27 News sat down with Dr. Jeff Pothof, the chief quality and safety officer at UW Health, to discuss what people can do to prepare for potential COVID-19 transmission.
Fact v. Fiction: Answering your questions about coronavirus
WKOW-TV 27
Category: UW Experts in the News
Toolkit offers local governments a guide to harnessing clean energy
Wisconsin State Journal
Quoted: Indeed, rapidly falling prices and changing public opinion on climate change have erased the traditional financial and political costs associated with being a clean energy leader, said Greg Nemet, professor of public affairs and environmental studies at UW-Madison.
How monkeys, mice and ferrets are helping scientists to fight coronavirus
Nature News
“There’s going to be a need not just for one animal model, but multiple,” says David O’Connor, a virologist at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
Human behavior expert addresses Coronavirus panic
NBC-15
“This is just human psychology. We get scared of things we don’t know,” Dominique Brossard, UW-Madison Department of Life Sciences Communications Chair and Professor said.
Breaking down the facts and myths of coronavirus
NBC-15
Dr. Jeff Pothof is a UW Health Chief Quality and Safety Officer who is breaking down the facts and myths of coronavirus.
Wisconsin crime labs pick up new DNA analysis tool — and controversy
The Capital Times
Dr. Michael Cox, a professor of biochemistry at UW-Madison whose lab worked with one of the country’s largest crime labs for seven years, agrees. “These profiles can get pretty complicated, so I think it’s sometimes hard to extract all the details by eye,” Cox said.
Super Tuesday results impact Wisconsin voters
NBC-15
“He was more or less left for dead a few weeks ago,” University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communications Professor Michael Wagner said of Joe Biden.
Coronavirus Diaries: Inside an Emergency Coronavirus Scientist Slack Channel
Slate
Noted: This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with scientists Dave O’Connor and Tom Friedrich, who research viral infections at the University of Wisconsin. O’Connor and Friedrich formed a Slack channel on Jan. 22 to coordinate coronavirus research with scientists worldwide.
MPS May Be ‘Losing The Best And Brightest’ Due To HR Problems; Superintendent Pledges Change
WUWM
Quoted: Peter Goff, an expert in educational administration at UW-Madison, read the 40-page report at WUWM’s request.
“What this [review] tells me is this is an HR department that’s bureaucratic, it’s about pushing things through,” Goff says. “It’s not about talent management. It’s not about teachers. It’s not about making sure our schools are staffed with the best people.”
Report: Russian Election Trolling Becoming Subtler, Tougher To Detect
National Public Radio
Quoted: A cache of Instagram posts captured by researchers showed that the Russians were “better at impersonating candidates” and that influence-mongers “have moved away from creating their own fake advocacy groups to mimicking and appropriating the names of actual American groups,” wrote Young Mie Kim, a University of Wisconsin professor who analyzed the material with her team.
How coronavirus impacts climate change with emissions reductions
ABC News
Quoted: People may be mistaken if they feel like a temporary drop in greenhouse gas emissions is good for the environment, Andrea Dutton, a climate scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, told ABC News.
When pollution is released into the air, the particulates “actually have a shielding effect” from the sun, Dutton said.
“If you take that away, then it has the opposite effect,” and the planet could warm even faster, Dutton said.
The Supreme Court must stop the trend of judge-shopping
The Hill
Noted: Ryan J. Owens, J.D., Ph.D., is the George C. and Carmella P. Edwards Professor of American Politics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and director of the Tommy G. Thompson Center on Public Leadership.
Super Tuesday results impact Wisconsin voters
NBC-15
Quoted: “He was more or less left for dead a few weeks ago,” University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communications Professor Michael Wagner said of Joe Biden. “It’s really remarkable, Biden won states, where he did not advertise, did not show up, did not have a field office; it was all on the strength of endorsements over the last couple of days.”
