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Category: UW Experts in the News

Laughter may not be medicine, but it sure does help

Posted on
Madison Commons

Noted: Research “is accelerating right now,” said Dorothy Farrar-Edwards, chair of the department of kinesiology at University of Wisconson-Madison and core leader of outreach, recruitment and education at the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, referencing recently passed legislation that will give $300 million to the National Institute of Health specifically for Alzheimer’s research in 2016.

Also quoted: Barbara Bowers, professor and associate dean for research in the school of nursing at UW, said “decades of research” have shown that “social engagement is actually one of the most important things you can do for quality of life and longevity.”

North Milwaukee State Bank posts another annual loss

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Quoted: James Johannes, a University of Wisconsin-Madison business professor with expertise in banking, said he didn’t know enough about North Milwaukee State to say why it is struggling years after the recession. But speaking generally, he said, “The one thing we can say for sure is that some of the fallout from the Great Recession has been very much localized. Certain banks in certain areas of the country have just not done well. Certain areas of counties have not done well. But most of that has been flushed out of the system by now.”

The Wisconsin Idea: Alive, but how well?

Posted on
Madison Magazine

Noted: Kathy Cramer, director of the UW–Madison’s Morgridge Center for Public Service, says the university’s historic role helping policy makers solve state problems has shrunk due to suspicion on both ends of State Street. However, she says, some initiatives continue, including student internships and leadership programs, and embedding graduate students from the Wisconsin Center for Education Research in state legislators’ offices.

What’s happened to progressivism?

Posted on
Madison Magazine

Quoted: Mike Wagner, associate professor of journalism at the University of Wisconsin–Madison who is studying post-Act 10 politics in Wisconsin, says passage of the law and Walker’s recall win not only demoralized progressives, it also severely curtailed the political capital and political power of Democrats’ biggest allies—public sector labor unions. In 2015, Walker signed a right-to-work law that weakened Wisconsin’s private sector unions as well.

Study shows high school athletes at greater risk to lower body injury

Posted on
Channel3000.com

The first comprehensive study of lower extremity body injuries in high school athletes shows those who specialize in one sport are at a much higher risk of injury.

Quoted: “We found overall slightly less than 40 percent specialized in a sport, meaning they really concentrated on that one sport. They may play in multiple sports, but concentrated on one,” says Tim McGuine, senior scientist at UW School of Medicine and Public Health and author of the study’s findings.

Critics: State’s plan to save bees provides little protection from pesticides

Posted on
Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism (via Channel3000.com)

Quoted: Claudio Gratton, professor of entomology, who worked on the pollinator proposal for the state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection; Paul Mitchell, associate professor and co-director of the UW-Extension’s Nutrient and Pest Management Program; Russell Groves, an insect ecologist and vegetable crop specialist at the UW-Madison Department of Entomology.

Critics: State’s plan to save bees provides little protection from pesticides

Posted on
Capital Times

Noted: By 2012, virtually all corn seed, and about 30 percent of soybean seed planted in Wisconsin and across the country, was coated with neonics, said Paul Mitchell, a UW-Madison associate professor who co-directs the UW-Extension’s Nutrient and Pest Management Program. Neonic-coated seeds also are widely used on other crops such as potatoes and in lawns and gardens. Also: Russell Groves, an insect ecologist and vegetable crop specialist at the UW-Madison Department of Entomology, said farmers continually search for ways to reduce the risk of crop loss due to pests in part to meet consumer demand for low food prices. Groves said federal policies also incentivize larger farms, where natural pest solutions are less practical.

Fixed-wireless Internet aimed at bridging the rural digital divide

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Quoted: It’s probably fine for watching a Netflix movie, but the service could struggle if other people in the home were online at the same time, said Barry Orton, a recently retired telecommunications professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “It’s a Band-Aid approach, at best, and it’s an awfully expensive Band-Aid,” Orton said.

