“We successfully increased knowledge of radon in this community, and more importantly, they could not have afforded the radon mitigation without our project’s support. This community had noted higher rates of cancer among their people for many generations and expressed concern that their land was poisoning them. They were correct,” said lead study author and associate professor of medicine at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Noelle LoConte in a release.
Category: UW Experts in the News
Remote drivers could someday help self-driving semi-trucks
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison are studying what needs to happen for a person to remotely operate long-haul trucks that are otherwise autonomous.
“The vehicle operates on its own until it needs you,” said lead researcher David Noyce. “And then when it needs you, it calls you and says, ‘Can you get on the joystick here, and have control of the vehicle? Because I don’t understand what to do.’”
UW Health psychologist weighs in on parental mental health
UW Health Distinguished Psychologist Dr. Shilagh Mirgain joined WMTV Monday to talk about the issues parents are facing. One change Mirgain said needs to happen is a change in the “culture of comparison,” which she explained is the habit of comparing one’s family to others, especially on social media.
Out-of-state college students could impact outcome of election
Mike Wagner is a professor and election expert at UW-Madison. He says no one person or individual will change the outcome of the November 5th election, but says it’s groups of people who could have the biggest impact. This means students, specifically out-of-state students.
State estimates around 40 percent of private wells contain pesticides
Trade associations for corn, soybean, potato and vegetable growers in Wisconsin were either unavailable or didn’t respond to requests for comment. Russ Groves, chair of the Department of Entomology at UW-Madison, said detections of pesticides are unfortunately a logical outcome in areas where agriculture is more intense on the landscape.
“Those are the tools that we have relied upon so that we don’t have real significant economic losses for a producer or an industry,” Groves said.
Benjamin Marquez on partisan politics of immigration in 2024
UW-Madison political science professor Benjamin Marquez considers the significance of immigration, borders and deportation as political issues in 2024 for Democratic and Republican candidates.
Judge reaffirms protections for youths in state’s juvenile prison
“I think banning the use of pepper spray in juvenile detention facilities is really not a radical act,” said Zoe Engberg, clinical assistant professor at University of Wisconsin Law School. “In 2018 … 35 states had already done this – they already completely prohibited the use of pepper spray in juvenile facilities.”
Wisconsin experienced the third warmest September on record
At the beginning of September, parts of the state were experiencing highs in the mid- to upper-80s, which are between five and 15 degrees higher than normal. Near Boscobel Airport on Sept. 15, the temperature rose to 92 degrees.
“It was a very weird September,” Steve Vavrus, director of the Center for Climate Research at UW-Madison, told WPR’s “Wisconsin Today.” He added it was also among the 10 driest, with data going back to the 1890s.
As Election Day nears, the economy remains top of mind for Wisconsin voters
Menzie Chinn, a macroeconomist at UW-Madison, said some of the government support to consumers during the pandemic — by both the Trump and Biden administrations — coupled with jammed up supply chains when the American economy reopened helped contribute to inflation.
Wisconsin’s air quality continues to improve, UW-Madison professor says
Earlier this year, the Federal Environmental Protection Agency tightened air quality regulations across the United States.
University of Wisconsin-Madison environmental studies professor Tracey Holloway told WPR’s “Wisconsin Today” that these regulations are the tightest they’ve ever been. And that means our air is the cleanest it’s ever been.
Health Rounds: Clues to RSV structure may help prevent infections
“Our primary findings reveal structural details that allow us to better understand not only how the protein regulates assembly of viral particles, but also the coordination of proteins that enable the virus to be infectious,” study leader Elizabeth Wright of the University of Wisconsin–Madison said in a statement.
Jessica Calarco: How wealthy university donors have changed our society for the worse
Wealthy donors have turned us into a DIY Society, where people are supposed to take care of themselves rather than be helped by government.
A flurry of lawsuits on state voting rules could influence 2024 election results
“If the Fifth Circuit accepts the argument that the RNC is making, this would have very broad implications, and could conceivably make it up to the Supreme Court,” said Daniel Tokaji, dean of the University of Wisconsin Law School.
