Category: Experts Guide

Dr. Michael Cox, a biochemistry professor at the University of Wisconsin, told Unsolved that the scientists found examples where the genes only repeated between 10 and 30 times in the human population. Chromosome seven is one of the spots where those repeats occur.

“You inherit these alleles from your father and mother,” Cox said. “So you get one from dad and one from mom. So on chromosome seven at this one locus … you might get a repeat that repeats 12 times (from your mom). And from your dad, you get another chromosome seven and you might get one that repeats 17 times.”

A rare bird was spotted in Spring Green in April. One of our wildlife experts returns to talk about the rarity and how to avoid bear conflicts this summer. Plus, we learn about trail magic and history from our friend hiking the Appalachian Trail. Interview with David Drake, a professor of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, UW-Madison, UW Extension Wildlife Specialist.

Ukraine is preparing a counteroffensive to push back Russia forces that have invaded the country. Andrew Kydd, a Political Science professor at UW-Madison and international relations and armed conflict expert, joins us to look at what that effort would look like and when we could see it happen.

Stanley Temple, Beers-Bascom professor emeritus in conservation in the Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and science advisor to the Aldo Leopold Foundation board, explained the history of sandhills to me and others on a December 2022 crane viewing tour at the foundation’s property on the Wisconsin River.

Last week, the White House announced a plan to fight antisemitism over the next year. We take a look at the spike in antisemitic violence in the past few years, and what the government has proposed to counter it. Interview with Chad Alan Goldberg, a sociology professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison

UW-Madison School of Education professor Rich Halverson explains the ideas behind emphasizing phonics for literacy instruction in Wisconsin schools as reading test scores slide among younger students.

Mark Seidenberg, a University of Wisconsin-Madison psychology professor, has done extensive research on how eyes and brains work to turn words on a page into understandable content. Nationwide, he is recognized as a leader in research involved in the science of reading.

But, in an interview, he said building children’s skills to figure out words is not the only thing needed. Environmental factors such as homelessness and exposure to lead also affect success in school.

“This has been an issue for over a decade,” said associate clinical professor for the University of Wisconsin-Madison law school John Gross. “To some degree, the legislature has been indifferent to this problem.”

Democrats will talk about the election success they’ve had over the last five years, including the presidential election, Gov. Tony Evers’ reelection and the election of Janet Protasiewicz to the state Supreme Court, said University of Wisconsin-Madison Elections Research Center director Barry Burden.

Following the end of the pandemic-era Title 42 border policy, the number of migrants trying to enter the United States illegally have dropped by roughly half. We examine the new immigration policies and enforcement in Mexico and the United States and how that is affecting migration patterns. Interview with Erin Barbato, director of the Immigrant Justice Clinic at the University of Wisconsin Law School.

Spongy moths are returning in full force this year. An entomologist tells us why. Plus, we learn how much No Mow May is actually helping our pollinators. Interview with Patrick (PJ) Liesch, manager of the UW-Madison Insect Diagnostic Lab.

The new findings come as no surprise to Tessa Conroy, an assistant professor of agricultural and applied economics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who studies economic development and has written about this gender gap.

“Wisconsin tends to rank relatively low on several measures of business ownership and entrepreneurship,” including overall business ownership and business ownership among people of color, Conroy said in an email.

The resulting rent increases are economics 101, said Kurt Paulsen, a professor of urban planning at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. When demand exceeds supply, prices go up.

“It’s a story of too many people chasing too few units,” he said. “And like any region, we face a real choice: Either we build lots of housing where people want to live, or we don’t build a lot of housing.”