If the incident in question causes you continued distress and negatively impacts your life, that’s where the f-word — forgiveness — may have a role to play, said psychologist Robert Enright, a pioneer in the field of forgiveness science and professor of educational psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Category: UW Experts in the News
Renewables’ growing price advantage over fossil fuels paves way for industry dominance
And installing technologies to capture greenhouse gasses on fossil fuel power plants would further raise prices for a sector already struggling to compete with renewables, as Gregory Nemet, a professor at the University of Wisconsin who studies the public policy of technology change, told The Hill.
Opinion | This Economy Has Bigger Problems Than ‘Bad Vibes’
Jessica Calarco, a sociologist at the University of Wisconsin, calls the way our society relies on families to independently support social reproduction a “D.I.Y. society.”
A third of Wisconsin is still in drought. What does that mean for our winter?
“Farmers would welcome warm and dry (conditions) to get out and have things planted in a timely fashion, but they need moisture in the soil for germination and early growth,” said Chris Kucharik, a plant and agrosystem sciences professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
World’s Stinkiest Cheese Hits Supermarket Shelves in Britain
“I think that there are a small group of people out there that just love it,” said Dr. Mark Johnson, a scientist at the Center for Dairy Research at the University of Wisconsin. “It’s almost like an ‘I dare you to eat it’ kind of thing, like hot peppers.”
How Much Can Forests Fight Climate Change? A Sensor in Space Has Answers.
“Nearly all protected areas are becoming much more accessible and much more vulnerable,” said Lisa Naughton, a researcher who studies protected areas at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “Not just to local subsistence hunting and illicit timber extraction, but to things like artisanal mining and road penetration.”
Couples Are Embracing Joint Custody. American Policy Isn’t.
Although the increase is steepest among high-income couples, it’s happening across the socioeconomic spectrum, Daniel Meyer, a social-work professor at the University of Wisconsin at Madison who studies child custody, told me.
The forgiving brain
During the holiday season, we’re often encouraged to make amends and forgive people, but what does it take to really forgive someone? And what happens to your brain and body when you do… or don’t? In this episode, Dr. Sanjay Gupta talks with forgiveness science pioneer, Robert Enright. He’s been studying and writing about forgiveness for decades at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and he says forgiveness is a choice, and that your ability to do it can be strengthened like a muscle. Enright walks us through a range of scenarios, from forgiving small things like being late for a meeting to larg
Could nuclear fusion power the future?
Several companies say they’re close to achieving nuclear fusion that could be used as clean energy. Cary Forest, a physics professor at UW-Madison, explains why fusion is so difficult to achieve and whether commercial fusion is realistic.
Studying Wisconsin’s class of 1957
How does late adolescence impact you in your 80s? A decades-long study aims to answer that question after following thousands of students who graduated from Wisconsin high schools in 1957. We hear from Michal Engleman, an associate professor of sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and current director of the study, on takeaways from one of the longest longitudinal studies in the country.
After latest ruling, what abortion restrictions still exist in Wisconsin?
“There are many restrictions, where Wisconsin goes is back to where it was in June 2022, before the Dobbs decision,” said Amy Williamson, associate director of the Collaborative for Reproductive Equity at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Not getting a COVID-19 vaccine could lead to preterm birth in pregnant women, new study shows
“All evidence indicates that the vaccine is very safe and effective,” said Jenna Nobles, a demographer and professor of sociology at University of Wisconsin-Madison and study co-author. “In addition, it shows that avoiding the vaccine is what is potentially harmful for the pregnancy. This is an important piece of information for patients to have.”
Home buyers end the mortgage rate wait, will swallow higher prices to make a deal now
People are generally staying in their homes longer, says Mark Eppli, director of the Graaskamp Center for Real Estate at the University of Wisconsin. In 1988, for example, “your average time in a house was 10 or 11 years.” Today, he says, it’s 20 years.
“That’s really long; inventory’s going to stay low,” Eppli says. “With high interest rates making housing all the less affordable…it’s going to keep people in their houses even more.”
Quantum computer sets record on path towards error-free calculations
“It’s a big deal to have that many logical qubits. A very remarkable result for any quantum computing platform,” says Mark Saffman at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He says the new quantum computer greatly benefits from being made of atoms that are controlled by light because this kind of control is very efficient.