The Pink Tax: Why Women’s Products Often Cost More

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U.S. News and World Report

Quoted: “Yes, sometimes women do need smaller versions of things, and for jeans and other clothing, we want different cuts and different fashions,” says Christine Whelan, director of MORE: Money, Relationships and Equality at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. “But the idea that that equates to somewhere between a 30 to 50 percent price hike is simply playing on the socialized culture that says women need to look a certain way.”

Close Supreme Court primary could lead to bigger battle in April

Posted on
Wisconsin Radio Network

Noted: Unofficial returns show Justice Rebecca Bradley winning the three-way primary by only about 1.5 percent, with Appeals Court Judge JoAnne Kloppenburg just behind her. UW-Madison political scientist Barry Burden says it was a surprising outcome, given the fact that the incumbent Bradley’s name has been much more visible to voters in the weeks leading up to the election. “I would have thought her advantage would have been greater…but it ended essentially in a tie,” he says.

Argentina Battles Major Outbreak of Dengue as Mosquito Population Swells

Posted on
New York Times

Quoted: “I think the conditions are there for Zika outbreaks,” said Jorge Osorio, a professor of pathobiological science at the University of Wisconsin who arrived this week in Misiones to advise the provincial government and investigate dengue prevention methods. “We have a mosquito population and we have people traveling from Argentina to Brazil.” Misiones is in northeast Argentina, bordering three Brazilian states and Paraguay.

Wal-Mart Earnings Preview: What to Know About WMT Stock

Posted on
US News & World Report

Noted: To gauge which way the stock will tilt, it pays to think like an everyday consumer making the shopping list. “The upcoming quarter is going to be very interesting as investors will get a glimpse into how the company’s sales results were impacted by the holiday season, some huge winter storms and lower gas prices over the last two months,” says Brian Hellmer, director of the Hawk Center for Applied Security Analysis at the Wisconsin School of Business.

The Ultimate Guide To Saying No To Things You Don’t Want To Do

Posted on
Fast Company

Noted: Another way to decline your boss’s request is to say no to right now and suggest a different timeframe, says David A. Ward, communications lecturer at the Wisconsin School of Business. “For example, ‘There’s no give in my schedule for the rest of this month, but things ease up for me in March, and I’d be glad to get involved then if you still need some help on this.’”

UW-Madison professor supports journalist Anna Day after her arrest in Bahrain

Posted on
WKOW TV

UW-Madison professor is speaking out in support of the four American journalists who were arrested in Bahrain on Sunday after accusations they lied – claiming to be tourists.

Freelance journalist Anna Therese Day, a 2010 UW-Madison graduate, and three members of her crew were charged with participating in unlawful protest and lied about being journalist, according to initial reports.

Lindsay Palmer, a journalism professor at UW-Madison, said she realizes the challenges an independent journalist faces when covering conflict in foreign countries.

Many of the city’s biggest disparities may be linked to literacy

Posted on
MadisonCommons.org

Noted: Paul Smith, associate professor in the department of family medicine at University of Wisconsin-Madison, said research shows literacy is the strongest predictor of health. One study showed that smoking was the only predictor for health stronger than literacy. This does not mean that low literacy necessarily causes poor health but rather that there is a strong association between the two factors.

Top Business Majors Name Their Favorite Professors

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Poets and Quants

Noted: The best professors bring more than passion to the classroom and a deep caring for students outside it. Chad Navis, who teaches entrepreneurship at the University of Wisconsin, couples candor with his enthusiasm and sense of humor to prepare students for the harsh realities that await them.

“He is not afraid to discuss with students the potential risks of entrepreneurship or the less than glamorous side,” says Wisconsin senior Vanessa Mariscal. “He works with students to limit these risks and make their ventures successful.”

Also mentioned: Mark Laplante.

Technology May Be Changing Way People Meet But Courtship Remains Same

Posted on
Wisconsin Public Radio

Noted: Dating expert Catalina Toma studies online dating at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “Initially, when online dating came to the scene it was regarded a crutch for the desperate,” said Toma. “It was really stigmatized initially. But the tool has proven to be quite useful for people looking to find partners in a more low-pressure environment.”

