Another hurdle is getting local, state and federal labs all working together. “There are lots of cats that need to be herded,” said University of Wisconsin virologist Thomas Friedrich.
“Miss Carson” was Rachel Carson, who would later make history with her book “Silent Spring,” about the dangers of the pesticide DDT. Stanley Temple would become Dr. Temple, a well-known bird conservationist and a professor of wildlife ecology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Quoted: Dr. James Conway, a UW Health pediatrician and vaccine expert, and Ajay Sethi, a UW-Madison infectious disease epidemiologist.
Debunking that information is a challenge, but an expert UW-Madison associate professor of Public Health Services Ajay Sethi is on a mission to shut down misinformation surrounding the vaccine.
The shooting in Indianapolis is just one of 45 mass shootings across the country in just over four weeks. UW-Madison communication arts professor Joanne Cantor said people are feeling the emotional impact. “There’s a potential with one after the other after the other to be desensitized,” Cantor said, adding, “On the other hand, it can make you feel worse and worse and worse.”
Written by John B. Diamond, the Kellner Family Distinguished Chair in Urban Education and a professor in the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s education school, and Jennifer Cheatham, a senior lecturer on education and the co-chair of the Public Education Leadership Project at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and former superintendent of the Madison school district in Wisconsin.
In 1957, when Marvin Kalb joined CBS Radio in New York to write local news, television was called “electronic journalism,” and the backdrop for the “CBS Morning News” was a cardboard sign hanging above a desk on the fifth floor of the Grand Central Terminal building. The United States had yet to recognize what it referred to as “Red China” diplomatically, and Edward R. Murrow still worked for CBS
-Kathryn J. McGarr is an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin at Madison and the author of “The Whole Damn Deal: Robert Strauss and the Art of Politics.” Her forthcoming book is about Washington foreign policy reporters in the early Cold War.
But visualizing or trying to understand “how many” a billion dollars is doesn’t really help us understand any better how much money a billionaire has. Jordan Ellenberg, professor of mathematics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and author of “Shape: The Hidden Geometry of Information, Biology, Strategy, Democracy, and Everything Else,” said thinking about “how much” a billion dollars is is more useful. Basically, how rich is a billionaire?
Steven Wright, an associate professor at the University of Wisconsin Law School, said second-degree manslaughter is a charge for offenses that are not planned — one example in the statute specifically addresses hunting accidents, not uncommon in Minnesota.
“From a social science perspective, the decision from the governor to not go towards a lockdown I think is a sensible one,” said Dominique Brossard, chair of the Department of Life Sciences Communication at the University of Wisconsin. “You need to work with what you have as far as people’s psychological state.”
Joe Biden’s election gave some a glimmer of hope that the current $1.8 trillion mountain of student debt might finally be eliminated. Pressure from social movement groups, including the Movement for Black Lives and the Debt Collective, alongside progressive politicians such as Senator Bernie Sanders and Representatives Pramila Jayapal, Jamaal Bowman, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, have made the once-utopian demand for full student debt cancellation into a distinct political possibility.
Quoted: According to Lori Kido Lopez, an associate professor of media and cultural studies at the University of Wisconsin Madison, the reduction of that identity to “something that can be consumed in a mainstream way erases the radical roots of that history,” which was born out of anti-imperialist and civil rights activism in the 1960s.
Persuading people to get a COVID-19 vaccine remains a challenge even as more than a 120 million people in the U.S. have received at least one dose.
Public health officials have struggled to find persuasive and accessible approaches throughout the pandemic, from explaining where COVID-19 originated to how the virus spreads among individuals, along with steps to prevent its transmission, its inequitable impacts on people’s lives, and now relevant risks and benefits information about vaccines.
-Dominique Brossard, Todd Newman, Emily Howell
If this new and perplexing reality has added to your stress, you’re not alone. “It has really produced a ton of new anxiety, this process of reopening, re-engaging with social interactions after a year trying to avoid them,” said Malia Jones, a community health scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The vaccines seem to have provided a promising path out of the pandemic, she said, “but also, oh my God, we have to renegotiate every single one of these situations.”
It’s tricky to predict how long the rest of the clinical trials and approval processes will take, but Dr. James Conway, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health who oversees vaccination programs there, said that it’s likely that vaccines will be available for 12- to 15-year-olds this summer, for 5- to 11-year-olds in late 2021, and for babies over 6 months old, toddlers and preschoolers in early 2022.
The “Mom Mentor” of Milwaukee and an assistant professor in UW-Madison’s Department of Population Health Sciences explain how systemic racism contributes to negative outcomes for pregnant Black women.
