 more than the median household income of a dairy farmer.

Hibernation scientists studying squirrels could get humans to deep space

Popular Science

Cosmic radiation poses a perennial challenge for astronaut safety, says Hannah Carey, an emeritus professor of biology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she studied hibernators as a model for stress and trauma protection. Carey has been part of meetings and conferences with ESA and NASA scientists discussing hibernation science. In these dialogues, she recalls that radiation protection has been of particular interest.

Not covered: Insurers add PFAS exclusions to commercial liability policies

Wisconsin Public Radio

Steph Tai, a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School, said many insurers wanted to avoid paying for cleanup costs. Despite broad language, some insurance companies were ordered to pay hundreds of millions of dollars. Tai said that’s prompted more express exclusions, such as those for PFAS.

“I think it’s partly because a lot of insurance companies have realized how much they’ve been spending on defending companies in this litigation,” Tai said. “They just want out.”

What to know about referendums in Wisconsin, and why citizens can’t petition for them

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

“Some voters don’t even know that there’s a constitutional amendment on the ballot until they get to the polls,” said Bryna Godar, a staff attorney at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School’s State Democracy Research Initiative.

“The first time that you’re encountering those typically is when you’re going to vote, which gives you less time to talk to other people about it and to look up more information about it,” she said.

Sandhill crane committee supports hunting, and solar farms can accommodate crops

Wisconsin Public Radio

Can large solar farms and cultivated crops coexist? Our guests says “yes.” Agrivoltaics is the convergence of agriculture and solar farms, which is the area of study of UW-Madison hydrologist and professor Steven Loheide and professor of atmospheric and oceanic sciences Ankur Desai.

Abortions in Wisconsin halved immediately after Roe was overturned, new CDC report says

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

“The really shocking number [in this report] is the dramatic decline in abortions provided in Wisconsin in 2022, and we know that that’s largely a result of the Supreme Court’s decision that overturned federal protections for abortion,” said Dr. Jane Seymour, a research scientist for the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Collaborative for Reproductive Equity (CORE).

TikTok influencers are driving raw milk sales – Here’s why it’s still a bad idea

Men's Health

What these idealists forget is that while people used to live on more natural products, they were also pretty unhealthy. According to John A. Lucey, PhD, a professor of food science at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and director of the Wisconsin Center for Dairy Research, it’s estimated that in 1938, pre-pasteurisation, milk-borne outbreaks constituted 25% of all disease outbreaks (related to food and water) in the United States. Now, they make up fewer than 1%.

Female school shooters like the one in Madison are extremely rare, data shows

Wisconsin State Journal

Janet Hyde, UW-Madison professor emerita of psychology and gender and women’s studies, believes socialization explains the gender gap. Hyde is an expert in both the psychology of gun violence and women.

“Of course, we don’t know the details about the motives in this particular one, but in general, women are socialized, girls are socialized, to care for others,” Hyde said. “This is such a violation of what girls are socialized to do — they’re socialized to play with baby dolls, and they’re socialized to become nurses. It’s great to be a caring person, but that’s why we see so few female shooters, because it violates the socialization.”

Wisconsin scientists seek to explain strange headaches at US embassies

The Capital Times

Christian Franck, a mechanical engineering professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, leads PANTHER, an multi-institution research hub based at UW-Madison, focused on understanding, detecting and preventing traumatic brain injuries. The hub brings together experts from different disciplines.

PANTHER has received over $50 million from the U.S. Office of Naval Research since 2017, including an additional $10 million recently to investigate how pulsed microwaves might injure the brain.

AT&T to discontinue traditional landline service in Wisconsin by the end of 2029

Wisconsin Public Radio

“I’ve watched the markets grow from just plain phone service to hybrid computers that are in our phones, so-called smartphones through which life is now lived,” said Barry Orton, a retired telecommunications professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

“Old fashioned copper wire-based phones, which we all used to have in the ’50s, ’60s, ’70s, ’80s and ’90s are now a thing of the past,” he added

The vagus nerve’s mysterious role in mental health untangled

Scientific American

Scientists, including Charles Raison of the University of Wisconsin–Madison and Andrew Miller of Emory University, have meanwhile identified mechanisms by which inflammation can cause depression. Inflammatory cytokines circulating in the blood can weaken or even breach the protective barrier between blood vessels and the brain. Once inside the brain, they trigger its immune cells, called microglia, to produce further inflammatory agents.

Partisan approach to farm bill delaying updates for Wisconsin farmers

Wisconsin Public Radio

Paul Mitchell, professor of agricultural and applied economics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said it’s fairly rare to see Congress have to pass a second extension to the farm bill. But he said the lack of cooperation between the parties has made it more difficult to reach the consensus needed to pass the large piece of legislation.

“Just like we walk up to the edge on these continuing resolutions to keep the (federal) budget going, the same thing is happening with the farm bill,” Mitchell said.