New York, Wisconsin brace for critical redistricting battles
Barry Burden, professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said that “just about any process is going to result in more competitive maps,” but he suggested that Democrats still face challenges in their effort to gain more control of the state Legislature.
“Although it’s a 50-50 state and Democrats do win lots of statewide races, especially in the last few years, because of the way Democratic voters are concentrated in more urban communities around the state, it’s difficult, I think, even for a neutral process, to produce a map that’s going to result in a 50-50 Legislature,” he said.
‘Plant hardiness’ can help map Wisconsin’s changing climate. Here’s how.
The map is meant for horticulture, not agriculture, said Chris Kucharik, a plant and agrosystem sciences professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, because farmers in the Midwest have largely been planting the same crops for decades.
Since the last map was released in 2012, all of Wisconsin’s hardiness zones have shifted about half a zone warmer, said Laura Jull, associate professor in the plant and agrosystem sciences department at UW-Madison.
Hanukkah brings 8 days of light, hope and food to Madison, as war rages in Gaza
The eight-day December celebration is one that UW-Madison Classical Judaism Professor Jordan Rosenblum says always leaves a good taste in his mouth, blending history with modern culinary indulgence.
“There’s a nice connection. (The food) also happens to be delicious,” Rosenblum said.
‘Moderate’ or Roe v Wade killer: can Trump have it both ways on abortion?
Howard Schweber, a professor of American politics and political theory at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said that “Trump has what, in my experience of observing politics, seems like a nearly unique ability to maintain cognitive dissonance in ways that his supporters find untroubling.
Tasting cheese for dairy research
When the University of Wisconsin-Madison posted five part-time cheese tasting positions for its Center for Dairy Research, more than two hundred people applied for the jobs. Brandon Prochaska, the center’s sensory coordinator, tells us what it takes to taste cheese for scientific research.
Toasting Prohibition’s end: Turns out this ‘failure’ led to longer life spans
Written by Jason Fletcher, a professor of public affairs at UW-Madison’s La Follette School of Public Affairs with appointments in Applied Economics and Population Health Sciences.
2023 Hurricane Season Ends: A Recap of This Year’s Storms
“Such warm water ‘sets the stage’ for these events,” James P. Kossin, a climate scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, wrote in an email.
COP28 president draws fierce backlash with attack on climate science
“Cheap renewables have killed the economics of gas and coal power generation with carbon capture — and even more so going forward,” Gregory Nemet, a University of Wisconsin professor who studies the public policy of technological change, told The Hill.
More States Now Require Financial Literacy Classes in High Schools
But a recent study she wrote with Melody Harvey, an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, found no impact on eventual retirement savings. Perhaps, she said, for teenagers heading to college or just entering the work force, the idea of retiring is too distant.
Wisconsin veterinarian gives insight into unusual dog respiratory illness
To learn more about the unusual disease, Lake Effect spoke with Dr. Keith Poulsen, a veterinarian and director of the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory.
Russia Issues Ominous Warning About ‘Next Victim’
Mikhail Troitskiy, professor of practice at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, told Newsweek that Lavrov’s comments “double down” on Russia’s view that it was encouraged or forced to invade Ukraine because that nation was moving closer to NATO admittance.
A 4-second power nap? These penguin parents survive on ‘microsleeps.’
Anyone who has ever nodded off briefly while on the subway or watching TV has experienced a microsleep, says Chiara Cirelli, a neuroscientist at the University of Wisconsin who wasn’t involved in the study.
Reading expert Emily Hanford says simply buying new curriculum won’t fix what’s wrong with reading instruction
One of the people who have had the most influence on her, Hanford said, is University of Wisconsin-Madison psychology professor Mark Seidenberg, author of the book “Language at the Speed of Sight: How We Read, Why So Many Can’t, and What Can Be Done About It.”
Like Hanford, Seidenberg cautioned at a reading conference at Monona Terrace in Madison in February that a full range of needs must be addressed if more children are to become successful readers. He included good early childhood experiences as one of the things that matter.
As utilities close coal-burning plants, debate shifts to role of natural gas in energy future
Scientists have said the world needs to reach net-zero emissions by 2050 to avoid the worst effects of climate change. Energy expert Greg Nemet, a public policy professor at University of Wisconsin-Madison, said any new natural gas plants would guarantee fossil fuel emissions beyond that date, or they would need to be shut down early.