Eric Hovde said trans youths have highest rate of suicide, driven by regret. Not true.
Health care providers in Wisconsin require parental consent before gender-affirming care can proceed for children under the age of 18, and gender-affirming surgery for minors, especially genital surgery, is rare, according to Stephanie Budge, an associate professor in counseling psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Reuters withdraws two articles on anti-doping agency after arranging Masters pass for source
The appearance is damaging enough, said Kathleen Bartzen Culver, a media ethics expert and director of the journalism school at the University of Wisconsin in Madison.
“You’ve given the source a really strong incentive to give you not just information but whatever kind of information you want,” she said. “There is a very good reason we don’t pay sources for information. The reason is the source would feel they have to please us in some way.”
Social Security chief visits Detroit, clears up myths, bemoans staffing levels, and more
Karen Holden, a professor emerita at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the La Follette School of Public Affairs and Department of Consumer Science, researches Social Security and the economic status of the elderly. She maintains that the system overall benefits from receiving payroll tax payments from migrants without legal status who cannot collect benefits.
Basic Research Matters: Meet the winners of 2024’s Golden Goose Awards
Christian Che-Castaldo, Heather Joan Lynch, Mathew Schwaller, for their use of satellite imagery to discover 1.5 million previously undocumented Adélie penguins in the Antarctic. Che-Castaldo is a quantitative ecologist affiliated with the U.S. Geological Survey, Wisconsin Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, and the Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
China to raise retirement age amid demographic crisis
Yi Fuxian, a Chinese demographer and senior scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, told DW that in the coming years, China may face greater challenges as an aging society than most developed countries.
“China has kept the retirement age unchanged until now, and the recent delay is still insufficient,” Yi said, emphasizing that if this policy had been implemented 20 years earlier, “the current issues might have been avoided.”
The high stakes of mapping the Midwest
The Princeton Gerrymandering Project described the Wisconsin district lines as “some of the most extreme partisan gerrymanders in the United States.”
How extreme? In 2012, while 48.6% of voters backed Republican candidates for the Wisconsin Assembly, Republicans “won” 60 of 99 seats. There was “no question — none — that the recent redistricting effort distorted the vote,” explained University of Wisconsin-Madison political science professor Kenneth Mayer.
Many Native Americans struggle with poverty. Easing energy regulations could help.
The researchers, from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, estimated the net value of wind and solar based on a combination of off-reservation leases paid to landowners and taxes received by local governments. They predict that tribes and their members could earn about the same either by leasing the right to wind and sun to an outside developer or by developing themselves.
Why immigration is central to the 2024 presidential election
“The lives of people in many countries like Venezuela and Nicaragua, their lives have become almost intolerable,” said Benjamin Marquez, a political science professor at UW-Madison, with a focus on immigration and Latino populations.
“The native-born population has always reacted very negatively to large numbers of immigrants coming to the United States,” he added.
Erin Barbato on policy changes for immigrants seeking asylum
University of Wisconsin Law School Immigration Justice Clinic Director Erin Barbato discusses detention of immigrants amid more restrictions on people coming to the United States seeking protection.
Millions of birds die in building collisions. Madison volunteers want to help.
Over time, hazards like these lights and windows are taking a toll. A nearly 50-year study of birds in North America found that populations have shrunk across species, by billions. Avian ecologist Anna Pidgeon has seen this in action. She’s been studying birds at the University of Wisconsin-Madison for over two decades.
Students, faculty say being Black at UW-Madison isn’t easy
Black student enrollment at the state’s flagship university has never surpassed 3 percent of the student body, according to data from the Universities of Wisconsin. In 2023, 1,327 students out of 50,335 identified as Black, about 2.6 percent.
This year, the percentage of underrepresented students of color in the freshman class dropped by 3.7 percentage points from last year to 14.3 percent, according to UW-Madison data.
Smith: Wisconsin’s sandhill crane committee moves toward legislation on crop damage and a potential hunt
Crane hunting also brings political views and public sentiment into play, Spreitzer said. A 2023 study by the University of Wisconsin Survey Center found fewer than one in five Wisconsinites supports a sandhill crane hunting season in the state. The work was funded by the International Crane Foundation in Baraboo and the UW-Madison Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies.
