Category: UW Experts in the News

Quoted: UW-Madison political scientist Charles Franklin.

Quoted: In addition, individual farmers are sending cows to slaughter at a pace of about 55,000 per week, said Robert Cropp, a professor emeritus at the University of Wisconsin. At that rate, about 3 million cows could be killed in a year.

Quoted: “The immune system is made up of scouts — or white blood cells — that look for invaders or anyone who might harm the host,” said family physician David Rakel, director of integrative medicine at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. “If the scouts find something, they blow the whistle and recruit a number of other cells … to immobilize and destroy the invading organism.”

Noted: Straight butternut is working for anyone who consumes it, too: The deep orange flesh is packed with beta carotene, vitamin C, potassium, magnesium, manganese, calcium and fiber. Dr. Molly Jahn, the dean of the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and the founder of the plant breeding department at Cornell University, helped to develop a better butternut that is resistant to pesky powdery mildew; the plant holds its foliage longer and generates sugar right up to the first killing frost. â??Most of us like our squash sweet, and disease resistance allows it to really sweeten up,â? said Dr. Jahn, who has taste-tested more than her share of squash. â??We also selected for maximum color intensity, for the genetic potential to produce more beta carotene.â? Which means the more orange, the better.

Q. Every time there’s an Olympics or big global sports competition, world records fall. Is there a limit to how fast humans can be?

A. “In my opinion there are no limits,” says Tim Gattenby, a faculty associate in kinesiology at UW-Madison. “People said that no one could break the four-minute mile, and then someone did. People said no one could get more gold medals than Mark Spitz (who won seven in the 1972 Olympics), but records are a carrot that stimulates people to go out and break them.”

Quoted: “It was a form of puffery and everyone knows it,” Barry Orton, a UW-Madison telecommunications professor who formerly did consulting work for cities opposed to the law, said of the predictions of lower prices. “And those rates prove it.”

Quoted: David S. Schwartz, who teaches evidence at the University of Wisconsin Law School, said the amendment would make the rule more fair.

Noted: Other recent genetic research has backed up that notion. One study, published in PNAS in 2007 and led by John Hawks, an anthropologist at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, found that some 1,800 human gene variations had become widespread in recent generations because of their modern-day evolutionary benefits. Among those genetic changes, discovered by examining more than 3 million DNA variants in 269 individuals: mutations that allow people to digest milk or resist malaria and others that govern brain development.

Quoted: A bullying expert says a study in the Journal of School Health shows the number of kids whoâ??ve been the victim of insults online, mirrors those whoâ??ve dealt with face to face insults, â??Itâ??s the same experience but just in a new venue,â? says Amy Bellmore, Assistant Professor of Educational Psychology at UW-Madison.

Quoted: “Thereâ??s help out there, but there are also some people out there trying to take advantage of the situation and run scams,” UW-Madison real estate expert Stephen Malpezzi said, advising distressed homeowners to consult official sources such as the federal HUD Web site for help.

Quoted: UW-Madison real estate expert Stephen Malpezzi praised the index as a basic informational tool that makes the best of the limited data available, even as he cautioned against reading it as anything much more than a broad measure of market direction.

Quoted: As in past years, the seasonal vaccine protects against three flu strains that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization believe will be the most common in the northern hemisphere, according to James Conway, an associate professor of pediatrics who specializes in infectious diseases at the UW-Madison medical school. The swine flu, or H1N1, vaccine will protect against only the swine flu strain.

This September a team of UW-Madison staff unveiled a new process to reduce the time it takes to eliminate former employees from accessing information technology systems, but the new process still takes longer than many others used throughout the University of Wisconsin System.  

Quoted: This was a “remarkable achievement for his early years,” said Robert Dott, a sedimentary geologist at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. “He was always making observations of that sort, which contributed to his most famous theories about evolution.”

Noted: Also along these lines, Richard Davidson of the Laboratory for Affective Neuroscience at the University of Wisconsin-Madison discussed how destructive, negative emotions can impair learning. Recent developments in brain imaging have enabled us to see that brains are plastic. They are constantly changing and growing, even among adults – a phenomenon called “neurogenesis” – and through specific types of training, we can enhance our capabilities for emotional regulation. Therefore, habits of mind and heart can change.