Fox Valley Manufacturer Cuts Quarterly Earnings Projection Due To COVID-19-Related Disruptions
Wisconsin Public Radio
Quoted: COVID-19 is expected to have a major impact on the global economy. Projections have become increasingly pessimistic in recent weeks as the virus has continued to spread, said Ian Coxhead, a University of Wisconsin-Madison economics professor. He noted some forecasts predict negative economic growth in the U.S. during the second quarter or even over the whole year.
“The fortunes of any company in the state or in the U.S. are going to be, first of all, determined by the macroeconomic health of the U.S. economy,” Coxhead said.
A lesson in civics or indoctrination? Deciding whether to bring kids to political protests.
Washington Post
Quoted: Connie Flanagan, a professor in the School of Human Ecology at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, calls the decision “complicated” — one that requires thoughtful discussions ahead of time. “You can’t just put a sign in your child’s hand and be done with it. You have a responsibility to explain.”
UW study: Russian social accounts sow election discord — again
Associated Press
The report from professor Young Mie Kim found that Russia-linked social media accounts are posting about the same divisive issues — race relations, gun laws and immigration — as they did in 2016, when the Kremlin polluted American voters’ feeds with messages about the presidential election.
The Rise of Location Trackers for Kids as Young as 3
New York Times
Quoted: This is not to say that smartwatches for kids don’t have any benefits. As Heather Kirkorian, associate professor of| human development and family studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said that, for example, their texting and phone call functionality can be useful in a world where pay phones aren’t available the way they used to be.
Experts weigh in on MMSD’s grading scale
NBC-15
Quoted: Studies show freshman year is the most important year in high school and Geoffrey D. Borman, UW-Madison Education Policy Professor, said it can make or break you.
DNC 2020 officials monitoring coronavirus as Milwaukee prepares to host 50,000 visitors in July
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Quoted: “In general, convention planners should be in touch with Milwaukee and state officials, particularly those in charge of preparedness, to assure the event maximizes safety for convention goers and prevention of any risks for disease transmission (airborne, food-borne, water-borne, etc.),” said Ajay K. Sethi, associate professor of population health sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “That communication between convention planners and local and state public health is already happening.”
2020 Democratic Primary Turnout Is a Problem
Rolling Stone
Quoted: Barry Burden, a political scientist at the University of Wisconsin who studies voter turnout, says Trump’s huge levels of support defy historical trends about sitting presidents who run for reelection. “A sitting incumbent running for reelection — that shouldn’t stimulate much interest,” Burden says. “It all runs a little contrary to what I think we would’ve expected.”
Newell Brands Is Investigated by SEC
Wall Street Journal
Quoted: “The goodwill impairment test is one of the most second guessed of the accounting tests that exist,” said Thomas Linsmeier, professor of accounting and law, University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Where the logging ends in Indonesian Borneo, the forest clearing begins
Mongabay
Noted: In general, Indonesia’s timber industry has been on a decline, and many logging concessions in the Bornean provinces of East and North Kalimantan have recently paused or stopped timber extraction, Zuzana Burivalova, an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin Madison, U.S., and her colleagues observed. This piqued their interest: what was happening in the inactive concessions?
Democratic primary voters care about more than electability
The Washington Post
To explore this possibility, my colleagues at the University of Wisconsin at Madison’s Elections Research Center and I presented Democratic primary voters with a longer menu of reasons for their choice of candidates. In statewide surveys of 3,600 adults across the battleground states of Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, we asked respondents whether they planned to vote in their states’ primaries.
Airplanes and Coronavirus: How to Disinfect Your Space
The New York Times
Quoted: “Wiping down surfaces on a plane won’t hurt, as long as it doesn’t give you a false sense of security,” Andrew Mehle, associate professor of medical microbiology and immunology at the University of Wisconsin Madison, said, stressing that sanitizing your space on a plane should be done in conjunction with washing hands and following other best practices.
UW researchers tackle big questions as coronavirus threat grows, study abroad students sent home
The Capital Times
For UW-Madison professors Thomas Friedrich and David O’Connor, some of the biggest questions are how the virus made its way to humans in the first place, why it causes more severe illness than some other coronaviruses and how long it persists in the body.