There’s no real cure for rosacea, but there are ways to tame flare ups
Dove’s Beauty Bar is an easy-to-use cleanser that’s also budget friendly, says Dr. Apple Bodemer, a board-certified dermatologist and associate professor of dermatology at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. The hypoallergenic formula is safe to use as both a facial cleanser and body soap, and it contains mild and moisturizing ingredients like glycerin that can help maintain the skin’s natural moisture barrier, according to the brand.
The state of the Wisconsin electorate: A conversation with Barry Burden, UW-Madison
It’s not unheard of that a state like Wisconsin has received so much attention from candidates and politicians acting as surrogates for the Republican and Democratic campaigns. In fact, according to University of Wisconsin-Madison Political Science Professor Barry Burden, we’re likely to see even more visits from people passing through the state before we reach November 5.
Trump in Waunakee isn’t trying to win Dane County, just get to 24%
“It is risky for the Republicans to write off Dane County entirely,” said Barry Burden, a professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “There are simply too many votes here.”
Why Cheeses Such as Mozzarella and Cheddar Melt Differently Than Ricotta
Cheese makers’ key tool in adjusting the number of these bonds is acidity, says John Lucey, a food scientist at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and director of the Wisconsin Center for Dairy Research. In cheese made at a relatively neutral pH, there are enough calcium bonds that casein molecules are stiffly bound to each other.
Why Cheeses Such as Mozzarella and Cheddar Melt Differently Than Ricotta
Cheese makers’ key tool in adjusting the number of these bonds is acidity, says John Lucey, a food scientist at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and director of the Wisconsin Center for Dairy Research.
Michael Wagner on how AI can be used and misused in politics
UW-Madison journalism professor Michael Wagner explains how generative artificial intelligence tools by political campaigns raise questions of honesty and transparency that are difficult to answer.
The importance of science, and a weather update
Both advancements in science and the rejection of science have been a factor in U.S. politics. UW-Madison emeritus professor of chemistry Bassam Shakhashiri returns to talk about the connection between scientific understanding, reasoning and responsible citizenship.
Rob Ferrett is all over the map with Wisconsin’s state cartographer
Interview with Howard Veregin on “Wisconsin Today.” Veregin iss Wisconsin’s state cartographer, based at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and he’s mapping Wisconsin, real and imaginary.
Mushrooms are now becoming leather, packaging, bacon and more
There is such a thing as an endemic fungus, a place a fungus grows and where it doesn’t. So, moving it should be done thoughtfully,” said Anne Pringle, a professor of botany at University of Wisconsin-Madison. “In practice, we’re only about conserving plants and animals. We don’t have that sense of the biodiversity of fungi. But we’re starting to have that conversation.”
Nearsightedness Has Become a Global Health Issue
Terri L. Young, co-chair of the NASEM committee that produced the report and chair of the department of ophthalmology and visual sciences at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, talked with Scientific American about the implications of the myopia epidemic for people with myopia and policymakers.
Sharing your fall harvest; What is Agroforestry?
UW Extension Educator Kevin Schoessow is back to talk about the Spooner Agriculture Research Station. And the food they have donated to local organizations. We also talk about the work being done at the Savannah Institute to integrate trees and shrubs with crops and livestock on farms.
New farmer survey could signal slowdown in Wisconsin dairy farm losses
Chuck Nicholson, ag economist and professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said the strong survey response could signal a change for the industry, even if the state is likely to continue seeing farms exit the dairy industry.
Opinion: Tim Walz and JD Vance have a chance to spotlight fatherhood during VP debate
Written by Alvin Thomas, an Associate Professor of Human Development & Family Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a consulting editor at the Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology.
