Quoted: “There’s a long-standing strand of thinking in Wisconsin that big business can be harmful,” said Barry Burden, a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Category: UW Experts in the News
Wisconsin farmers concerned that mold could hurt profits
Noted: Shawn Conley is a soybean and small grains specialist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He says farmers should send crop samples to a lab to be tested for mycotoxin. The toxic substance can produce mold that can cause health problems in cattle and other livestock.
Last-minute surprises and secretive moves hide Wisconsin lawmakers’ actions from public view
Noah Williams research noted, Barry Burden quoted.
Q&A: Kevin Ponto wants to use virtual reality to solve real-world problems
The assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s School of Human Ecology is an expert on VR.
Wisconsin’s Gubernatorial, U.S. Senate Candidates Saying Little About Climate Change
Quoted: Scientists say the public doesn’t have to imagine what might happen if climate change isn’t addressed. Communities across Wisconsin witnessed the effects this past summer, according to Paul Robbins, director of the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.”The changes are increased precipitation in extreme weather events like the kind we saw … down in this part of the state. I mean, really gully washers,” Robbins said. “Two inches or more or 4 inches or more in a 24-, 48-hour period. We had 15 inches of rain.”
Immune-brain interaction may shed light on major depression
Quoted: However, major depression is not an inflammatory disorder, Psych Congress co-chair Charles Raison, MD, professor of psychiatry at University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health, stressed during his presentation.
Urban League, churches tell blacks there’s ‘no excuse’ for not voting Nov. 6
Quoted: “There is work to be done to boost turnout among black voters in Wisconsin,” said UW-Madison political science professor Barry Burden.
Ryan used a “hidden website” to purchase lethal radioactive material
Quoted: Purchasing bitcoin itself is fairly easy, said Bob Turner, Chief Information Security Officer at UW–Madison. “Sometimes all you need is a credit card, and you can buy the bitcoin,” he said.
What Is Lucid Dreaming?
Quoted: But based on the research to date attempting to track prevalence of lucid dreaming, estimates are that somewhere around 50 to 80 percent of people have had a lucid dream in their lifetime, notes Benjamin Baird, a research scientist at Wisconsin Institute for Sleep and Consciousness at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who studies lucid dreams. “Some people have lucid dreams more frequently naturally. Some people never have lucid dreams,” he says. “For most people, they occur very infrequently.”
The Witches Who Cursed Brett Kavanaugh Were Exercising Free Speech
Quoted: Howard Schweber, Ph.D. a professor of American politics who teaches constitutional law at the University of Wisconsin, Madison agrees that the attempt to put a hex on Kavanaugh is doubly protected as both free speech and free religious exercise.
Why are U.S. neuroscientists clamoring for marmosets?
At a meeting here this week, convened by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s (NASEM’s) Institute for Laboratory Animal Research, neuroscientist Jon Levine, who directs the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, likened the surge in demand to “a 10-alarm fire that’s about to be set.”
As corporate earnings season rolls on, winners and losers emerge
Quoted: “One of the biggest ways is that it lowers the tax rate,” said Fabio Gaertner, associate professor at the Wisconsin School of Business. A lower tax rate means companies keep more of their money.
As Wisconsin Farmers Finish Harvest, Mold Could Impact Corn, Soybean Profits
Mitchell says recent wet weather has delayed harvest and caused widespread mold problems in the field this year. While some soybean fields have been affected, Shawn Conley, soybean and small grains specialist at UW-Madison, said disease problems have been more prevalent in the state’s corn fields.
The Epic vote
Quoted: “I think we have realized as Madison residents just how much Epic has transformed our city in many ways,” said David Canon, a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who researches elections and redistricting. “There’s no doubt that if they did participate (in elections) on levels that were equal to the average Dane County voter, they’d have a huge impact.”
2019’s College & University Rankings
Noted: Clifton Conrad interviewed.
The task: design a high school for 21st century blue-collar America
Quoted: Julie Underwood, dean of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s School of Education, says exposing kids to careers through programs like the one in Janesville is important so long as it doesn’t come at the expense of other educational services.
Police, judges: No easy answers in determining when to release juvenile suspects from custody
State statutes “give a presumption of least restrictive setting for both pre-adjudication and disposition,” according to Kenneth Streit, a clinical professor of law emeritus and expert in juvenile justice at the University of Wisconsin Law School — meaning both before the child has been found guilty of a crime and after guilt has been determined.