We’re That Much Likelier to Get Sick Now
To toss any additional respiratory virus into that mess is burdensome; for that virus to be SARS-CoV-2 ups the ante all the more. “This is a more serious pathogen that is also more infectious,” Ajay Sethi, an epidemiologist at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, told me.
Climate change has pushed Madison into new zone on USDA’s ‘plant hardiness’ map
“We’re getting warmer and wetter, and a lot of that precipitation is happening in the winter,” said Lisa Johnson, a horticulture outreach specialist with the UW extension in Dane County. “That I think is really causing farmers more issues. If you have deeper snow cover or it’s rainier in spring, then you can’t get out into the fields.”
UW-Madison professor discusses upcoming United Nations climate change conference
Professor Sumudu Atapattu is the director of the Global Legal Studies Center at UW-Madison Law School. She’ll be attending the conference and spoke to WORT News Producer Faye Parks earlier this afternoon. Professor Atapattu says that human rights and climate change are inextricably tied – and the nations of the world need to prepare.
The Chicken Tycoons vs. the Antitrust Hawks
“These are issues that have festered for a quarter of a century or more,” says Peter Carstensen, an emeritus professor at the University of Wisconsin law school who focuses on antitrust issues in agriculture. “So we’ve finally got an administration that says: ‘We get it, there are some problems here. Maybe we should do something.’”
State universities to start proactively admitting students next year
As students face college application deadlines, we explore a new approach to admissions being adopted by the Universities of Wisconsin. Next year, most campuses plan to start proactively informing Wisconsin high schoolers who are eligible to enroll based on their academic performance. Interview with Taylor Odle, an assistant professor of Educational Policy Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Wisconsinites observe negotiations at United National Climate Change Conference
Several representatives from the University of Wisconsin-Madison are observing the negotiations in Dubai. Sumudu Atapattu, director of the Global Legal Studies Center at the University of Wisconsin Law School; Jonathan Patz, director of the Global Health Institute at UW-Madison; and Nova Tebbe, a PhD student focusing on the health benefits of climate mitigation policy, will share what they learn with a virtual audience on Dec. 4.
Kristen Roman: From University of Wisconsin – Madison volleyball standout to Chief of Campus Police
Chief Kristen Roman has long understood the value of teamwork. Roman, originally from Illinois, was a standout athlete on the UWMadison volleyball team, recording over 1,161 kills and 1,107 digs. She graduated from the university in 1988 with degrees in both English literature and women’s studies. Now Roman serves as the university’s Chief of Campus Police, and the fieldhouse where she spent four years playing volleyball is visible from her office window.
UW Madison expert warns against de-humanizing victims during Israel-Hamas war
Associate Professor Samer Alatout works in the Department of Community and Environmental Sociology and said hostages, prisoners and those killed often don’t get their stories told.
Studies find methods for removing carbon dioxide must develop faster to meet climate goals
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison say new technologies for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere must be developed faster to meet goals to reduce global warming.
Tom Still: Expert on AI jitters — Calm down, learn to use it, keep people at its center
Enter the steadying voice of Charles Isbell Jr., a nationally recognized expert in computing and AI who started work this summer at the UW-Madison as its latest provost.
If the UW-Madison were a private company, the role of provost might best be described as “chief academic officer.” It is historically the No. 2 position on campus behind the chancellor. Isbell is settling into that role across UW-Madison’s many colleges and schools, but he also brings a wealth of experience in what is one of the defining technological moments in a generation.
Best credit cards for good credit
Someone who already has a “good credit score” likely already has several credit cards. With credit scores, sometimes it can be easy to constantly pursue perfection–a FICO score of 850. The reality is that a score of 720 or above will provide individuals with strong credit offers across the board. More cards is not always better. — Jonathon Ferguson, financial capability specialist, University of Wisconsin-Madison-Financial Education Division of Extension
Bipartisan bill would make it easier to treat veterans’ PTSD with magic mushrooms
To give Wisconsin veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder more options, a bipartisan group of lawmakers is working to make it easier for researchers to treat those with acute PTSD with the active ingredient in hallucinogenic mushrooms.
The bill would create a state trust fund called the “medicinal psilocybin treatment program” that would be administered by researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Fact check: Claim that Tammy Baldwin voted to send millions to Iran that bankrolled Hamas, Hezbollah is Mostly False
Foreign policy analysts previously told PolitiFact National fungibility is a legitimate concern in this case.