Is Pumpkin Spice Dangerous To Dogs? Here’s Why They Should Avoid It
Pumpkin on its own is not toxic to dogs. In fact, a little pumpkin can do some good in some cases because it’s high in fiber. “If people are worried that their dog’s stool is a little firm or hard, or that they’re constipated, we’ll use it because of its nice, high fiber content to help soften stool,” Calico Schmidt, a veterinarian and clinical instructor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine, tells Inverse. “So it can be nice and beneficial, and many dogs like it, which is a plus, too.”
Want tulips and daffodils next spring? Wisconsinites should plant bulbs now. Here’s how
“Bulbs are going to need a 12- to 16-week chilling period. When you put them in the ground that temperature should go down slowly, so they have the first 3 to 5 weeks developing their roots at 45 to 50 degrees, and then the next 3 weeks at 38 to 42 degrees,” said Lisa Johnson, horticulture educator for University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension.
How Universal’s ‘Wicked’ Can Improve Retail Sales This Holiday Season
“It’s really pushing back against this idea that you need to constantly be buying things to have a happy and fulfilling life,” Megan Doherty Bea, assistant professor of consumer science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, shared with CNN.
What is red light therapy? Benefits, uses and more
Red light therapy applies specific wavelengths of light (usually around 630 nanometers) onto your skin. This wavelength can penetrate 2 to 3 millimeters below the skin, and cause positive reactions in the cells just under your skin, says Dr. Apple Bodemer, a board-certified dermatologist and associate professor at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.
2 years after fall of Roe, Democrats campaign on abortion rights, ‘freedom’
During an interview with WPR, UW-Madison Professor of Sociology Emerita Myra Marx Ferree said when Roe fell, “it was like this bucket of cold water poured on the public consciousness” and Americans began seeing the abortion issue as far deeper than simply having a choice.
“It’s fundamental, it’s freedom, it’s rights. It’s respect for you as a human being. It’s justice,” said Marx Ferree. “Freedom is not about buying coats or shoes or taking a vacation or not taking a vacation. Freedom is about determining the course of your life.”
Study: Past housing discrimination affects present childhood asthma risk
Dr. Jim Gern, pediatrics professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and one of the study’s authors, said the findings could influence the current public health approach to preventing asthma.
What to know about noncitizen voting and the November referendum question in Wisconsin
“If you declared an intent to become a citizen, that was sufficient for you to vote,” explained Bree Grossi Wilde, executive director of the State Democracy Research Initiative at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, which has researched referendum questions this year.
Arizona official who certifies elections alleges fraud after his defeat
Barry Burden, a political scientist at the University of Wisconsin at Madison and director of its Elections Research Center, said Cavanaugh’s title could bring legitimacy to the notion that election officials are conspiring to falsify election outcomes. And the claim comes just as many voters are beginning to pay attention to the coming election, Burden said.
How crop science is transforming the humble potato
Hybrid breeding will enable breeders to create new varieties faster and more systematically, said Shelley Jansky, a retired plant breeder at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and a professor emeritus at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. New potato cultivars could better withstand diseases, heat, drought, or salt.
Trump expected to hammer border security during stop in Prairie du Chien
During a recent interview with WPR, University of Wisconsin-Madison Sociology Professor Michael Light said anecdotes used by politicians don’t always reflect the broader trends related to crime and immigration.
“Yes, immigrants have committed crimes. And immigrants commit less crimes than native born U.S. citizens,” Light told “Wisconsin Today” in July. “Both (of) those can be true.”
Elections can be polarizing. How are Wisconsin teachers bringing them into the classroom?
Wisconsin students aren’t required at the state level to take a government class. Some districts may have their own requirements, or government classes may be offered as an elective, but that lack of a state requirement can prevent students from learning about government itself, much less discussing and understanding current political events, said Jeremy Stoddard, a professor of curriculum and instruction at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a researcher in the Wisconsin Center for Education Research.
Democrats take aim at Jill Stein as they seek to avoid Clinton’s mistakes
“Because both major parties are expecting tight results in the battleground states that will decide the presidency, there has been more than the usual amount of interest [in] how minor party and independent candidates might affect the results,” University of Wisconsin-Madison Elections Research Center Director Barry Burden told the Washington Examiner. “Republicans have been assisting Kennedy in his efforts to get off the ballot assuming that his departure provides more votes for Trump. Republican allies have also been assisting progressive Cornel West with ballot access under the assumption that he would take votes from Harris.”