‘The traffic problems are just a nightmare’: Farm equipment on the road during harvest
Quoted: “It’s a two-way street, and drivers need to be careful and respectful around that farm equipment. It’s never that big of a deal that you need to put everybody in an unsafe situation,” said UW Extension Agriculture expert Heidi Johnson.
With Wisconsin voters split on governor, Tammy Baldwin enjoys commanding lead in Senate race
Quoted: “If that holds up through election day that would be a real change from other recent elections,” said UW-Madison political science professor Barry Burden, who has studied ticket splitting, the phenomenon of voters supporting candidates from both major parties.
Expert: Engineering a key factor in barn collapses
The mid-April snowstorm that buried parts of east-central Wisconsin in more than 30 inches of snow left numerous collapsed barns and dead cattle in its wake. But those staggering Blizzard Evelyn snowfall totals — some of which were twice as high when factoring in drifts — didn’t cause the collapses, said David Bohnhoff, emeritus professor in the Biological Systems Engineering Department at UW-Madison.
Wet fall has many farmers, finally able to get into muddy fields, playing catch-up
UW-Madison agronomy professor and corn production expert Joe Lauer’s agronomy program includes 14 growing locations around the state. While he and his students have been able to make good progress on a lot of their trials, three locations, as of the middle of last week, had not been harvested yet as they haven’t been able to get into those fields.
UW-Madison studying placentas, premature births
University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers are studying placentas from births at a local hospital to identify structural changes in fetal membranes that could help determine when a premature birth is likely to occur.
With Wisconsin voters split on governor, Tammy Baldwin enjoys commanding lead in Senate race
“If that holds up through election day that would be a real change from other recent elections,” said UW-Madison political science professor Barry Burden, who has studied ticket splitting, the phenomenon of voters supporting candidates from both major parties.
Avery attorneys Buting, Strang create nonprofit focused on improving forensic science
A trio of Wisconsin attorneys, including two whose appearance in the first season of “Making a Murderer” launched them to international stardom, have started a nonprofit aimed at improving forensic science. Dean Strang and Jerry Buting, whose representation of Steven Avery in his homicide case for the murder of Teresa Halbach was featured in the Netflix docuseries, teamed up with Keith A. Findley, a University of Wisconsin Law School associate professor and co-founder of the Wisconsin Innocence Project.
Fourth former Scott Walker administration official blasts the governor ahead of election
Quoted: “It’s hard to think of another instance like this where even one or two cabinet secretaries would come and speak out against a sitting governor. To have four is unprecedented,” said Barry Burden, a political scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Wisconsin is twice as likely to imprison people as Minnesota – A tale of two states
Noted: Cases of technical revocations—dubbed “churn” or “back door entry to prison”—are dismally common. “Basically it’s impossible not to violate” parole conditions, suggests Pamela Oliver, a sociologist at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. Returning to prison undermines efforts to go straight. “This is going to continually mess up my life, it’s all so difficult trying to get started again”, says Mr Amphy, in tears. Revocations can reset the parole time remaining to be served. Though his sentence should be over, he still has five years to go.
Fitness trackers’ accuracy varies widely for calories burned
Noted: Fitness trackers with heart rate monitors might be more accurate because the added data helps assess how hard people are working during exercise, said Lisa Cadmus-Bertram, a researcher at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who wasn’t involved in the study.
Scott Walker charges opponent with plagiarizing schools budget plan
Noted: “The plagiarism charge will disrupt the Evers campaign but it is not likely to have much impact on how voters view the candidates,” said Barry Burden, director of the Elections Research Center at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
Climate change impact: Study finds mental health issues will increase
Quoted: “The most important point of this [new] study is that climate change, indeed, is affecting mental health, and certain populations (women and the poor) are disproportionally impacted,” Jonathan Patz, a professor and director of the Global Health Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who was not involved with the study, told CNN.
Why we’re so fixated on bringing back the woolly mammoth
Quoted: “De-extinction just provides the ultimate ’out’,” Stanley Temple, a wildlife biologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, told BBC Newsbeat in 2015. “If you can always bring the species back later, it undermines the urgency about preventing extinctions.”
The tight race for Wisconsin governor will be decided not by how many people vote but who votes
Quoted: “It’s such a wild card,” said political scientist David Canon of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, referring to turnout trends in the Donald Trump era and the shifting motivation levels of voting groups on each side as they react to events (like the Supreme Court confirmation fight over Brett Kavanaugh) and the president’s lightning-rod rhetoric.