A few lines above hers in the table of contents, Pickens saw the name of Sami Schalk, another colleague. Schalk, who studies race, gender, and disability in American literature as an associate professor at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, also did not know she was going to be included in the reader. She messaged several of the other authors and soon formed a group text, which migrated to Facebook, then an email chain.
“There’s no other way to say it- it’s completely unproven whether these devices would work in a real-world setting,” said University of Wisconsin-Madison chemistry professor Timothy Bertram, according to Kaiser Health News (KHN).
“Teachers reported lower levels of perceived stress and depression, and absenteeism went down, all during the highly stressful Covid-19 pandemic,” says Cortland Dahl, PhD, chief contemplative officer at HealthyMinds Innovations and a research scientist at the Center for Healthy Minds at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Oguzhan Alagoz is a University of Wisconsin-Madison professor who studies infectious disease modeling. He agrees another surge in cases in Wisconsin would likely not be as bad as surges before vaccinations started.
“Even if we do see an increase in cases, as long as we vaccinate the vulnerable individuals, our hospitalization and deaths are not going to be as bad as what we have seen over the last several months,” Alagoz said.
“This paper will drive people to look at the importance of butterflies as pollinators,” says Karen Oberhauser, a butterfly biologist at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, who was not involved in the research. If the results hold up in other crops, butterflies might be added to a short list of commercially important pollinators including honey bees, bumble bees, hoverflies, and beetles.
University of Wisconsin-Madison chemistry professor Timothy Bertram told KHN that “it’s completely unproven whether these devices would work in a real-world setting.” He added his research has shown that ion-generating and hydroxyl-releasing products may create potentially harmful ozone or other small particles, and that tried-and-true air filtration tech is the most effective option.
“In the whole global accounting of Crispr [gene editing] therapies, somatic cell genome editing is going to be a large fraction of that,” says Krishanu Saha, a bioengineer at University of Wisconsin-Madison who is currently part of a consortium investigating the technique’s safety. “I mean, that’s certainly the case now, if you look at where trials are, where investment is.”
“It’s a nice, clean demonstration” of movement’s benefits, says Martha Alibali, a psychologist at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, who studies gesture in education and was not involved in the study. A model, she says, is “a super important concept, a really foundational statistical concept.”
“This paper will drive people to look at the importance of butterflies as pollinators,” says Karen Oberhauser, a butterfly biologist at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, who was not involved in the research. If the results hold up in other crops, butterflies might be added to a short list of commercially important pollinators including honey bees, bumble bees, hoverflies, and beetles.
“It’s a nice, clean demonstration” of movement’s benefits, says Martha Alibali, a psychologist at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, who studies gesture in education and was not involved in the study. A model, she says, is “a super important concept, a really foundational statistical concept.”
“One of the reasons I wanted to fight this virus as hard as we have was to get them back to some sense of normalcy,” Dr. William Hartman, UW-Health Astrazeneca covid vaccine trial principal investigator said.
Quoted: “I think we’re all at the edge of our seat, fingers crossed we don’t experience that, but all the signs indicate that we could experience it,” said Ajay Sethi, an epidemiologist and professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “We’re headed in the wrong direction.”
Although vaccines appear to be highly effective against new variants of COVID-19, not enough of the population is yet vaccinated to prevent a surge without other precautions, Sethi said.
“It doesn’t happen in the summer,” says Beth Drolet, professor and chair of dermatology at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, who is studying the covid toe phenomenon. “The toes can stay blue for weeks, but eventually go back to normal.”
As the vaccine rollout accelerates this spring and summer, “we would expect to see a decrease in post vaccination covid toes,” says Lisa Arkin, director of pediatric dermatology at Wisconsin. “Covid toes are easily treatable with rewarming. They resolve spontaneously. Sometimes, we use topical medicines to treat inflammation in the skin. Most patients experience mild swelling and itch, which resolves within days to weeks.”
A toxic substance is likely killing off the axons, says Ian Duncan, a neurologist at the University of Wisconsin who has collaborated with the FWC. He’s an expert on disorders affecting the myelin sheath, the fatty layer that protects nerve fibers in a mammal’s central nervous system. Initially it looked like FLM may involve deterioration of the myelin sheath, but analysis of the dead panthers’ spinal cords showed that not to be the case.
Dr. Makeba Williams, an OB-GYN at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, told Insider flying during pregnancy is generally safe before 36 weeks, though more precautions are needed during the pandemic, especially if you’re not vaccinated.
