Another sudden drought happened in the U.S. Southeast in 2016 and was a factor in devastating wildfires in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, said Jason Otkin, a study co-author and an atmospheric scientist at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
Tag: featured
Look! Webb Recaptures a Famous Hubble Image in Incredible New Detail
“Our whole program was ~24 hours, which isn’t that much time in the grand scheme of how much time other observatories have looked at it,” said Michael Maseda, an assistant professor of astronomy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, in a statement. “But, even in this relatively short amount of time, we’re starting to put together a new picture of how galaxies are growing at this really interesting point in the history of the Universe.”
Why Wisconsin Has Republicans Worried
“Extreme” is no overstatement. Robert Yablon, a law professor at the University of Wisconsin at Madison and a faculty co-director of the State Democracy Research Initiative, told me by email that although Democrats have won more of Wisconsin’s statewide elections in recent years than their Republican opponents have, “under the maps that the Republican-controlled legislature drew in 2011, Republicans maintained an iron grip on the legislature throughout the last decade—even in years when Democratic candidates won more votes statewide.”
‘A nightmare’: Texas parents say their baby was taken by CPS after using midwifery care for jaundice
Jaundice occurs when blood contains an excess amount of bilirubin. “For most babies, this is not a big deal, it clears out,” Tiffany Green, an associate professor in the obstetrics and gynecology department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, told Yahoo News. “But for a certain small subset of babies, high levels of bilirubin can lead to brain damage, including cerebral palsy and other illnesses.”
How a Fourth Traffic Light Color Could Make Self-Driving Cars a Reality
“The way our roads are built — the things that changed the 1890s city to the kind of city we have today — a lot of that came out of conflict between the rights and responsibilities of different kinds of road users,” says Cameron Roberts, a sustainability and transportation researcher at the University of Wisconsin.
NATO Ally Bordering Russia to Meet With Top U.S. Weapons Makers
“I think it is important for Poland to keep up its credentials as an indispensable ally of the United States in Europe—especially in light of the pre-war frictions that marred Poland’s relationship with European Union bodies,” Mikhail Troitskiy, professor of practice at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, told Newsweek via email. “Warsaw is likely to be considering various scenarios of continuation of the war in Ukraine and various designs for post-war Europe.
Global warming is making baseball home runs easier, study says
Dr. Jonathan Martin, a professor in the department of atmospheric and oceanic sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, told Newsweek that the study seems plausible—to an extent.
After Tennessee House expels 2 Democrats, will other states follow?
“Weaponizing legislative discipline reveals a concerning level of democratic dysfunction,” said Seifter, who is the co-director of the State Democracy Research Initiative at the University of Wisconsin Law School. She added, “it suggests that more attention should focus on state-level government.”
Abortion Ruling Could Undermine the F.D.A.’s Drug-Approval Authority
R. Alta Charo, a professor emerita of law and bioethics at the University of Wisconsin and an author of a brief by drug-policy scholars in support of the F.D.A., said, “The biggest threat that a decision like this brings is the threat of creating chaos.” The ruling, she added, could empower a range of groups to begin “looking over the shoulder of the F.D.A., re-evaluating their risk-benefit analyses.”
Declines in Loan Values Are Widespread Among Banks
“Fair values of loans and securities are not qualitatively different,” said Tom Linsmeier, an accounting professor at the University of Wisconsin and former member of the Financial Accounting Standards Board. “They measure the same amount: the price at which the asset can be sold in an orderly transaction in the market today.”
Without the right to adequate counsel, is our criminal justice system legitimate?
After 60 years of deliberate indifference to the right to counsel, our criminal justice system is on the verge of collapse. Only a large, overdue investment can save it and restore the noble ideal that justice shouldn’t be based on how much you can afford. –John P. Gross is a clinical associate professor at University of Wisconsin Law School and director of the Public Defender Project.
Trump indictment and Wisconsin election revealed the GOP’s 2024 dilemma
Second, Republicans lost control of the Wisconsin Supreme Court in an off-year election — a campaign where abortion was “the dominating issue,” per University of Wisconsin political scientist Barry Burden. The repeal of Roe v. Wade brought back an 1849 state law, never technically repealed, that banned abortion at all stages of pregnancy (with an exception for the mother’s life). Janet Protasiewicz, the liberal candidate in the Supreme Court race, openly campaigned on her support for abortion rights. She won by a comfortable margin in a closely divided state — yet another sign that strict abortion bans are seriously unpopular.
How state and local judicial elections became so politicized
NPR’s A Martinez speaks with University of Wisconsin political scientist Mike Wagner about partisanship in state and local judicial elections following Wisconsin’s Supreme Court election.
Democrats Keep Abortion Rights Front and Center in Wisconsin
Barry Burden, director of the Elections Research Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said that Tuesday’s results will be a test of Democrats’ strategy.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court Race the Nation is Watching
Opponents are challenging the 1849 law, and the state Supreme Court will likely make the final decision, motivating voters not only in Wisconsin, but nationally, ahead of the 2024 elections, says political science professor Barry Burden, director of the Elections Research Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Wisconsin Supreme Court race breaks records
JOHNSON: In swing state Wisconsin, election after election, people are used to hearing that this campaign is the most important. But University of Wisconsin-Madison political science and law professor Howard Schweber says there’s actually so much riding on Wisconsin’s court race that this time it might be true.
