Video interview: UW-Madison engineering professor Christian Franck talks about how to make helmets safer.
Category: UW Experts in the News
Denisovan face and body reconstruction uses DNA methylation
Quoted: University of Wisconsin anthropologist John Hawks, who was not involved with this research, endorsed this group’s investigation of ancient DNA methylation and called them pioneers of the technique. “It’s a line of investigation that I want to see people pursue,” he said.
This is almost certainly not what Denisovans looked like
Quoted: “Today we cannot predict very much about a person’s bone morphology,” says John Hawks of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
How Imelda’s Prolific Rain, Flooding Compares to Harvey in East Texas
Quoted: According to an analysis by Shane Hubbard from the University of Wisconsin, Harvey’s 20-inch-plus rainfall footprint was about 13 times larger than Imelda, a whopping 28,949 square miles. That’s an area slightly smaller than the entire state of South Carolina.
Labor of Lunch Discussed on America’s Work Force
Jennifer Gaddis, assistant professor at UW-Madison and author of The Labor of Lunch spoke with America’s Work Force on Sept. 17 about getting better school lunches in schools.
The Labor of Lunch
Noted: Author Jennifer Gaddis discusses her new book about The National School Lunch Program.
The key to curing the common cold could lurk within our own cells
Quoted: This discovery, like most, raises at least as many questions as it answers. “It’s a beautiful piece of science,” says Ann C. Palmenberg, a University of Wisconsin, Madison biochemist and enterovirus expert who was not involved with the research. But “don’t throw away your chicken soup just yet,” she says
Wisconsin farmers find ways to adapt to wet weather
Quoted: “We’ve had a lot of issues getting crops planted on time. Many significant rainfall events in a cool growing season,” Shawn Conley, UW Crops Expert said.
Here comes the sun
Noted: UW-Madison physics professor Jan Egedal tells me that, within the community of solar physicists, “it is well known that a Carrington-level disturbance today would be devastating.” If wide swaths of the highly interconnected North American electrical grid were damaged, backup generators would conk out long before the multitude of necessary grid repairs could be made. Lack of electricity itself might hamper the manufacture and transport of the required replacement equipment.
Monarch migration: Experts say now is the best time to see the natural phenomenon
Quoted: Karen Oberhauser, director of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Arboretum, said she has seen huge clusters in trees along the south edge of Curtis Prairie by the Leopold Pines.
A Newly Identified Protein May Be the Key to Vanquishing the Common Cold
Quoted: Carette and his colleagues have “done a tour de force here, to find this gene and characterize it,” says Ann Palmenberg, a virologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who provided some advice and materials for the study but was not directly involved in it. “It’s a beautiful piece of work.”
Moving plants indoors for winter? Ease them into it gently
Quoted: Quarantine houseplants for a time after bringing them indoors, said Diana Alfuth, an Extension horticulture educator with the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
What Is The Ketamine-MDMA Drug Cocktail In Hustlers?
Quoted: Both MDMA and ketamine can lead to memory loss, meaning that the Hustlers storyline makes sense. But according to Lucas Reichart, Associate Professor at University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Pharmacy and author of Strange Trips: Science, Culture, and the Regulation of Drugs, the women wouldn’t be able to count on the mixture working the same every time.
We Know It Harms Kids to See Smoking on TV. What About Rape?
Quoted: Karyn Riddle, a professor in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who researches the effects on children and adolescents of viewing violent media, echoes Ms. Murphy’s concerns.
Noted: ‘It’s amazing’: Community gets behind family’s search for kidney match
University of Wisconsin Health media specialist Gian Galassi said as living donation evolves, centers including UW Health can expand options even when a relative can’t provide a best match.
Telehealth program boosts diabetic eye screening
Patients at Mile Bluff Center in Mauston can walk in and have a retinal photograph taken in a matter of minutes. Dr. Yao Liu is an assistant professor of opthalmology at the UW School of Medicine.
We Know It Harms Kids to See Smoking on TV. What About Rape?
Quoted: Karyn Riddle, a professor in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who researches the effects on children and adolescents of viewing violent media, echoes Ms. Murphy’s concerns. “Watching sexual violence could be traumatizing,” she explains, “and that fear could stay with you for many years.”
A Beautiful Sight: ‘Huge Wave’ Of Monarch Butterflies Prepare To Migrate
Quoted: “What people are seeing when they are looking into their backyards and along the shores of Lake Michigan, they are seeing a part of a huge wave of monarchs that are moving south right now,” said Karen Oberhauser, director of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Arboretum.