Newell Brands Is Investigated by SEC
Wall Street Journal
Noted: “The goodwill impairment test is one of the most second guessed of the accounting tests that exist,” said Thomas Linsmeier, professor of accounting and law, University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Super Tuesday: Democrats are looking to consolidate a broad coalition
USA Today
Quoted: “Whatever the magic was in 2008, it’s not been re-created this year in terms of bringing out voters,” said Barry Burden, a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Who will win the California primary? Counting mail-in votes can take days or weeks.
Vox
Quoted: Barry Burden, who is the director of the Elections Research Center at the University of Wisconsin Madison, says that mail-in ballots also take longer to count in some cases: Checking that ballot signatures match, problems with mail-in envelopes, and myriad other issues can all slow things down.
Israel is voting — for the third time in a year. That’s polarizing voters even more.
The Washington Post
In the upcoming days, Israelis will probably be barraged with divisive campaign rhetoric, which our research suggests increases partisan polarization. However, if the election delivers another divided result, right- and left-wing politicians may wish to overcome the deadlock and form a unity government. Doing so, politicians may be able to mitigate some of the animosity caused by recurring exposure to electoral competition over the past year. But the tone of the campaign suggests that this is unlikely.
Lotem Bassan-Nygate is a PhD student in the department of political science at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Twitter: @BassanNygate
Chagai M. Weiss is a PhD candidate in the department of political science at the University of Wisconsin at Madison and a research affiliate of the Elections Research Center. Twitter: @chagai_weiss
Will US troops leave Afghanistan?
The Washington Post
One possibility is that Trump will end up asking the Taliban for deeper concessions to reassure voters. But the big question is whether Trump’s hawkish reputation is enough to offset public skepticism about a peace deal with the Taliban.
Jessica L.P. Weeks is associate professor of political science and Trice faculty scholar at the University of Wisconsin at Madison.
How to talk to your kids about the Molson Coors shooting
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Quoted: For children younger than 7, it might be possible to avoid the subject, said Karyn Riddle, a University of Wisconsin-Madison professor who examines how exposure to violence in the media affects children.
“News stories like this can be very frightening,” Riddle said. “Young kids this age, they’re not as likely to learn about it secondhand on the playground from other kids. Parents might want to shield them from a story like this altogether.”
How daily life will change as coronavirus outbreak enters new phase
Los Angeles Times
Quoted: “An outbreak is not going to happen simultaneously, everywhere,” said Dr. Jonathan Temte, who studies vaccinations and immunization policy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Super Tuesday is upon us: Very soon, Democrats must unite or surrender to authoritarianism
Salon.com
Quoted: Barry Burden, director of the Elections Research Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “What benefit you see is probably because once you are on the rolls you are visible to canvassers and campaigns, making it possible for them to reach out to you,” he says. “Registering people to vote is not a silver bullet.”
As Wisconsin Lakes Warm, Walleye Are Feeling The Heat
Wisconsin Public Radio
When it comes to climate change there’s a lot of talk of species moving north as temperatures change — but don’t expect a lockstep northward march of species, said Jack Williams, a University of Wisconsin-Madison expert on ecological responses to climate change.
Scientists Grapple with US Restrictions on Fetal Tissue Research
The Scientist Magazine®
Fetal tissue used for research is primarily obtained from elective abortions, which women can consent to donate after deciding to terminate a pregnancy. This is because there are some major limitations to tissue obtained through other means, such as miscarriages, according to Anita Bhattacharyya, a stem cell scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Waisman Center.
Hmong Leaders Rally Against Trump Administration’s Deportation Push
Wisconsin Public Radio
Quoted: Yang Sao Xiong, a professor of Asian-American Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, says Hmong history as war allies of the U.S. military has long shaped the way the community sees itself. But the story of broader Hmong acceptance in the U.S. has never been simple.
“There are times when they are treated as citizens,” Xiong said. “And there are times when they’re treated as, clearly, outsiders. So this relationship fluctuates depending on this larger political context.”