Don’t be lured by buzzwords when buying dog food

Posted on
Channel3000.com

Pet food companies are looking to get a piece of a $20 billion business, but many choices can make it difficult to decide on a brand to buy your dog.

University of Wisconsin veterinarian Sandi Sawchuk says finding the right dog food isn’t as difficult as it might seem.

“If you’re feeding a pet food that is complete and balanced and has gone through AAFCO feeding trials, you can be fairly sure you are giving your dog one of the best foods you can give,” Sawchuk said.

Scientists World-Wide Are Celebrating The Discovery Of Gravitational Waves

Posted on
Wisconsin Public Radio

Researchers at the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory–or, LIGO–announced today that it has the first official detection of gravitational waves.  This discovery helps solidify Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity. Interviewed: Sebastian Heinz, Professor of Astronomy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Plugged in

Posted on
Isthmus

Quoted: “Medical education and nursing education is really grappling with: ‘How do we train the health professionals of the future to care for the patient and not for the electronic health records?’” says Katharyn May, a professor and the dean of the UW School of Nursing.

Coyote traps set in Wauwatosa

Posted on
WKOW TV

Noted: Crew members got some help from a UW-Madison wildlife researcher.
“What we’re doing is using that animals behavior of its travel ways against it, and we’ll set it where the animal is coming and going,” said UW-Madison wildlife specialist David Drake.

Does Google really plan to be a payer?

Posted on
Healthcare Dive

Quoted: Justin Sydnor, an associate professor also at the Wisconsin School of Business, comes at the question from an economic perspective. “It makes a lot of sense that Google would be interested in administering healthcare data,” he says. He suggests their expertise in data storage, data access and data analysis would allow them to provide value in a variety of ways, such as mining large data sets of medical records to find new treatment patterns.

Marjorie Rosenberg, a professor in the Department of Actuarial Science, Risk Management, and Insurance at the Wisconsin School of Business, was also quoted.

 

Zika is just one more way climate change is worse for women

Posted on
Grist

Noted: According to Jonathan Patz, director of the Global Health Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, last year was one of the hottest, driest years in Brazil’s history. The country saw 500,000 cases of dengue; presumably, it was suffering from the silent outbreak of Zika at the same time, the effects of which are only being reckoned with now.

Sitcoms Do Matter

Posted on
Huffington Post

Noted: “Entertainment media play a critical role in shaping people’s feelings, attitudes and behaviors in intergroup contexts,” said Sohad Murrar, the lead author of the study and doctoral student in the Department of Psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Putting the People Back in Politics

Posted on
Huffington Post

Noted: A third example: Diana Hess and Paula McAvoy have a new book, The Political Classroom, which shows that many teachers, even the most partisan, are eager for students to hear radically different viewpoints. Teachers also experience pressure to “scrub” any controversy from their curriculum, so they need support in enacting this. Diana Hess is chair of the College of Education at UW-Madison.

U.S. Supreme Court puts Obama’s climate plan on hold

Posted on
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Quoted: Addressing the decision during a climate change forum in Madison on Tuesday night, Jonathan Patz, director of the Global Health Institute at UW-Madison, emphasized the health benefits of tackling climate change, such as preventing 6,600 asthma deaths. “It’s not just energy policy and dollars. We’re talking about lives. We’re talking about people dying,” Patz said.

Survey: Valentines Day Will Cost You Over $500

Posted on
Bankrate.com

Quoted: “The primary effect is supply and demand,” says Jerry O’Brien, executive director of the Kohl’s Center for Retailing Excellence at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “Certainly there’s a plan to have a lot of roses available. However, they also know the demand is very high, so the market can absorb some additional price, which helps the growers get through those times of the year when there isn’t such a high demand.”