However, Andrew Kydd, a University of Wisconsin-Madison political science professor, added a caveat to fungibility.“This still frees up their budget constraint to spend other money on other things,” Kydd wrote in an email to us. “But by this logic anyone who buys something at Walmart is supporting the Chinese nuclear arsenal.”
Raft of state constitutional amendments could be coming in Wisconsin, beginning with 2 in 2024
“Republicans’ only real backstop to prevent undoing of their conservative legislative and judicial accomplishments over the past 15 years is their majorities in the state Legislature,” said Barry Burden, UW-Madison politics professor and director of the Elections Research Center. “Enshrining some conservative ideas in the state Constitution is a way to protect them even if Republicans lack full control over state government.”
Madison School District’s lunches are improving, but minds and habits are harder to change
Jennifer Gaddis, a school nutrition expert at UW-Madison who works with the Madison School District, said these participation rates raise some red flags.
As the second-largest school district in the state, in a city that prides itself on local food options, Gaddis said she thinks it’s a “failure” that administration and the community are not “demanding more.”
Wisconsin’s ‘Happy Days cohort’ is helping researchers understand aging
“We’re trying to understand how this rich data that we collected when they were younger and in middle age is influencing their memory and cognitive function now,” said Michal Engelman, a UW-Madison sociology professor who directs the study.
“There’s biological and physiological processes, but there’s also the social and economic environment,” Engelman said. “All of these things work together to shape people’s well-being through their life course.”
Reducing intake of one amino acid improves longevity & health in mice
Studies into the benefits of protein-restricted diets have shown that lower protein consumption is associated with a decreased risk of age-related diseases and mortality and improved metabolic health. Now, exploring alternatives to calorie-restricting diets, researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have found that reducing the intake of a single amino acid in mice extended their lifespan, making them leaner, less frail, and less susceptible to cancer.
“We like to say a calorie is not just a calorie,” said Dudley Lamming, corresponding author of the study. “Different components of your diet have value and impact beyond their function as a calorie, and we’ve been digging in on one component that many people may be eating too much of.”
Could vertical farms help fill unwanted office space?
One challenge to vertical farms moving into office and residential buildings comes from local zoning bylaws.
That’s why, across the country, some cities, including Boston and Cleveland are amending their zoning bylaws to support urban farming. Still, these changes depend on the type of agriculture and the resources available, said Alfonso Morales, a professor at the University of Wisconsin’s Department of Planning and Landscape Architecture.
“They’re [cities] going to vary in the process by which people can start a farm, and the complexities, the number of permits, or licenses to pull,” Morales said.
Wausau City Council dismisses effort to change water tax collection system
Manuel Teodoro, a UW-Madison associate professor who published a book on the connection between drinking water failures and public distrust, says the system used by cities like Wausau is a broken one. In his peer-reviewed paper, Teodoro said the ability of low-income families to pay for basic water and sewer services is a subject of increasing concern. He also wrote about this issue in a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel opinion piece.
“When people pay taxes through their water bills, the government response to nonpayment is denial of a life-sustaining service,” Teodoro said. “Nobody should have their water shut off because the city wants money for a jail or to pay a city employee’s pension.”
There’s a new mysterious respiratory illness infecting dogs, and it’s probably come to Wisconsin
National media outlets, including the New York Times and AP, have reported on cases of the illness in numerous states, notably Colorado, Massachusetts, Oregon, New Hampshire and Rhode Island. However, veterinarian Dr. Keith Poulsen, director of the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, said every state, including Wisconsin, has probably seen cases of the new dog respiratory illness.
“What we’re seeing is multiple different states seeing different types of respiratory disease, and there are some outbreaks that we’re not getting an answer to with our in-depth diagnostic tests,” Poulsen said.
Madison will reduce winter road salt by 6% to cut pollution
That’s because salt, rainwater and snowmelt drain into the storm sewer system, which then discharges into Lakes Mendota and Monona, UW-Madison limnologist Hilary Dugan told the Cap Times last year.
“The city has been very forward-thinking in reducing (its) salt use,” Dugan said. “It’s frustrating when you cross over from city-maintained paths to campus-maintained paths because the sudden change in practice is just so noticeable.”
Tubas in Wisconsin: Getting down to brass tacks
Sonically, as with polka, this band’s music needs the tuba section as its foundation, said Corey Pompey, UW Marching Band director and associate director of bands at UW-Madison.
