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Can Pets Contract Or Transmit COVID-19? A Virologist Answers Your Household Pet Questions

Wisconsin Public Radio

WHYsconsin has received numerous questions from audience members about COVID-19 and we are working to answer them. Here are the answers to some of those questions you have submitted. WPR’s Mary Kate McCoy spoke with Kristen Bernard, a virology professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, to answer some of your questions.

Coronavirus pandemic: 8 ways to stop spread of COVID-19 misinformation

USA Today

Quoted: “This is a moment where misinformation can have real consequences, beyond what we have seen in elections,” says Dhavan Shah, the Louis A. & Mary E. Maier-Bascom professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, director of the university’s Mass Communication Research Center and scientific director of the Center for Health Enhancement System Studies. “This is a moment where misinformation can have life-and-death consequences.”

How to talk to kids about the coronavirus pandemic

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Coronavirus is something kids are likely to be asking about a lot. When it comes up, Travis Wright, an associate professor of counseling psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said he recommends allowing the kids’ questions and concerns to guide the conversation. That way, you won’t inadvertently introduce fears that they didn’t already have.

Also quoted: “They can take over-the-counter medications and they will do just fine,” said Dr. Jeff Pothof, chief quality officer for UW Health. “I know people are worried about our kids. If we’ve got anything going for us, it doesn’t appear that COVID makes children too sick.”

 

Growing old with autism

Spectrum News

Quoted: “Looking at health in older adults with autism can tell us something about the result of a lifetime of the lived experience of being autistic, of the discrimination that comes with being autistic,” says Lauren Bishop, assistant professor of social work at the University of Wisconsin-Madison

‘It feels so final’: UW extends online coursework through spring, announces leave policy

The Capital Times

As University of Wisconsin-Madison students left town for spring break last week, they expected to be gone for a bit longer than usual to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. But on Tuesday, they were forced to quickly come to terms with a new announcement: there will be no more in-person instruction this spring.

These Lab Animals Will Help Fight Coronavirus

The New York Times

Dave O’Connor, a pathologist at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, is working with colleagues to test the usefulness of monkeys in the study of coronavirus treatments. He said that a Chinese group had already published some data on rhesus macaques and he had heard that more results from other labs around the world would be coming soon.

How Saunas Could Boost Your Mental Health

Outside Online

In 2016, Charles Raison, a researcher at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, published an intriguing study of 30 patients with clinical depression. Half of them rested on a bed while an infrared heat-lamp array raised their body temperature to 101.3 degrees.

US reaches moment of truth on coronavirus

The Hill

Quoted: “We’re currently in a worrisome situation because this is a disease for which people do not have natural immunity from past exposure, and there’s currently no vaccine and no treatment,” said Vicki Bier, a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who specializes in risk analysis for homeland security.

Facebook takedowns reveal sophistication of Russian trolls

The Washington Post

Quoted: That report, from University of Wisconsin-Madison professor Young Mie Kim, found that Russia-linked social media accounts are posting about the same divisive issues — race relations, gun laws and immigration — as they did in 2016, when the Kremlin polluted American voters’ feeds with messages about the presidential election. Facebook has since removed those accounts as well.

Ideal Glass Would Explain Why Glass Exists at All

Quanta Magazine

The hidden long-range order of this putative state could rival the more obvious orderliness of a crystal. “That observation right there was at the heart of why people thought there should be an ideal glass,” said Mark Ediger, a chemical physicist at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Russia Trying to Stoke U.S. Racial Tensions Before Election, Officials Say

The New York Times

Independent researchers continue to identify social media accounts with Russian links. Race was among the top issues that such accounts tried to foster division over, said Young Mie Kim, a University of Wisconsin professor who studies political communication online. Others included nationalism, immigration, gun control and gay rights.

In Human Nature, Crispr’s Origin Story Comes to Life

WIRED

Noted: There’s no doubt Human Nature will contribute to improving the public’s literacy about Crispr, including the differences between editing cells that can pass down those changes to future generations (germline cells, like sperm, ova, and embryos) and ones that can’t (somatic cells, or those from other body tissues). That’s critical for the future of the technology, says Alta Charo, a bioethicist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who appears in the film for her work on the National Academy of Sciences’ reports on the ethics of gene editing.