How Milwaukee’s giant anti-poverty agency unraveled: weak controls, little oversight
One report can’t always catch every issue simmering at lower levels of an organization as large and complex as SDC, said Brian Mayhew, executive director of the Center for Financial Reporting and Control at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Overcoming distrust of West, one tribe in Wisconsin is partnering with UW for health care
These historic injustices continue to fuel distrust among Indigenous peoples toward Western institutions.
As a result, University of Wisconsin health officials were pleased when the leadership of one tribal community in northern Wisconsin recently agreed to meet about the possibility of signing up tribal members for clinical health trials. The entire tribal council for the Sokaogon Mole Lake Ojibwe Nation visited with health professionals at UW-Madison Sept. 11 and 12 to help build a cooperative relationship between the tribe and the UW Health system.
Leave the Leaves: Why Nature Experts Say You Shouldn’t Rake Your Yard This Fall
Of course, you don’t have to be wading through piles of leaves before your yard sees results. Experts suggest leaving anywhere from 20 percent to 50 percent of leaf accumulation alone. Diana Alfuth, an extension educator for the University of Wisconsin’s horticulture department, explains that small amounts of leaves will redistribute themselves with the wind while larger collections need a quick run-through with a lawnmower to become fertilizer. But if you can barely see the green beneath the red and brown, it’s time to take action.
Behind the scenes of Judy Woodruff’s Crossroads town hall in Milwaukee
The Crossroads team compiled a panel of experts to attend the town hall and join the discussion alongside Woodruff and the participants: conservative commentator and Wisconsin resident Charlie Sykes, University of Wisconsin political science professor Katherine Cramer, and retired U.S. Navy Commander and writer Theodore Johnson.
Rapamycin and Anti-Aging: What to Know
“It really did suggest that in humans, these drugs, mTOR inhibitors, can improve something that becomes impaired with older adults,” said Adam Konopka, an assistant professor of geriatrics and gerontology at the University of Wisconsin, who was not involved in the research.
Rare Copy of U.S. Constitution, Found in a File Cabinet, Is Up for Auction
After the Constitutional Convention came to a close and the complete draft of the Constitution was finalized in 1787, the founders’ last step was to have the document ratified by at least nine of the original 13 colonies, making it binding to the government of the new nation. As part of that process, Congress printed out 100 copies and sent them around the country, John Kaminski, an expert in the document’s history at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said in an email.
New York Post campaign reporter was a paid consultant for the Wisconsin GOP
Kathleen Culver, director of the Center for Journalism Ethics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said it is rare for political operatives or issue advocates to become news reporters.
“As a news consumer myself, I’m questioning whether the New York Post’s reporting is fairly covering races in our critical swing state,” Culver said. “That’s not a question for this staffer alone but for the overall content and tenor of the material the Post is putting out.”
When might the leaves start to change color in Wisconsin this autumn?
Expect the leaves to really start showing off their radiant yellow, orange and red hues in mid-October, says an expert at UW-Madison.
“It’s really early October when we start seeing the peak colors across the state — particularly in parts of northern Wisconsin,” said Steven Ackerman, emeritus professor with the UW-Madison Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences.
Drug Overdose Deaths Are Dropping. The Reasons Are Not Perfectly Clear.
Dr. Elizabeth Salisbury-Afshar, an addiction physician at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who has trained doctors in prescribing buprenorphine, said that the buprenorphine reforms had changed the culture around offering the drug, allowing it to be prescribed by phone or through a telehealth appointment. “We’re going to treat it like other medicines,” she said.
Should Your Cat Sleep in Bed with You? A Veterinarian Reveals the Hidden Health Risks
Sharing your bed with your cat increases the risk of transmitting zoonotic diseases, which are ones that are transmissible from animals to humans. According to Calico Schmidt, a veterinarian and clinical instructor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine, this is especially true if you have an outdoor cat.