Polling Battleground States And Exploring Afrofuturism
Wisconsin Public Radio
We talk with a UW-Madison professor about his effort to take the political pulse of three battleground states, including Wisconsin. Then we chat with the producer of the Emmy-winning Beat Making Lab about Afrofuturism.
Where did the term ‘bubbler’ come from, and are we the only ones who say it?
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Noted: According to “The Dictionary of American Regional English,” the massive dialect dictionary produced over half a century at the University of Wisconsin-Madison,one of the first uses of “bubbler” in connection with a drinking fountain was in material from Kohler Co. in Sheboygan County in 1914, citing a Kohler fountain that was “fitted with … nickel-plated brass self-closing bubbling valve … adjustable for a continuous flow of water. … Can also furnish … continuous flow bubbler with above fountain.”
Note that it’s an adjective there, not a noun.
Joan Houston Hall, former chief editor of the dictionary, told Wisconsin Public Radio in 2015 that “bubbler” usage “mirrors the marketing area of the Kohler Company of 1918 or so,” chiefly in eastern Wisconsin, and especially in the southeastern corner of the state.
Spread of coronavirus in U.S. could close schools, shut down public gatherings, force people to work remotely
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Quoted: Ajay K. Sethi, associate professor of Population Health Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, was more certain about the possibility.
“Right now there has been confirmed asymptomatic transmission,” he said. “We just don’t know how much of the spread is being driven by people who are asymptomatic.”
Those who sat out 2016 back Democrats for president by 2-to-1 margin
Wisconsin State Journal
Boosting turnout this November among registered voters who didn’t vote in 2016 could spell trouble for President Donald Trump in key battleground states, according to a new UW-Madison poll. “For Trump, I think it’s holding onto that vote, and not losing anybody to stay competitive, whereas the Democrats are probably looking for additional voters to turn up,” said Barry Burden, director of the Elections Research Center. “Without them, the Democrats look to be just competitive, maybe at a slight disadvantage.”
Walk the line: How bail jumping became Wisconsin’s ‘most-charged crime’
The Capital Times
Quoted: Michele LaVigne, director of the Public Defender Project at UW Law School, and Professor Cecelia Klingele of UW Law School.
Recent polling results conflict in Wisconsin
NBC-15
“We think of this as a science, there are really good techniques for doing surveys, but it’s also imperfect.” Director of the Election Research Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Professor Barry Burden said.
Coronavirus outbreak impacting milk prices, causing trade uncertainty
WKOW-TV 27
Mark Stephenson is the Director of Dairy Policy Analysis at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and his latest data shows the milk prices took a big hit on January 27 as the number of coronavirus cases increased across the globe.
UW Professor shares impact of Weinstein conviction to #MeToo movement
WKOW-TV 27
Janet Hyde, a Professor of Psychology and Gender and Women’s Studies at UW-Madison shared she was very glad that Weinstein was convicted.
Valley News – Proponents of healthy school lunches say the more who participate, the better the lunch
Valley News
Quoted: Gaddis, an assistant professor of civil society and community studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the author of The Labor of Lunch: Why We Need Real Food and Real Jobs in American Public Schools, estimates that about 20 million students, primarily from higher earning families, forgo cafeteria meals in favor of lunches brought from home.
Bernie Sanders opens sizable lead over Democratic field in new Wisconsin poll
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Noted: In the UW-Madison survey, there was a lot less separation among the three states, with Trump essentially even or modestly behind in matchups with most Democrats. Of the three, Pennsylvania was the worst state for Trump in the Quinnipiac polls. Michigan was the worst for Trump in the UW-Madison polls.
“All three states are up for grabs in 2020,” said Barry Burden, political scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and director of its Elections Research Center.
Candidates Receive Endorsements From Democrats Who Benefited From Their PACs
Truthout
Quoted: “It is a sort of classic strategy to curry favors and build a network,” said Eleanor Powell, a political scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “Those contributions help make it easier for the campaign to reach out since they already have a relationship with the elected official.”