San Diegans can drink their tap water. Many pay more at the vending machine anyway.

Voice of San Diego

“These are folks who can ill afford to spend that kind of money on what is really not a necessary thing,” said Manny Teodoro, a researcher at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who studied the water vending machine industry in a 2022 book, “The Profits of Distrust.” “Money spent on (vended) water is money that’s not spent on healthier food, on perhaps needed medicine and healthcare.”

As the Christmas Bird Count turns 125, a beloved birding tradition looks to the future

Audubon Magazine

With more people than ever taking part, the annual Audubon event is a growing force for science and nature conservation.

This trove of information has helped usher in entire new areas of research, like climate change ecology, says Benjamin Zuckerberg, a researcher at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. His work in the field utilizes large community science datasets to explore how birds, including common winter denizens such as Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Purple Finches, and Carolina Wrens, are shifting their movements in response to changes in temperatures. The data enable scientists to find answers to questions at an “unprecedented” level, Zuckerberg says.

New bird flu case found at poultry farm in Wisconsin

WKOW-TV 27

Extension Specialist for Poultry Science at UW Madison, Ron Kean, is urging farmers to take extensive measures to prevent the virus from spreading to their flocks.

“Keeping them indoors, if possible, certainly cleaning and disinfecting anything that’s coming into the flock,” said Kean. “People tend to be a big carrier, we think. So, changing clothes, changing shoes, especially, or designated footwear.”

Raw milk has documented health risks, but if Kennedy leads HHS, its backers expect a boost

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

McAfee’s products have been linked to several outbreaks of E. coli, salmonella and campylobacter, according to the University of Wisconsin Center for Dairy Research. Even with on-farm testing, raw milk isn’t safe for public consumption, said Alex O’Brien, safety and quality coordinator at the Center, which is on the UW-Madison campus.

“The more people who consume it,” he said, “the higher the probability someone’s going to become ill.”

Hold up—does cheese have protein? And what kinds pack the most?

SELF

“Cheesemaking is a process of concentrating the solids originally present in milk,” Ben Ullerup Mathers, a research cheesemaker at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Center for Dairy Research, tells SELF. “Since protein is one of the main constituents of milk solids, the further you concentrate those solids, the more protein is in the final cheese. Since hard cheeses are the lowest-moisture cheeses, they will also be the higher-protein cheeses.”

Trump lawyers, aid to make initial appearance in court on Thursday in Wisconsin ‘fake electors’ case

NBC-15

If the case goes to trial, finding non-biased jurors may delay the case, UW-Madison Political Science Professor Howard Schweber said.

“It’s really hard to say how it will play out, but the confident prediction can be that it’s going to be a circus,” Schweber said. “These state prosecutions may be the best opportunity that we ever have to develop a record of what happened.”

The breath of colonialism continues to taint the air in Uganda

Eos

In the parts of the city inhabited by Africans during the period of segregation, levels of fine particulates known as PM2.5 are high enough to reduce life expectancy more than tobacco use or HIV infection, said the study’s lead author, air quality scientist Dorothy Lsoto of the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

“When you look at the air quality in these different places, it’s striking,” Lsoto said.

The research that aims to cheese

The Chronicle of Higher Education

On a recent Tuesday at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, sample number 435 lies supine on a lab table where it surrenders to a gauntlet of measurements.

Brandon Prochaska slides a thermometer into the pizza’s abdomen, and the digits tick upward to 205 degrees Fahrenheit. He and a group of other trained professionals jot the number down.

Nobel laureates vs. RFK Jr.? Have those nerds even tasted roadkill bear meat?

USA Today

On the flip side, John Lucey, a professor of food science and the director of the Center for Dairy Research at University of Wisconsin-Madison, told The Washington Post that drinking raw milk is “a really stupid, bad idea,” adding: “It’s almost like a doctor shouldn’t wash their hands before they go into an operating room.”

Empty nesters own some prime real estate. And they don’t seem very interested in leaving it.

MarketPlace

“Homeowners are aging in place,” said Mark Eppli, director of the James A. Graaskamp Center for Real Estate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

That’s partly because most of them have mortgages at under 4%, but is also just a personal preference. “They get comfortable with the church they’re going to, with the drugstore they go to, the grocery store, to the bar, whatever it may be,” Eppli said.

The Wisconsin Green Party wants to double down in 2026. Will it work?

The Capital Times

“It becomes kind of a vicious circle if you don’t have success at some level on the ballot, some candidate who’s showing a path forward for the party, it becomes hard to then recruit people who want to run, and hard to recruit volunteers and donors,” said Barry Burden, a professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Wisconsin pediatrician helps author new early childhood literacy guidelines

Wisconsin Public Radio

For the first time in a decade, the American Academy of Pediatrics released updated recommendations on how pediatricians and caregivers can encourage early childhood literacy, with a Wisconsin doctor working on the effort.