“It’s unfortunate we have to talk about [flying while pregnant] in the context of a death,” she said, “but it’s relevant to a lot of people.”
“The increased likelihood for a recently widowed person to die — often called the “widowhood effect” — is one of the best documented examples of the effect of social relations on health,” wrote Dr. Nicholas Christakis, who runs the Human Nature Lab at Yale University and coauthor Felix Elwert, a professor of sociology at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, in a seminal 2008 study.
“The take-home message is that infrastructure in most parts of the country is no longer performing at the level that it’s supposed to because of the big changes that we’ve seen in extreme rainfall,” said Daniel Wright, a hydrologist at the University of Wisconsin at Madison and co-author of the study.
Quoted: “I think it’s safe to say Wisconsin elections are now going to be mixed-mode operations for the foreseeable future,” said political scientist Barry Burden of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
“A good chunk will vote on election day, as they always have, but there will also be a good chunk voting earlier,” either in person or with a mail ballot, Burden said.
“Seeds are ultimately what feed us and the animals we eat,” Jack Kloppenburg, a rural sociologist and professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said. “Control over seeds is, in many ways, control over the food supply. The question of who produces new plant varieties is absolutely critical for the future of all of us.”
“They were angry and ignorant of treaty rights,” said Larry Nesper, a professor of anthropology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who witnessed some of the confrontations. “I heard one person say, ‘I’m poor, I’ve got a crappy education, I don’t have a lot of nice things, but at least I’m not a damn Indian.’”
Quoted: It’s a step in the right direction, according to Barry Orton, a retired University of Wisconsin-Madison telecommunications professor who has helped local governments with telecom issues.
“The words are good,” Orton said, but the proof will come in the details.
Still, many American homeowners strive for a perfectly uniform, bright green lawn. And according to research by Paul Robbins, PhD, professor and dean at the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, many do this in spite of misgivings about the sometimes mysterious chemical inputs involved.
Bailey is a licensed psychologist at the Family Therapy Center of Madison. She is also a college instructor, and clinical consultant at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Psychology. Dr. Bailey recommends people balance being informed with making sure to not be overwhelmed.
“Even in the communities that do the best job of this, those summer meals are only reaching a fraction of the kids who normally get fed during the school year,” said Judi Bartfeld, a food security research and policy specialist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
The vaccines have been tested on tens of thousands of people in clinical trials, millions have been inoculated across the globe and complications have been rare. Still, there are those who are taking a wait-and-see approach, said Patrick Remington, former epidemiologist for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and director of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Preventive Medicine Residency program.
UW-Madison Professor Jonathan Martin answers that question in his new book “Reginald Sutcliffe and the Invention of Modern Weather Systems Science.”
UW professor Frank Tuerkheimer noticed the lack of diversity in education, specifically around the Holocaust. He decided to leave his career as a federal prosecutor and become a teacher in order to increase Holocaust awareness. Tuerkheimer teaches a course on the post-Holocaust prosecution of those who contributed to the death of Jewish people.
Dr. James H. Conway, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said what we really care about is a vaccine’s effectiveness — its real-world potential.
Testing will remain crucial to this effort, and screening programs are starting to ramp up at re-opening schools and offices, the story states. Testing also will be important to determining how well the COVID-19 vaccines protect against variants of SARS-CoV-2, according to a University of Wisconsin, Madison, virologist quoted in the piece.
These factors make Wisconsin well-prepared for the next phase of its immunization campaign, as the challenge of insufficient supply gives way to issues of access and vaccine hesitancy, said Jonathan Temte, associate dean for public health and community engagement at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. That’s because a robust network of small and midsized providers allows tailored outreach to vulnerable or resistant groups.
Beth Olson, an associate professor and extension specialist in the nutritional sciences department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said another emphasis of the guidelines that were released in December is choosing nutrient-dense food to ensure we’re getting what we need and trimming off excess.
UW epidemiologist Ajay Sethi calls the potential eligibility of 12- to 15-year-olds “a very important step to increase immunity to the virus in our community.” But he said it may take time to get some parents on board. Some, he said, will probably wait and see if the virus is under control in terms of infection rates before making a decision, and some may decide to vaccinate their children after more is known about the disease.
Yesterday, President Joe Biden unveiled a massive, two trillion dollar plan to improve the nation’s infrastructure. For more on what the plan entails, and what it means for Wisconsinites, WORT Producer Jonah Chester spoke with Greg Nemet, a Professor of Public Affairs at UW-Madison.