It’s just an important sound, an important voice in the band, that we just have to have“When we talk about the roots of the chords, we’re talking about basslines,” Corey said. “If we’re playing jazz, or if we’re playing some more contemporary music, for that matter, the bass is important — and rock music, too. It’s just an important sound, an important voice in the band, that we just have to have.”
The state of mental health across Wisconsin’s public universities in 4 charts
Late fall is crunch time for John Achter and his team of counselors across the state public university system.
The novelty of the new school year has worn off, the realities of classes have set in and finals are looming. An increasing number of students have been seeking counseling in recent years, often during this stressful period of the semester.
New analysis looks at relationship between gender, wages and trust in tap water
A recent analysis from a UW-Madison professor finds that bottled water consumption is most prevalent among low-income women, signaling a distrust in household tap water. We speak with Manny Teodoro, an associate Professor in the LaFollette School of Public Affairs/Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies at UW-Madison.
Samer Alatout on achieving peace in Gaza and Israel
UW-Madison sociology professor Samer Alatout, a native of Palestine, shares thoughts about nationalism, the historical relationship between Palestinians and Israelis, and building a democratic state.
What’s the most Wisconsin Thanksgiving dinner you could eat? Here’s what the data shows
Wisconsin produces almost two-thirds of the world’s cranberries. They have been harvested in Wisconsin for as long as people have lived here, said Allison Jonjak, cranberry outreach specialist at the University of Wisconsin-Extension, who grew up on a cranberry marsh herself.
“This really represents America, and it happens to be harvested right before Thanksgiving,” Jonjak said. “Cranberries are ready right now, they’re emblematic of North America, and they go really well with most meats.”
Is eating cheese on your resume? In Wisconsin, it could be
When the University of Wisconsin’s Center for Dairy Research publicized it was looking for a new crew of cheese tasters, the response was exuberant, as you might expect in a state known as the country’s cheese capital.
250 people applied for five part-time jobs available. The Center rigorously trains them to analyze cheese made and provided by graduate student researchers, pizza makers and the state’s esteemed cheese industry.
What the new state geologist wants Wisconsinites to know about shared natural resources
The state Geological and Natural History Survey researches and provides environmental data that helps inform institutional decisions that can affect our environment. We’ll talk with Sue Swanson, Wisconsin’s new state geologist who is also director of the Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey through University of Wisconsin-Madison, about who they work with and how their data is used.
An Ohio man was laid off shortly after moving to Wisconsin. How to protect yourself in an at-will state
Associated Bank confirmed Ernst was laid off due to restructuring but declined to comment further.
While his layoff may have felt egregious, employment law expert Alexia Kulwiec said that both in Wisconsin and across the country, with exception of Montana, employees are hired “at-will.”
“This means that an employer can terminate employment for a good reason, bad reason, or no reason at all, unless there are specific legal prohibitions or a contractual agreement,” said Kulwiec, a law professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Holiday shopping season is a critical time for Madison-area store owners
That’s true for all businesses, big or small, said Cliff Robb, professor of consumer science at UW-Madison.
“I do think there will be crowds,” he said. “People will be shopping, but they will be much more bargain-oriented. Consumers may be more willing to wait out deals.”
Wisconsin Supreme Court to hear arguments in case that could overturn Republican-drawn legislative maps
University of Wisconsin-Madison Associate Professor of Law Robert Yablon is the co-director of the State Democracy Research Initiative and filed a brief with other scholars challenging the current maps. He told WPR the contiguity argument presented by Democrats is “rooted in the original meaning and practice of the Constitution.”
“And so I suppose it’s not surprising that, over time, the political sides that have argued it one way or the other have changed depending on what they viewed as their interests at the moment,” Yablon said.
If you think gratitude and thankfulness make you feel better, you’re right. And science backs it up.
When neuroscientists talk about gratitude, they often cluster it with other social and moral emotions like appreciation and compassion. That’s no coincidence. These emotions activate similar networks in our brains, said Cortland Dahl, a scientist at the Center for Healthy Minds, part of the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
“Gratitude, I would say, is a very specific version of (appreciation), where we’re oriented to something we really appreciate that has benefited us personally — somebody else’s presence in our lives, how they’ve supported us, being the most common expression of that,” Dahl said.