Dr. Dipesh Navsaria, professor of pediatrics and human development and family studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, helped write the new literacy promotion policy statement and accompanying technical report. He told WPR’s “Wisconsin Today” what parents and healthcare professionals should know.

US fourth and eighth graders fall further behind in math

Wisconsin Public Radio

Steffen Lempp, a math professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, says over the last decade, the School of Education has changed how prospective K-8 teachers are taught math content to fully prepare them to teach children in the subject.

The UW-Madison math department used to teach these math content courses. Those courses are now taught by the School of Education, in classes that blend content and pedagogy in one.

Can raw milk make you sick? Officials crack down amid bird flu fears.

USA Today

Raw milk supporters say it contains more enzymes, probiotics (or the “good bacteria”), proteins and vitamins than pasteurized milk. They also say it helps prevent chronic health issues such as asthma and allergies, as well as ear and respiratory infections and fever, citing studies of European children living on farms. There’s little scientific evidence to support these claims, said John Lucey, director of the University of Wisconsin’s Center for Dairy Research and a food science professor.

“The short answer is no, there are no proven benefits,” he told USA TODAY. “You are being conned with these claims,” he said. “This is snake oil.”

UW-Madison professor explains why people care about the year end music reveal on streaming platforms

WMTV - Channel 15

Jeremy Morris teaches media and culture at UW Madison and explained that people care about their most listened to music because it tells the story of a year in their lives. “It’s a part of your identity, it helps you express who you are and it helps you understand yourself right?” he said. “It’s very personal and it’s an intimate form of media. You spend a lot of time in a year if you’re someone who likes listening to music, it means a lot to you.”

Her son shot himself by accident with her gun. Should she be charged with a felony? In Wisconsin, it depends.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

“It seems like the responses really vary based on the person and the place where the event occurs,” said Dr. James Bigham, a clinical professor at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health who teaches medical students about how to talk to patients about firearms injury prevention.

“It doesn’t necessarily seem like we have a uniform or universal application of the law.”

Act 10 could take center stage in upcoming state Supreme Court election

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

“It tends to be the court where the big battles get fought out,” said Barry Burden, a political science professor at University of Wisconsin-Madison and director of the university’s Elections Research Center. “Without a kind of regularly functioning legislative branch and executive branch working together, the court is the venue where the hot items, big ticket items, are being decided.”

Long before this week, South Korea had a painful history with martial law

National Public Radio

The country has faced a turbulent political history that saw authoritarian rule starting from its founding after gaining independence from Japanese colonialism all the way to the 1980s, according to Charles Kim, a professor of Korean studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

“This is a period in which there was a lot of political suppression, repression of the media, political violence against dissidents,” Kim said.

Texas could become a major producer of another source of renewable energy

ABC News

Green hydrogen is forecast to meet global energy needs that will not be easily satisfied by battery, wind or solar power, Gregory Nemet, professor of public affairs at the University of Wisconsin’s Energy Institute, told ABC News in 2021. Batteries, for example, currently can take up a lot of space and also weigh a lot, making their use an issue for air travel and long-haul trucking. Hydrogen, by contrast, doesn’t include those challenges and also stores better long-term.

Ag Briefs: UW expert says federal officials expected to require H5N1 milk testing

Wisconsin State Farmer

Dr. Keith Poulsen from UW-Madison’s Diagnostic Laboratory told Brownfield Ag News that a nationwide bulk tank or milk silo milk testing requirement is likely to be enacted this month. Poulsen says the new federal order should have more specific guidance about how officials can effectively perform a national surveillance. He said the Colorado model is likely to be adopted nationwide.

Despite state restrictions, Wisconsinites are receiving abortions via telehealth

Wisconsin Public Radio

The data comes from states with so-called “shield laws,” said Jenny Higgins, director of the Collaborative for Reproductive Equity at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. These laws give some legal protections to clinicians who offer abortion care by telehealth to people living in states with abortion bans or telehealth restrictions, she said.

Report: Wisconsin farm, food industry grows slightly behind the rest of state’s economy

Wisconsin Public Radio

“The size of the pie is getting bigger,” said Steve Deller, a UW-Madison professor of agricultural and applied economics and co-author of the report. “Agriculture’s slice of that pie is also getting a little bit bigger, but it’s not growing at the same pace as the state’s economy is growing.”

Huckabee pick as Israeli ambassador reflects long evangelical alliance

The Washington Post

If confirmed, Huckabee, a former Fox News host and Israel tour guide for Christian visitors, will be the first evangelical in the ambassador role. Evangelicals and other Christian Zionists — those who use Christian reasoning to argue for a Jewish state in some part of biblical Israel — could have only dreamed of this moment a half-century ago, said University of Wisconsin religious historian Daniel Hummel.