Comedy Central’s First-Ever Social Impact VP Isn’t Afraid to Take on Divisive Issues
Quoted: “What it makes Comedy Central look like is proactive and taking a little bit of a leadership role in this,” said Tom O’Guinn, the chair of the marketing department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s school of business.
In the 2018 midterms, many more people are running — and far more seats are contested — than we’ve seen for a generation.
The 2018 elections differ from previous midterms in so many ways. And one, at least, is a good sign for democracy: Many more people are running for office this time around.
Barry Burden (@bcburden) is professor of political science and director of the Elections Research Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Report Calls For Capturing Carbon To Combat Climate Change. How Would That Work?
Here & Now’s Robin Young speaks with Gregory Nemet, professor of public affairs and environmental studies at the La Follette School of Public Affairs at the University of Wisconsin Madison.
Centenary of 20th century’s worst pandemic
University of Wisconsin-Madison microbiology professor Michael Gale also believes such a scenario could certainly happen again.”We have seen several flu pandemics since the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic (1957, 1968, 1977, 2009, for example),” he said. “The 2009 global flu pandemic is considered to have resulted in up to over 200,000 deaths, so flu remains a major public health threat.
Democrats Want to Beat Scott Walker. But the Wisconsin Economy Is a Hurdle.
“It’s hard to argue we need a change economically as people are doing well,” said Noah Williams, director of the Center for Research on the Wisconsin Economy at the University of Wisconsin — Madison.
UW researchers, doctors trying to better predict preterm birth
The university’s Morgridge Institute for Research is studying placentas from births at UnityPoint Health-Meriter to identify structural changes in fetal membranes that could be associated with preterm births.
With banana costumes and bouncy houses, Democrats are hoping for young voter blue wave
With heated gubernatorial and senatorial elections at the top of the ticket, UW-Madison’s Elections Research Center director Barry Burden anticipates the 2018 midterms to garner one of the state’s highest youth turnout rates in a generation.
Central Wisconsin sheriff suspends election opponent over 2001 case
But another expert says applying the Brady standard to York’s actions here is a stretch. Ion Meyn, an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin Law School, said Brady is a “pretty demanding standard,” requiring disclosure only if a case goes to trial (about 5 percent of cases do) and only if the prior actions involved are so significant there’s a reasonable chance it could change the outcome of the case at hand.
Walker: Private Marketplace Insurance Rates To Drop 4.2 Percent In Wisconsin
Quoted: “Wisconsin, in recently adopting its reinsurance program, joined other states in embracing this model after a similar ACA-run program had expired,” explained Donna Friedsam, health policy programs director at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Population Health Institute.
Education is the one issue both Scott Walker and Tony Evers are hitting hard in their campaign ads
Quoted: “Given the history of Act 10, all the budgets cut to K-12 early in the Walker tenure, and with a somewhat more positive budget now for education and the governor claiming to be the ‘education governor,’ you knew the Democratic challenger was going to talk about (education) no matter what,” said University of Wisconsin-Madison political scientist David Canon. “Then, when the Democratic challenger is Tony Evers, the state school superintendent, it’s ready-made to have education be the focus of the campaign.”
Is Scott Walker’s winning streak nearing an end? Wisconsin race poses challenge
Quoted: “Unemployment is lower than the national average, the tax cuts have gone over well, but, he has benefitted in the past when he has had President Obama to run against as a foil,” Barry Burden, a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin, told Fox News.
UW-Madison School of Education “Teaching About the 2018 Elections” Pedagogy Panel
The panel discussed how to deal with what Diana Hess, dean of the UW-Madison School of Education, calls the “political education paradox” which refers to non-partisan teaching of democracy in a vitriolic and partisan political climate.
Hurricane Michael Florida news: Purple sky after Hurricane Michael
Quoted: “Scattering affects the color of light coming from the sky, but the details are determined by the wavelength of the light and the size of the particle,” University of Wisconsin-Madison scientists said.
As Global Temperatures Rise, Wisconsin’s Local Governments Seek Climate Change Solutions
Quoted: Local and state governments can take action to mitigate the effects of climate change, according to Paul Robbins, director of the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Older mothers could be traumatising their children, psychologist says
Quoted: Dr Julianne Zweifel, a clinical psychologist at University of Wisconsin, Madison said: “Surveys show the drive to be a mother is so strong they don’t think about the problems their child will face until after the child is born.”