Wisconsin Crops Continue To Lag Behind As Harvest Nears
Quoted: “Usually we’re (harvesting silage) pretty heavily by about the middle of September,” said Joe Lauer, agronomist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “It’s going to be delayed a week or two due to not only some of the cool weather we had in the spring but also due to the fact that there’s a lot of corn that was just planted late.”
Kids Are Now Being Taught About 9/11 As Part Of History
Quoted: Another study, led by professor Jeremy Stoddard of the University of Wisconsin/Madison School Of Education, found that “the most popular method of teaching about 9/11 and the War on Terror was showing a documentary or ‘similar video,’” TIME reported.
What Americans Get Wrong About Student Debt
What’s clear is that Americans are wrong about student debt—both in how much students borrow and how large the cumulative, outstanding portfolio of student loans is.
Wisconsin clerks are looking for poll workers. If you’re a political partisan, here’s why they want you.
Quoted: “You can see why states might think this is a good solution,” said Barry Burden, director of the Elections Research Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “For one it provides a kind of balance that you have representatives from both parties at the polling place so they can keep a check on one another.”
Uber Could Save Billions in Taxes With This Little-Noticed Move
Quoted: The new IP value generated a big set of “deferred tax assets”—like pre-paid tax payments or credits—in the Netherlands of $6.1 billion, according to Dan Lynch, an associate professor of accounting and information systems at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who read the quarterly filing. The taxes would be calculated through multiplying profits by the tax rate. The rate could be either 25% or 7%, the lower number reserved for profits from IP “innovation” developed in the Netherlands, according to Dudley.
With States and the Feds Investigating Google and Facebook, the Legal Pressure Is Ramping Up
Quoted: “The nightmare for the companies is having 50 different state proceedings, which could indeed wind up commanding different results,” said Peter Carstensen, a former attorney at the antitrust division of the DOJ and a professor of law emeritus at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School.
Smith: Fertile fields and skies on Canada goose opener
Noted: In fact, the giant Canada goose received serious consideration for protection under the Endangered Species Act when the program was created in 1973, according to Stan Temple, Beers-Bascom professor in conservation and professor of wildlife ecology at the University of Wisconsin.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg shows no sign of slowing down amid health scares
Quoted: Ryan Owens, a professor of political science and affiliate faculty at the University of Madison-Wisconsin law school, told The Hill that while Ginsburg’s travel is not unusual, it is consistent “with her desire to let people know she is still out there and doing her thing.”
Book offers 5 ways to improve Jewish education
Quoted: Simone Schweber at the University of Wisconsin-Madison cautions against teaching the Shoah in terms of moral certainties. Learning about the genocide shouldn’t foster an us-versus-them mentality, she says.
Opinion: The future of high school students with autism
Quoted: Currently, mostly families from higher incomes are able to help their autistic high school students succeed. According to an article by University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Adityarup “Rup” Chakravorty, “Children living in census tracts with lower socioeconomic development [are] less likely to be diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder than children living in areas with higher socioeconomic indicators.”
Can Vape Pens Cause Lung Disease? Symptoms, Deaths Reported
Quoted: The lung illness “gets worse really quickly,” said Jeffrey Kanne, a radiologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, which has had patients. On scans, “these are like what you see with acute lung injuries,” such as inhaling toxic substances in an industrial accident.
Toforest Johnson is on Alabama’s death row for a crime he almost certainly didn’t commit
The investigators appear to have been afflicted with tunnel vision, a form of cognitive bias that is common in wrongful convictions and especially in high-profile cases. Tunnel vision, writes Keith Findley of the University of Wisconsin Law School and the Wisconsin Innocence Project, “leads investigators, prosecutors, judges, and defense lawyers alike to focus on a particular conclusion and then filter all evidence in a case through the lens provided by that conclusion.
Backers Say Congressional Plan Would Save Traditional Pensions For Thousands In Wisconsin
Quoted: “Most young people graduating college in Wisconsin are going to be going into work where they are covered by a defined contribution plan, what is also known as a 401(k) plan. Unless they are working for a state entity or some other collectively bargained organization, they are probably not going to have a pension,” said Gordon Enderle, an actuary at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business.