Hmong Leaders Rally Against Trump Administration’s Deportation Push
Wisconsin Public Radio
Quoted: Yang Sao Xiong, a professor of Asian-American Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, says Hmong history as war allies of the U.S. military has long shaped the way the community sees itself. But the story of broader Hmong acceptance in the U.S. has never been simple.
Wisconsin Experts Disagree On Dairy Industry Impact Of Dean Foods Sale
Wisconsin Public Radio
Quoted: But Peter Carstensen, professor emeritus from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School, said the deal could end up hurting dairy farmers by giving DFA too much power over the market.
Think tank offers housing recommendations to improve community health
Noted: Research for the project was done in partnership with the California-based Human Impact Partners and with UW-Madison professors Geoffrey Swain and Marah Curtis.
After a turbulent end to 2019, Wisconsin manufacturers are optimistic. Cautiously optimistic.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Noted: Noah Williams is the founding director of the Center for Research on the Wisconsin Economy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He expects automation to have a more prominent role in Wisconsin manufacturing as companies continue to face worker shortages.
Bloomberg News Wrestles With Coverage of Candidate Bloomberg
The New York Times
Quoted: Kathleen Culver, director of the Center for Journalism Ethics at the University of Wisconsin, said she fears less that reporters are being held back internally than externally, where some readers feel the name of their organization speaks more about their independence than the work they do.
Is Psychedelic Therapy The Medicine Of The Future?
Wisconsin Public Radio
Quoted: “Depression is arguably the major health problem in the world,” said Charles Raison, a psychiatrist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Usona Institute, a medical research group in Madison studying psychedelic therapies.
Soil microbiology – Knowing how plants and microbes work together can boost crop yields
The Economist
Quoted: Previous investigators have known this, but have taken simplification too far, by isolating and studying single microbes. That, Jo Handelsman of the University of Wisconsin–Madison told the meeting, is where they have gone wrong
Knowing how plants and microbes work together can boost crop yields
The Economist
That, Jo Handelsman of the University of Wisconsin–Madison told the meeting, is where they have gone wrong. Soil microbes interact. And mixtures of species can do things individual bugs cannot manage. As an example, she gave an ecological triangle that her laboratory has been working on.
Falling US solar-plus-storage prices start to level as batteries supersize
S&P Global Market Intelligence
Noted: There is still room for reducing the cost of solar, both by improving the physical workings of the technology itself and by reducing the cost of production and deployment of solar photovoltaics, said Greg Nemet, a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who researches technological shifts and how public policy can affect those changes. Once denounced as too expensive, solar energy is already displacing other fuel sources as the cheapest form of generation in some regions.
Op-Ed: Sacramento’s army of interns deserves to be paid
Los Angeles Times
Matthew T. Hora, a professor and director of the Center for Research on College-Work Transitions at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, surveyed students at five colleges and universities about why they chose not to intern as undergraduates.
Pier 1 Imports Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy
Wall Street Journal
Quoted: Those rivals have increasingly moved into selling home furnishings and merchandise that were once virtually the exclusive domain of Pier 1, according to Hart Posen, a professor of management at the University of Wisconsin.
“You’d see something in someone’s house—a wicker-rattan chair or an elephant-themed umbrella holder—and know it came from Pier 1,” Mr. Posen said. “You could buy it at Pier 1 or nowhere, but that’s just not the case anymore.”
An Old and Contested Solution to Boost Reading Scores: Phonics
The New York Times
Quoted: The evidence “is about as close to conclusive as research on complex human behavior can get,” writes Mark Seidenberg, a cognitive neuroscientist and reading expert at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
Varsity Blues scandal triggers talk of changing college admissions — don’t hold your breath
The Washington Post
While elite college admissions grab headlines, speakers also acknowledged that only a small proportion of Americans actually attend such schools. Some 40 percent of undergraduate students attend public two-year or for-profit institutions; only 55 colleges in the country admit fewer than 20 percent of their applicants, noted Nick Hillman, an associate professor in the education school at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.