Quoted: “For a country with a semi-democracy, semi-feudal political system, the end of the present reign puts everything in uncertainty,” said Thongchai Winichakul, a Thai studies scholar at the University of Wisconsin. “As democratic institutions are undermined and all political powers are dependent on the monarchy, the future of the whole country sadly hinges on this transition.”

Noted: Rapid evolution suggest that mutations can explain historical events. Got milk tolerance? Your ability to digest lactose as an adult is relatively new in the human species. And, said John Hawks of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, provides evidence of rapid evolution over the past 10,000 years.

Quoted: His across-the-board cuts are a blunt ax approach to budget-cutting that provides “some sort of positive political symbolism – everyone sharing the pain,” says Donald Moynihan, associate director of the La Follette School of Public Affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “It doesnâ??t differentiate between programs that are essential and programs where resources are perhaps less necessary.”

Quoted: Joanne Cantor is professor emerita and director of the Center for Communication Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her forthcoming book is â??Conquer CyberOverload: Get More Done, Boost Your Creativity, and Reduce Stress.â?

Quoted: “It is appalling that we have such a high infant mortality rate [among African Americans] in Wisconsin,” says Gloria Sarto, UW-Madison professor of obstetrics and gynecology and co-director of the UW Center for Womenâ??s Health Research. “Overall, birth outcomes in Wisconsin are very good, but in this specific population it is just dismal.”

Quoted: “The great tag line is: reinvent yourself to survive,” said UW-Madison School of Business professor Mason Carpenter.

Quoted: UW-Madison economist Andrew Reschovsky noted the stimulus bill quickly provided significant tax cuts and added payments to Social Security recipients and the unemployed. He said it also made sense to help schools and local governments as they struggle with busted budgets for years to come.

Question: With so many foods – cereal, milk, orange juice, water – fortified with more vitamins, is it possible to overdose?

Answer: It is possible to get too much of a good thing when it comes to vitamins, says UW-Madison nutritional science professor Sherry Tanumihardjo.

Q. How does frost form?

A. Frost on objects is just water vapor in the air that has condensed as ice onto a surface. Frost forms on objects close to the ground, such as blades of grass.

Quoted: Dr. Yoshi Kawaoka of the University of Wisconsin said studies showed people born in 1918 or earlier had many antibodies against the new pandemic H1N1 and said it may more closely resemble its distant 1918 cousin. See Next Story in Health

Quoted: UW-Madison math professor Andrei Caldararu.

Quoted: “If itâ??s used under optimum circumstances, it should last approximately 10 times longer (than standard incandescent bulbs),” said Jim Lawler, a University of Wisconsin-Madison physics professor.

Quoted: Robert Golden, dean of the University of Wisconsin school of medicine and public health, said the extra funding was greatly needed to try to reverse drinking rates he called astonishing.

“Clearly the current system is broken and is not working,” he said. “The strongest deterrent to drunk driving is a belief you have a good chance at getting caught. More law enforcement will keep people from getting behind the wheel … And for those who are caught, we do not have adequate access to evidence-based treatment programs.”

Quoted: Continued cold will ward off the annual invasion of the multicolored Asian beetle, said Phil Pellitteri, an extension entomologist with the University of Wisconsin Insect Diagnostic Lab.

Noted: And at the Ecological Society of America meeting in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in August, Jacquelyn Gill, a palaeoecology doctoral student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, reported finding no evidence of massive burning in sediment cores taken from lake beds in Ohio and Indiana.

Quoted: Mary Schneider, Professor of Occupational Therapy and Psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, has taken up Harlowâ??s baton, showing that if you make a pregnant monkey stressed, her young will be more anxious and have a fear of being touched, which is common in autistic children.

