A computer game that takes place in the real world as well as the virtual world is helping more than a dozen Madison area middle school students think and act like city planners.
UW-Madison will be the site of one of three bioenergy research centers designed to find new ways to turn plants into fuel, officials said Monday.
The Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center on UW-Madison’s campus, along with centers in Oak Ridge, Tenn., and near Berkeley, Calif., were described by the Department of Energy as three startup companies with $125 million each in capital, said two officials with knowledge of the grants, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the official announcement had not yet been made. They will involve numerous universities, national laboratories and private companies as partners.
Quoted: Stanley Kutler, a retired professor of law and history at the University of Wisconsin and the author of “The Wars of Watergate.”
Quoted:University of Wisconsin dairy economist Robert Cropp, Ph.D.
Quoted: Kurt Squire, a professor at UW-Madison. He’s studied video games and also is a gamer himself.
Starting next week, the Madison Water Utility will be attempting to maintain a level of 0.3 milligrams per liter of chlorine in all the water leaving all of the city’s 21 active wells.
….Dr. Greg Harrington, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who helped develop the new policy, said the change was being made to provide a margin of safety, to facilitate system operation and to prepare for the requirement of a federal groundwater rule that utilities will have to comply with starting in 2009.
Q. After rains, why do worms slither out onto the pavement and “commit suicide?”
A. After a strong rain, the corpses of worms strewn across the pavement are a disgusting sight — or a pathetic one, depending on your sympathy for these slithery invertebrates.
But what’s the advantage of suicide? Teri Balser, an associate professor of soil and ecosystem ecology at UW-Madison, says the answer starts with the fact that worms breathe through their skin.
In light of the 27 News investigation which uncovered abuse of an 18-month old baby by a local child care provider, there is concern about how parents can know if there children are being mistreated. Knowing what to look for is key.
Dr. Barbara Knox is the Medical Director for the UW’s Child Protection Program. She’s been the point person for law enforcement investigating a recent, high-profile child abuse cases â?? investigative paperwork released to 27 News states she examined the 11-year-old boy recently found severely abused in a home in Portage.
The Senate Appropriations Committee overwhelmingly approved a 2008 spending bill Thursday that, as expected, would increase funds for the National Institutes of Health by $1 billion but keep most higher education at their 2007 levels. But the committeeâ??s action Thursday may be most noteworthy because of two tactical policy proposals made by committee members.
Quoted:Jed Colquhoun, a horticulture professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said people should be careful and learn to identify the plant so that they don’t put themselves at risk.
Quoted: Thomas Kaplan, a historian and associate director of UW-Madison’s Institute for Research on Poverty, said the decision could affect many more people.
Quoted: University of Wisconsin School of Business dean Michael Knetter.
Quoted: Charles Franklin, political science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Quoted: Dr. Jon C. Gould and colleagues of the University of Wisconsin in Madison in a report to the annual meeting of the American Society for Bariatric Surgery.
Quoted: Ann Althouse, a professor at the University of Wisconsin Law School in Madison.
Quoted: Frank Emspak of UW-Madison’s School for Workers.
Reid Bryson, known as the father of scientific climatology, considers global warming a bunch of hooey.
The UW-Madison professor emeritus, who stands against the scientific consensus on this issue, is referred to as a global warming skeptic. But he is not skeptical that global warming exists, he is just doubtful that humans are the cause of it.
Quoted: Allan Odden, a professor at the University of Wisconsin who studies teacher compensation.
Quoted: Dominique Brossard, a professor in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Wisconsin at Madison.
Quoted: Thomas J. Scott, senior enterprise resource-planning strategist at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, said Mr. Mossberg was using strong words to describe an age-old issue about how much computing should be centralized.
Ken Streit, an associate professor at the UW-Madison Law School, said the prison system is full of predators who pick on the most vulnerable of any age — the young, the old, the mentally ill.
While a Ph.D. takes on average about 12 years to complete from the start of college, the new degrees, sometimes mocked as a “Ph.D. lite,” typically take six or seven years. (The occupational-therapy degree is often completed in five and a half years, though new standards will require six years as of January.) Generally the new degrees do not require a major research project.
“For the last 15 or 20 years,” says John D. Wiley, chancellor of the University of Wisconsin at Madison, “we’ve been under pressure to take what is basically a master’s degree and call it a doctorate.”
Quoted: Ken Streit, an associate professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School.
Quoted: UW-Madison bird researcher Kevin Ellison.
Quoted: Cynthia Jasper, professor of consumer science at UW-Madison.
Quoted: Dr. Robert Corliss, a forensic pathologist from the University of Wisconsin Hospital in Madison.
Quoted: Jon Gould, an obesity surgeon at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine in Madison, in a telephone interview.
Q. Why do flowers smell, and why do plants smell, too?
A. The luscious aroma of flowers attracts lovers, and the biological role of that smell is similar: to attract pollinators.
Quoted: Alfred W. McCoy, a history professor from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Quoted: Ruth Benca, M.D., Ph.D., from the University of Wisconsin at Madison, noted that, for many people who can’t get to sleep at night, the problem lies with a build-up of negative stressful events.
Quoted: John Witte, a University of Wisconsin-Madison political science professor, said there can be political ramifications to ordering flags lowered.
Quoted: E. Camilla Forsberg, an HSC biologist at University of Wisconsin, Madison.
Quoted: Dr. A.C. Evans in the division of gynecological oncology at University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics.
Quoted: Stephen Snow, a professor of dermatology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
University of Wisconsin law professor Peter Carstensen, who represented the cab drivers, said the ruling should prompt the county to stop giving citations to taxi drivers picking up specific passengers. He said the county might also amend the ordinance to give those taxis a specific waiting area.