Mothers in 50s ‘risk harming children’
Quoted: “Surveys show the drive to be a mother is so strong they don’t think about the problems their child will face until after the child is born,” Julianne Zweifel, a clinical psychologist at University of Wisconsin, Madison, told the American Society for Reproductive Medicine conference in Denver.
Science news in brief: From elephant’s skin to the discovery of Planet Nine
Quoted: “If the fungus dies, the ants die,” says Cameron Currie, a microbial ecologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who studies the fungus-farming ants and their mutually beneficial relationships with other species.
Organic farming with gene editing: An oxymoron or a tool for sustainable agriculture?
Quoted: Bill Tracy, an organic corn breeder and professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, says, “Many CRISPR-induced changes that could happen in nature could have benefits to all kinds of farmers.” But, the NOSB has already voted on the issue and the rules are unlikely to change without significant pressure. “It’s a question of what social activity could move the needle on that,” Tracy concludes.
Coping with global warming, rising mental issues
Quoted: Dr. Jonathan Patz, a professor and director of the Global Health Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said the study is consistent with recent work by other scientists, including his own research on heat waves and hospital admissions in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, over a 17-year period, he said. Patz and his co-authors found that high temperatures impacted admissions for self-harm, including attempted suicide.
How tiny fish ear bones can reveal criminal activity
Quoted: Another factor working in the Montana researchers’ favor was the fortuitous and improbable fact that they seemed to have found the very individuals that had been introduced, rather than their offspring, says Jake Vander Zanden, an ecologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who studies aquatic invasive species.
“Typically when you discover a new population of what might be considered an invasive species, you’re not going to capture the individuals that were themselves transported,” Vander Zanden says. He calls the otolith findings “pretty striking.”
As Global Temperatures Rise, Wisconsin’s Local Governments Seek Climate Change Solutions
Quoted: Local and state governments can take action to mitigate the effects of climate change, according to Paul Robbins, director of the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
“We need better water management. We need new policies for our lake levels,” said Robbins. “We need to look at our combined sewer overflows coming out of Milwaukee — the sewage system there, as well as how we manage our drainage across the Yahara watershed, plus any other parts of the state.”
Here’s the Abortion Case That Could Overturn Roe v. Wade
Quoted: Ryan Owens, director of the Tommy G. Thompson Center on Public Leadership at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said “excessive panic [among liberals about abortion] … is, frankly, overblown.”
Starving bears and snowballs: talking science in a time of denial
Noted: In the first article, the authors, experts in science communications, Michael Dahlstrom from Iowa State University and Dietram Scheufele from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, both in the US, argue that we must exert the utmost care in telling the stories of science.
Mobilizing Madison’s young voters
Quoted: Connie Flanagan, a UW-Madison professor and expert on youth and politics, notes that the size and diversity of this generation of young voters is unique.
“This generation is huge, and it’s far more demographically diverse than many of its predecessors,” she says. “So the tolerance of diversity in a lot of dimensions is true in part because they are a diverse generation, and because the issues have been ones they’ve grown up thinking about.”
UN climate change report could reflect local weather patterns Climate change report could reflect local weather
Quoted: “Our global climate has warmed by about a degree Celsius already, so this report looks at what our climate would look like if we were to stop that warming at one and a half degrees Celsius, so about three degrees Fahrenheit global warming,” said Daniel Vimont, a professor of atmospheric and oceanic sciences at the University of Wisconsin, and the director of the Nelson Institute Center for Climatic Research.
Guries Inducted into Wisconsin Forestry Hall of Fame
An emeritus professor with the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology is the newest member of the Wisconsin Forestry Hall of Fame. Ray Guries was inducted during a ceremony at the Wisconsin Society of American Foresters annual meeting in September.
2 Of The World’s Closest Allies Disagree On Dairy With USMCA
AgDay National Reporter Betsy Jibben talks with Harry Van Der Linden, President of Holstein Canada; Chris Galen, Communications Senior Vice President with the National Milk Producers Federation and Mark Stephenson, an Economist and Dairy Policy Expert with UW-Madison.
Soggy weather delaying fall harvest is ‘just another nail in the coffin’ for Wisconsin farmers
Quoted: “You need a boat to get into some fields,” quipped Kevin Jarek, a University of Wisconsin Extension agent in Outagamie County.
Scott Walker’s new ad hitting Tony Evers on the gas tax is running on screens mounted at service station pumps, not TV
Quoted: Thomas O’Guinn, a marketing professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said the gas station spots are part of a trend of putting ads anyplace where they might capture people’s attention.