Report: Russian Social Accounts Sow Election Discord-Again

The New York Times

The report from University of Wisconsin-Madison professor Young Mie Kim found that Russia-linked social media accounts are posting about the same divisive issues — race relations, gun laws and immigration — as they did in 2016, when the Kremlin polluted American voters’ feeds with messages about the presidential election.

The Rise of Location Trackers for Kids as Young as 3

New York Times

Quoted: This is not to say that smartwatches for kids don’t have any benefits. As Heather Kirkorian, associate professor of| human development and family studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said that, for example, their texting and phone call functionality can be useful in a world where pay phones aren’t available the way they used to be.

2020 Democratic Primary Turnout Is a Problem

Rolling Stone

Quoted: Barry Burden, a political scientist at the University of Wisconsin who studies voter turnout, says Trump’s huge levels of support defy historical trends about sitting presidents who run for reelection. “A sitting incumbent running for reelection — that shouldn’t stimulate much interest,” Burden says. “It all runs a little contrary to what I think we would’ve expected.”

Why are so many more children nearsighted?

WHYY

The question should be, “How does the technology work for the kids?” said adolescent physician Megan Moreno, a professor of pediatrics at University of Wisconsin, Madison. “Why aren’t the kids getting outside? What is the reason? Is it the screen’s fault or part and parcel of our society? Taking away screens isn’t part of the solution.”

Democratic primary voters care about more than electability

The Washington Post

To explore this possibility, my colleagues at the University of Wisconsin at Madison’s Elections Research Center and I presented Democratic primary voters with a longer menu of reasons for their choice of candidates. In statewide surveys of 3,600 adults across the battleground states of Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, we asked respondents whether they planned to vote in their states’ primaries.

Airplanes and Coronavirus: How to Disinfect Your Space

The New York Times

Quoted: “Wiping down surfaces on a plane won’t hurt, as long as it doesn’t give you a false sense of security,” Andrew Mehle, associate professor of medical microbiology and immunology at the University of Wisconsin Madison, said, stressing that sanitizing your space on a plane should be done in conjunction with washing hands and following other best practices.

Will US troops leave Afghanistan?

The Washington Post

One possibility is that Trump will end up asking the Taliban for deeper concessions to reassure voters. But the big question is whether Trump’s hawkish reputation is enough to offset public skepticism about a peace deal with the Taliban.

Jessica L.P. Weeks is associate professor of political science and Trice faculty scholar at the University of Wisconsin at Madison.

Super Tuesday is upon us: Very soon, Democrats must unite or surrender to authoritarianism

Salon.com

Quoted: Barry Burden, director of the Elections Research Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “What benefit you see is probably because once you are on the rolls you are visible to canvassers and campaigns, making it possible for them to reach out to you,” he says. “Registering people to vote is not a silver bullet.”

The Feeling You Get After Surviving Layoffs Has A Name

HuffPost Life

After a layoff, “employees see less of an obligation to be loyal to the company, resulting in more of a free agent mentality,” said Charlie Trevor, a professor of management and human resources in the Wisconsin School of Business at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. “With this mentality comes the freedom to actively seek another job where, hopefully, one’s future will be less tenuous.”

Bernie Sanders leads Pa. primary in poll, with close race against Trump

Philadelphia Inquirer

“All three states are up for grabs in 2020,” said Barry Burden, director of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Elections Research Center, which conducted the poll. “Trump is in a more difficult position in Michigan than the other two states, but each of the Midwest battlegrounds could be won by either party, almost regardless of who becomes the Democratic nominee.”

This new device seems to pull electricity out of thin air

Popular Science

“I think it is very interesting work,” says Xudong Wang, a University of Wisconsin Madison engineer who works with other kinds of non-organic nanowires to harvest energy. “It is always exciting to see new materials and new concepts emerge to provide renewable energy solutions.”

Pier 1 Imports, the Struggling Home Goods Retailer, Files for Bankruptcy

The New York Times

“Twenty years ago, you could look at a product and you would really know that it came from Pier 1,” said Hart Posen, a professor of management at the University of Wisconsin School of Business who studies corporate decision-making during technological change. “They were really the only big national firm with that kind of unique identity.”

Varsity Blues scandal triggers talk of changing college admissions — don’t hold your breath

The Washington Post

While elite college admissions grab headlines, speakers also acknowledged that only a small proportion of Americans actually attend such schools. Some 40 percent of undergraduate students attend public two-year or for-profit institutions; only 55 colleges in the country admit fewer than 20 percent of their applicants, noted Nick Hillman, an associate professor in the education school at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.