Quoted: 27 News also spoke with a local political science professor at UW-Madison about the win. Professor Kenneth Mayer says, “Ultimately this is not going to make a huge difference to the success or failure of hiultimatelyncy.. and if anything.. it could possibly bolster opposition among Republicans, who may see that they may react that theyâ??re being pushed around by the international community.”

Quoted: “Itâ??s like smoking cardboard without any of the benefits that most people experience physiologically from the hit they get from nicotine,” said Dr. Michael Fiore, UW Center for Tobacco Research.

Q Why do flu viruses seem to circulate more in the fall and winter?

A In Wisconsin and many other parts of the northern hemisphere, the flu virus enjoys a perfect storm of conditions for its seasonal act.

First, the virus has been shown to transmit more easily when the air is drier and temperatures are cooler, says Jonathan Temte of the Department of Family Medicine in the UW School of Medicine and Public Health. “When we plot flu occurrence with temperature, it picks up when the average temperature hits freezing and goes away when average temperatures rise above the freezing point. There is a very strong correlation with temperatures at the freezing mark and flu circulation.”

Q. How long have satellites been used to study Earth’s weather?

A. The first successful meteorological experiment conducted from a satellite was launched on Explorer VII on Oct. 13, 1959, fifty years ago Tuesday.

Quoted: “If the goal is to make prosecutions more straightforward, (Taylorâ??s) bill will do just the opposite,” said Shawn Francis Peters, a UW-Madison instructor and author of “When Prayer Fails: Faith Healing, Children and the Law.”

Quoted: About a dozen U.S. children die each year in such cases, often from diabetes, pneumonia and other treatable illnesses, according to Shawn Francis Peters, a University of Wisconsin lecturer who wrote “When Prayer Fails: Faith Healing, Children and the Law.”

The physician shortage will complicate access to primary care services for new BadgerCare members, said Dr. Carl Getto, senior vice president of medical affairs and associate dean for hospital affairs at the University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics in Madison.Steps are being taken to get more primary care physicians trained, but it takes seven years to train a new doctor, said Getto, who chaired the committee that authored the WHA report.

Quoted: Byron Shafer, a University of Wisconsin political science professor, said both Pawlenty and the advisers are sending a message.”He wants inside observers to know heâ??s serious,” Shafer said. As for the advisers, “theyâ??re willing to say he could be the one and theyâ??re comfortable with him” as a potential GOP nominee, he said.

Quoted: In his medical office, Dr. Michael Fiore regularly encounters patients seduced by labeling that touts cigarettes lower in tar and nicotine.â??They will say, â??Doc, I know I shouldnâ??t be smoking, but at least Iâ??ve switched to these mild, low-tar lights,â?? â??â?? said Fiore, director of the University of Wisconsin Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention. â??These are individuals who have a chronic case of tobacco dependence and are struggling to break free of it, and that struggle is compromised by labeling that gives them a false and deadly sense of reassurance.â??â??

Quoted: “Due process is a very fundamental, procedural thing the courts take very seriously,” said Shawn Peters, a University of Wisconsin-Madison religion professor and author of “When Prayer Fails: Faith Healing, Children, and the Law.” “For me, it underscores the need for a public policy solution to clarify the laws.”

Quoted: Financial aid experts offer other reasons that might help explain the increase. First, the institutions recruit more aggressively than do their competitors for low-income students. â??The advertise — theyâ??re everywhere,â? says Sara Goldrick-Rab, assistant professor of educational policy studies and sociology at the University of Wisconsin at Madison.

David Thompson wipes his damp forehead and adjusts his glasses. He’s dressed as if for a long hike – khaki hat, sturdy shoes – because he just never knows. A stroll around the west Madison neighborhood where he lives could turn into an afternoon of scrambling through overgrown ditches and ravines, snapping photographs and hunting for clues to buried streams.

Quoted: Ken Potter, professor of civil and environmental engineering, and William Cronon, Frederick Jackson Turner and Vilas research professor of history, geography and environmental studies.

Quoted: Religious scholar Shawn Peters said a potential Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling on the case is needed to push the Legislature to clarify the stateâ??s conflicting laws on the role of faith healing and parenting.