Hurricane Dorian turns Florida sky purple as it passes state en route to Canada
Quoted: The sky’s colours resulted from an effect known as “scattering,” which sees molecules and small particles change light rays’ direction, according to Steven Ackerman, professor of meteorology at the University of Wisconsin — Madison
Dorian set to be the 7th billion dollar hurricane in 4 years
Quoted: Shane Hubbard, a researcher with the University of Wisconsin-Madison, says the overall cost in damages from hurricanes in that time span for the U.S. Is more than $335 billion
Hurricane tracking technology is about to regress 30 years, thanks to 5G cell networks | Salon.com
Quoted: “There is going to have to be some sort of agreement between the telecommunications and weather enterprises on what is a viable strategy on what protects the interests of atmospheric observing compared to delivering data via 5G,” Jordan Gerth, an Honorary Fellow at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Space Science and Engineering Center, told Salon.
Wisconsin At Risk For Measles Outbreak Because Of Low Immunizations
Quoted: Though a measles outbreak has yet to hit the state, many are concerned that with immunization rates this low, it’s only a matter of time. “I would not be surprised at all if I woke up tomorrow to hear that the measles outbreak had reached Wisconsin. Not surprised at all,” said Malia Jones, an assistant scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Applied Population Laboratory.
Both sides in 2020 election fight are watching farm country for political fallout from Trump tariffs
Quoted: Even glimmers of good news come these days with a sobering twist. Milk prices have rebounded a little, but partly because enough farmers have quit that it has reduced milk production, said Matt Lippert, a University of Wisconsin-Extension agricultural agent in Wood County.
“Some of them are supportive of the president and say, ‘We just have to be patient. We’ve not been (treated) fair and the president is going to fix it.’ Then some of them are like, ‘We’ve given him enough time already.’ And there are others who are like, ‘No this wasn’t the way ever to do it.’ But they all uniformly think that loss of markets and the tariff thing is hurting them.”
Hiring more workers, investing in communities — should corporations focus on more than shareholders?
Noted: Focusing on increasing shareholder value has not benefited society overall, said Joel Rogers, director of the Center on Wisconsin Strategy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
“The theory itself was wrong,” said Rogers, who also is a professor of law, political science, public affairs and sociology.
“Markets drive firms to be short-sighted and make insufficient investments in their workers and communities,” he added. “We know that. Unfettered markets are not the recipe for a happy society. That was the great Freidman lie.”
50,000 unvaccinated children head to Wisconsin schools as the U.S. copes with worst measles outbreak in 27 years
Quoted: “I would not be surprised at all if I woke up tomorrow to hear that the measles outbreak had reached Wisconsin. Not surprised at all,” said Malia Jones, an assistant scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Applied Population Laboratory.
“I would say that if a child was given the facts themselves and told what these diseases would be like to go through, they would choose to be given something that would not make them have to go through that disease,” said James H. Conway, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Shiva Bidar to Moderate Panel on Standing Together Across Ethnic Lines
Another BIG announcement from the Wisconsin Leadership Summit: Madison Common Council president Shiva Bidar will moderate the panel titled “Together We Stand: Building Community Across Ethnic Lines.”
In her role as the first Chief Diversity Officer for UW Health, Shiva provides vision, coordination and strategic leadership for the design and implementation of UW Health’s initiatives related to diversity, equity and inclusion.
Humans and Neanderthals Kept Breeding—and Breeding—for Ages
Quoted: “But that kind of very simple approach isn’t very good at sorting out the complexity” of how those lost populations interacted, said John Hawks, a paleoanthropologist at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Nor does it allow researchers to test specific hypotheses about how that interbreeding unfolded.
Wisconsin Fares Well Comparatively When It Comes To Credit Card Debt
Quoted: Financial capability specialist Peggy Olive breaks it down like this: half of all people who have a credit card balance pay it off entirely each month. Another quarter carry a balance a few months of the year, and the rest regularly owe money on their cards.”Definitely, there’s different ways that people handle that credit card debt,” said Olive, who works with the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Human Ecology’s Center for Financial Security and UW-Extension.
BBB warns of scams targeting college students
Quoted: University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Human Ecology Clinical Professor Christine Whelan says that’s okay.
Giant Norway pension fund weighs Brazil divestment over Amazon deforestation
Quoted: “If you buy soybeans that have been raised in the Amazon, you can be almost certain that it is deforestation free,” Lisa Rausch, an agricultural land use researcher at the University of Wisconsin-Madison told Mongabay.
Back to school study tips
Quoted: David Williamson Shaffer, a UW- Madison Professor of Learning Science, says it sometimes takes a trying a few different methods before a student starts doing well in school.