Quoted: Patricia Burch, an assistant professor of educational policy studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Quoted: Kenneth M. Goldstein, a professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin who specializes in political advertising.
Quoted: UW-Madison psychiatry professor Burr Eichelman said.
Quoted: Thomas Holbrook, political science professor at the University of Wisconsin.
The Dairy State has one up on its California competitors.
Though California has stolen the lead in cow milk production from Wisconsin, we outrank California and — apparently — all other states in sheep milk.
Quoted: UW-Madison professor of animal science Dave Thomas
….More than 50 million Americans suffer from allergies, and the numbers continue to grow despite advances in antihistamines and other drugs. So why have we failed to reverse this trend?
“It’s time to look at the underlying causes of asthma and hay fever instead of only treating the symptoms,” says Gregg Mitman, a professor of medical history and history of science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Following his own advice, Mitman wrote the book “Breathing Space: How Allergies Shape Our Lives and Landscapes.” In it, he traces the impact allergic disease has had on American life, culture and landscape since the 19th century.
Quoted: Herbert Chen, assistant professor of surgery at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, who also conducts basic science research at UW’s Carbone Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Quoted: Scott Lutz, a University of Wisconsin wildlife ecologist in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences.
Quoted: Mark Sager, a professor of medicine at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and director of the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Institute.
Quoted: Barry Orton, a University of Wisconsin-Madison telecommunications professor working for local governments that have fought the bill.
By PATTY LOEW: Last month when Jay Wilson left WKOW TV Channel 27 after 27 years (how appropriate), Wisconsin sports lost, not only one of its finest sportscasters, but also one of the nicest guys in the business.
In an industry that attracts big egos, I’ll remember Wilson as one of the most genuine and humblest TV personalities I’ve encountered. And witty? I always enjoyed his self-effacing banter and admired his ability to keep sports in perspective. But that’s not the only reason I’ll miss him.
It sounds like the setup for a dull economist’s joke. Who gets the better deal: the cautious economist who sells his house through a real estate agent, or his risk-taking colleague who finds a buyer on his own?
Two Northwestern University economists used Madison’s real estate market to find the answer.
More than 300 hulking, refrigerator-size “graffiti magnets” could soon sprout in Madison yards if state lawmakers pass a controversial cable TV deregulation bill, Mayor Dave Cieslewicz is warning.
Quoted: UW-Madison telecommunications professor Barry Orton.
Q Are the North Star and the Southern Cross the same?
A The North Star – real name, Polaris – and the Southern Cross, also known as the constellation Crux, both serve as navigational beacons but in different hemispheres.
Quoted: Andrew Reschovsky, a professor of public affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who studies tax issues.
Quoted: UW-Madison economist Andrew Reschovsky.
Quoted: Joanne Cantor, a professor emeritus at the University of Wisconsin at Madison.
Quoted: Frederick Blattner of the University of Wisconsin, Madison
Scientists in the United States and Japan announced yesterday that they have developed artificial stem cells from adult mouse cells. If the approach can be retooled for humans, they say, it would avoid the ethical quicksand that surrounds the use of stem cells drawn from nascent human embryos.
“The real challenge is translating this to human cells, which seem far more resistant” to the kind of manipulation scientists used, notes Clive Svendsen, a stem-cell researcher at the University of Wisconsin’s Waisman Center in Madison, Wis. Still, he adds, “it is truly amazing that they can produce cells that look like embryonic stem cells.”
Three scientific teams published separate studies on Wednesday showing that embryonic stem cells can be made by reprogramming some of the genes in adult skin cells, without having to create an embryo â?? at least in mice.
â??Thereâ??s still a ways to go but at first blush, the results are very encouraging and itâ??s certainly a boost for the stem cell research business,â? said Terry Devitt, a director at the University of Wisconsinâ??s stem cell research programme. â??But we still have a bottleneck in the federal government. Weâ??re hamstrung because the research is inadequately funded.â?
Quoted: Alfred McCoy, a history professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who has written extensively about the history of CIA interrogation, agrees with Krongard that the CIA will continue to employ sensory deprivation.
Quoted: Clive N. Svendsen, co-director of the Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Quoted: Dave Black said webcasting has become common for smaller stations, like Burlington’s, for which signal strength is usually an issue. The technology allows smaller stations to reach larger audiences.
Black, general manager of WSUM, the campus station at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said college radio stations like his tend to be early adapters of this type of technology. The Madison college station has been Webcasting since 1996.
Thao, also a Madison parks commissioner, proposed naming a park after Pao. He later backed off the idea after UW-Madison historian Alfred McCoy renewed allegations from his 1972 book that Pao engaged in drug trafficking with the CIA.
McCoy’s allegations angered the Hmong. Thao and George hit back, publicly questioning McCoy’s scholarship and asking the university for an investigation.
McCoy recalls Thao organizing busloads of Hmong protesters to picket outside his office for three weeks demanding that he be fired. He was not.
By MALCOLM RITTER
AP Science Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — In a leap forward for stem cell research, three independent teams of scientists reported Wednesday that they have produced the equivalent of embryonic stem cells in mice without the controversial destruction of embryos.
They got ordinary skin cells to behave like stem cells. If the same could be done with human cells – a big if – the procedure could lead to breakthrough medical treatments without the contentious ethical and political debates surrounding the use of embryos.
Experts were impressed by the achievement.
Quoted (in 6/6/07 Capital Times): UW-Madison stem cell researcher Clive Svendsen)