Scholars weigh in on Woodrow Wilson, Princeton and racism

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AP

John Cooper, Jr., emeritus professor of American Institutions, University of Wisconsin: “The best way to judge Wilson on matters of race is not to keep score between good and bad deeds but to recognize him and judge him for what he really was. Many have made snap judgments based on his birth in Virginia on the eve of the Civil War and his upbringing in Georgia and South Carolina during the war and Reconstruction to write him off as a typical white man of those places and times. Such a characterization is wrong.”

Do Woodrow Wilson’s racist views negate his progressive accomplishments?

Posted on
Christian Science Monitor

Quoted: John Milton Cooper, a Princeton alum and Wilson biographer who taught history at University of Wisconsin-Madison, noted in his essay that the former president also supported minority rights, albeit perhaps in less significant ways, such as speaking out against lynchings and opening university positions for Catholics, Jews, and poorer students.

Sacrifice Common Theme in Many Religions

Posted on
WUWM-FM, Milwaukee

Noted: Catholicism is just one religion that urges followers to step out of their comfort zones and challenge themselves during certain seasons, according to Charles Cohen. He’s a religion professor at UW- Madison and specializes in Christianity, Judaism and Islam.

Footsteps could charge mobile devices thanks to UW engineers

Posted on
Channel3000.com

University of Wisconsin-Madison mechanical engineers have developed technology that could reduce reliance on the batteries in mobile devices by simply plugging a device into your shoe, according to a release. (Researchers: Tom Krupenkin, professor of mechanical engineering, and J. Ashley Taylor, senior scientist in Department of Mechanical Engineering.)

Staying Sober After Treatment Ends

Posted on
New York Times

Noted: Apps, by themselves, are not a continuing care program. But since they are used on phones, they are a logical tool to help people stay connected to their programs. David Gustafson, the University of Wisconsin professor who led A-Chess’s development, said that the evidence is that people in recovery need three things: social connection, motivation (“the desire to keep on keeping on”) and confidence that they know how to cope with their struggles. Apps can help with all three.

Team of UW-Madison researchers one of eight nationwide chosen for new concussion study

Posted on
WKOW TV

Hundreds of teams applied, but a team of UW-Madison researchers was one of only eight teams that were chosen in the Mind Matters Challenge co-sponsored by the NCAA and U.S Department of Defense.

Together these two entities have contributed more than $40 million towards the study of concussions. The UW-Madison team consists of Assistant Professor of Human Ecology Dee Warmath and Athletic Training and Kinesiology Professor Dr. Andrew Winterstein.

Over the next two years the team will work with some of the 2,500 student and club team athletes on UW-Madison campus. These students will help them test out new strategies for getting the word out on how dangerous ignoring a concussion can be.

How Much Should We Worry About Zika Virus?

Posted on
Wisconsin Public Radio

The spread of mosquito-born Zika virus, which has been linked to birth defects in children of infected women, has led to travel advisories for pregnant women and, in some countries, advice that women delay pregnancy entirely. What is Zika, and how can countries fight it? Joy Cardin talks to UW-Madison’s Kristen Bernard about how Zika is spreading, the challenges it poses, and how big a problem it may become in the U.S.

Goodness gracious, fireballs in February

Posted on
New York Times

Hundreds of fireballs streak across Earth’s atmosphere every day, said Jim Lattis, an astronomer at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, but people witness few of them. The majority fly over uninhabited areas, and many also occur during daytime when the sun’s glare makes them hard to detect.

Why You Should Never Buy Bagged Greens

Posted on
Men's Journal

Noted: Bagged greens are usually washed thoroughly (some packages boast that their contents are “triple-washed”) with a little bleach, but that unfortunately doesn’t make any difference if the produce carries disease-causing bacteria. “Listeria is a natural soil inhabitant, and spinach commonly comes in contact with the soil,” says Jeri Barak, associate professor of plant pathology and executive member of the Food Research Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Listeria, like Salmonella and E. coli, can’t be rinsed or washed from leaves even if the dirt is, she says.