Revisionist History Podcast
Featured: Throughout the 1970s, a biologist named Howard Temin became convinced that something wasn’t right in science’s understanding of viruses. His colleagues dismissed him as a heretic. He turned out to be right — and you’re alive today as a result.
Fossil DNA Reveals New Twists in Modern Human Origins
Quoted: “But that kind of very simple approach isn’t very good at sorting out the complexity” of how those lost populations interacted, said John Hawks, a paleoanthropologist at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Nor does it allow researchers to test specific hypotheses about how that interbreeding unfolded.
Wisconsin Officials Say Gray Wolf Population Seems Stable
Quoted: “I don’t think that the information coming out of the state should be used by the federal government in its decisions on gray wolves under the Endangered Species Act,” said Adrian Treves, professor of environmental studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Helicopter Parents Are Great at Financial Risk Management
Quoted: “If a parent gets health insurance through their employer, then, through the Affordable Care Act, their kids are covered through their parents at some level,” says Marjorie Rosenberg, a professor of actuarial science, risk, and insurance at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business.
Humans Dominated Earth Earlier Than Previously Thought
Quoted: Because information about the past informs predictions of global change in the future, in terms of climate and land use, hard evidence of past land use is invaluable, experts say. “It’s an important paper,” said John Williams, a paleoecologist at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, who was not involved in the project.
Gray wolf population seems stable, Wisconsin officials say
Quoted: Adrian Treves is a professor of environmental studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Treves says Wisconsin hasn’t been transparent with its count and that the federal government shouldn’t rely on the state’s numbers.
Donald Trump misleads on Russia, Crimea, Obama and the G-8
Quoted: “Europe, the United Nations and other U.S. allies opposed the invasion and annexation,” said Yoshiko Herrera, a University of Wisconsin political scientist. “It wasn’t just Obama who opposed it.”
Of Course Citizens Should Be Allowed to Kick Robots
Noted: Sure, sometimes people do get in the way. They’re curious. What’s this thing for, anyway? They’ll follow the robots to see what they do or tap their buttons to see what happens. “People want to explore them, and they don’t know how to do that,” says Bilge Mutlu, who runs the University of Wisconsin’s Human-Computer Interaction Lab. Rarely do the interventions cause damage.
Amazon fires are not exactly burning ‘Earth’s lungs,’ experts say
Noted: Shanan Peters, a geologist at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, imagined what would happen if we burned every forest, blade of grass, bacteria and bird on Earth — basically everything except humans — in a presentation slide at a scientific convention in June.
A chip made with carbon nanotubes, not silicon, marks a computing milestone
Quoted: “One of the biggest things that impressed me about this paper was the cleverness of that circuit design,” says Michael Arnold, a materials scientist at the University of Wisconsin–Madison not involved in the work.
Rebroadcast: One Million Species At Risk For Extinction
Our guests are Stan Temple, professor emeritus of forest and wildlife ecology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and Leah Horowitz, professor of civil society and community studies in the School of Human Ecology at UW–Madison.
International Students: How to Maintain Visa Status
Quoted: “Each institution determines minimum full-time enrollment requirements. This is what is also known as a full course load requirement for international students,” says Roopa Rawjee, international student services director and assistant dean of students at the University of Wisconsin—Madison.
Americans love soda, fancy water and fake milk. Can the dairy industry keep up?
Quoted: “When I grew up, my mom poured a glass of milk at every meal and you were expected to drink it,” said Mark Stephenson, director of dairy policy analysis at UW-Madison. “My mother would say, ‘Drink your milk because it is good for you,’ and scientists said ‘It’s good for you’ and you believed them.”
Latest Wolf Count Provides Further Evidence Wisconsin’s Wolf Population Is Stabilizing
Quoted: Some scientists argue the state hasn’t been fully transparent or allowed independent verification of Wisconsin’s wolf count since 2012, including Adrian Treves, professor of environmental studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
The Amazon Is on Fire, but Earth Has Plenty of Oxygen
Shanan Peters, a geologist at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, is working to understand just how it was that our lucky planet ended up with this strange surplus of oxygen. At a presentation in June, at the North American Paleontological Convention in Riverside, California, he pulled up a somewhat unusual slide.
First day of school: Teaching jobs go unfilled at rural schools
Quoted: In fact, said University of Wisconsin-Madison researcher Peter Goff, who has studied teacher retention in rural areas, educators value strong support systems, good school leadership and welcoming communities just as much as higher pay.