Quoted: Basically, capital and investment are the main ingredients in economic growth, said Charles Engel, a professor of economics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
But capital and investment can only take you so far. Simeon Alder, a visiting assistant professor of economics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said exponential economic growth requires exponential new ideas, as new ideas are the fundamental engine of growth. (Think about the economic growth and improvement in standards of living that occurred during and since the Industrial Revolution.)
“The challenge with that is the more ideas you already have, the more new ideas you need to create in order to sustain that growth rate,” he said. “To get these extra ideas, you just need more and more people as sort of a general result.”
Quoted: When a national tour of the musical came to Madison, Wisconsin, in 2019, Lori Kido Lopez — a media and cultural studies professor at the University of Wisconsin, Madison — protested outside of the theater. As she told TODAY over Zoom, “Miss Saigon” embodies “the classic story of the self-sacrificing Asian woman.”
Kim, the protagonist, is a sex worker who falls passionately in love with an American GI — a romance that is, as Lopez pointed out, “already extremely uncomfortable because there’s a power dynamic where he’s paying her for sex.” He promises to take her back to the states; she promptly becomes pregnant. But the plan fails, leaving her languishing in war-torn Vietnam with a child to raise on her own.
Quoted: Dr. Jerlando F.L. Jackson described mentoring as “the sharing of information and guidance that helps demystify a pathway, whether that’s a pathway to and through a graduate program or a career pathway.” He’s the chair of educational leadership and policy analysis at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, as well as a Vilas Distinguished Professor.
For him, a meaningful mentee-mentor relationship means the two “walk together through one’s journey,” sharing successes and concerns.
Noted: Jumping worms were first identified in Wisconsin in 2013 at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Arboretum. Just eight years later, the worms have been reported just about everywhere in the state and are highlighted as an invasive species by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
“They are, if not in every county, close to it,” said Brad Herrick, an ecologist at the UW Arboretum.
University of Wisconsin School of Nursing Associate Professor Pamela McGranahan saw this crisis firsthand through working in the field. “We don’t talk enough about Black moms doing as well either,” McGranahan said in reference to Black women’s experience with pregnancy. “But at one point, Black women had four times more poor outcomes than white women.”
Quoted: “They didn’t give these news outlets a chance to engage this ethical reasoning, and I think that’s a problem,” said Kathleen Bartzen Culver, director of the Center for Journalism Ethics at the University of Wisconsin. “But I can see how this person thought it was not a problem” because such journalistic standards are not widely understood by the public.
Quoted: Buying products with racial equity in mind can make some people feel absolved from doing harder anti-racism work, like attending protests or advocating in their workplaces, says Aziza Jones, an incoming business professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
But Jones says other people respond differently. “Other people will see what they’ve done, this purchase of a product from a Black-owned business and take that as a signal to themselves, as a symbolic signal, of how important this cause is to them,” she says.
Quoted: “We’re going to miss the excitement with this batch,” University of Wisconsin entomologist PJ Liesch said. “If Wisconsinites really wanted to see these, you could drive a couple hours and get to parts of Indiana or Illinois and be able to see them, but it’s going to miss us here.”
Quoted: Moses Altsech, an expert in consumer behavior at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s School of Business, said if the price increases are small enough, some consumers might not even notice.
Altsech added that the company might also not have to worry about their customers buying different products because Kimberly-Clark’s competitors might take the opportunity to increase their prices, too.
“If commodity prices are the reason, the same reason that hurt Kimberly-Clark hurt its competitors, too,” Altsech said. “So everybody’s motivated to increase.”
Quoted: Gerrymandered districts are “the most important driver of election outcomes,” said Barry Burden, a political science professor and director of the Elections Research Center at University of Wisconsin-Madison.
“Although there are improvements to be made in the campaign finance system and in other election rules and practices,” he said, “the configuration of districts has proved to be the most powerful determinant of state legislative election results.”
In the wake of yesterday’s announcement that all adults in Wisconsin will be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine starting next week, WORT producer Jade Iseri-Ramos hosts a discussion of vaccine allocation ethics with Paul Kelleher, professor of bioethics and philosophy at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
Quoted: The lack of data on queer BIPOC farmers is also prevalent in academia, said Jaclyn Wypler, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who studies queer and transgender sustainable farmers in conservative rural communities. Wypler was recently hired as the Northeast project manager of the Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network at the National Young Farmers Coalition.
“There is discrimination for BIPOC folks and queer folks within academia, including within the environmental and rural and agricultural departments,” Wypler said. As a result, research studies that highlight their experiences are difficult to adequately fund.