‘A truly incredible amount of money’: millions ride on one US judicial election
“What has been most surprising is that Dan Kelly has basically raised no money as a candidate … So all of his backing has been from outside groups,” said Barry Burden, the director of the Elections Research Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “It’s hard to understand. Legally, they’re not allowed to coordinate. So he’s essentially handed over messaging to groups that he cannot control.”
Human and Coyote Coexistence in Urban Areas: Academic Minute
David Drake, professor and extension wildlife specialist in the department of forest and wildlife ecology at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, explores human and coyote coexistence in urban areas. Learn more about the Academic Minute here.
How to Tell If a Photo Is an AI-Generated Fake
Creating these AI detective programs works the same way as any other machine learning task, says Yong Jae Lee, a computer scientist at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. “You collect a data set of real images, and you also collect a data set of AI-generated images,” Lee says. “Then you can train a machine-learning model to distinguish the two.”
Pharmacists say they are burning out because of working conditions
The new findings support Bernstein’s conclusion, said David Mott, a professor in the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Pharmacy and the principal investigator on the new survey, which gathered almost 5,000 responses.
Living with cats or dogs may lower children’s risk of food allergies
“The finding that exposure to dogs and cats is related to less food allergy seems pretty solid and agrees with several prior studies,” said James Gern, professor and chief of the Division of Allergy, Immunology and Rheumatology at the University of Wisconsin at Madison.
Wisconsin wins 7th NCAA women’s hockey championship by blanking Ohio State
This 179-day journey began with an unusual splash of cold water thrown at the University of Wisconsin women’s hockey team and at one point had a historic low point.
It ended Sunday with a more common sight: The Badgers piled onto the ice to celebrate a national championship and later splashed the cold water on coach Mark Johnson.
The Big Oil Firms Are Giving Up on Researching Algae Biofuels
“It’s very challenging and very expensive to bring these technologies to market,” said George Huber, whose biofuels research at the University of Wisconsin at Madison was funded by Exxon for years. “It’s not gonna happen overnight. It’s great they make these commitments, but you know they need to start putting in more capital into these projects.”
COVID-19: A look back on where the US succeeded and where we didn’t
“I think that that kind of mixed messaging created enormous space for doubt enormous space for skepticism among the public,” Dr. Richard Keller, a professor in the department of medical history and bioethics at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, told ABC News. “It created levels of uncertainty that were really unnecessary and deep and eventually became harmful.”
Fact check: Banks failed during both Trump, Biden administrations
“That is, bank failures are the results of mistakes that accumulate over time,” said Roberto Robatto, a finance professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
How the overturn of Roe v. Wade is impacting medical students entering gynecology
SULLIVAN: That’s Dr. Ellen Hartenbach, who chairs the obstetrics and gynecology department at the University of Wisconsin and practices at UW Health.
HARTENBACH: It would be either a spontaneous abortion, which would be a miscarriage, or it would be an induced abortion.
Want to help pollinators this spring? Expert suggests these tips
“Compared to some other native bees, honey bees are less efficient or unable to pollinate some of our food crops,” Susan Carpenter, native plant garden curator at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Arboretum, tells Nexstar. Honey bees are, instead, “domestic animals, maintained and cared for by beekeepers” that can be “detrimental to the wide diversity of native bees” around you.
Few legal challenges to laws limiting lessons on race, gender
Suzanne Eckes, an education professor at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, said it will be tough to prove that laws like Florida’s Stop Woke Act infringe on K-12 teachers’ academic freedom — largely because such freedom does not exist, at least according to the courts.
Russia Abandoning Outskirts of Kherson Months After Losing City: Ukraine
Mikhail Troitskiy, professor of practice at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, told Newsweek that Russia may be hedging its bets and trying to entrench its forces in comfortable defensive positions in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts.
Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Is Devastating Birds, and Humans May Be Next
“We’ve been thinking a lot lately about this strain because of its potential to be a zoonotic disease” spread from animals to people, Adel Talaat, a microbiology researcher at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, told The Daily Beast. Talaat has been working on vaccine development for avian influenza that one day could be given to poultry.
When it comes to smog, Cook County in Illinois is the worst neighbor in the country, EPA finds
“The good news is the air is getting cleaner,” said Tracey Holloway, an air quality researcher at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. “But the bad news is researchers are finding there are health effects at lower levels of exposure.”
Bioacoustics is revolutionizing conservation
One of the biologists researching this issue was Zach Peery, from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Peery had been tracking the spotted owl’s decline since 2001, and he knew that a team in the state of Washington had been experimenting with ARUs to help identify northern spotted and barred owls there.
Forthcoming genetic therapies raise serious ethical questions, experts warn
Despite the advances, Professor Alta Charo, a bioethicist at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, suspects most people will stick with having babies the old-fashioned way. “The biggest risk I see at the moment is that discussion around germline editing will continue to present such dystopian visions as realistic,” she said.
A prolific fundraiser, Rebecca Blank reshaped UW-Madison research, finances
Rebecca Blank’s influence can be seen in some unexpected places.
It’s embedded in a nationwide breast cancer database that examined how long patients could delay surgical treatments at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s noticeable in research endeavors she helped make possible. It’s found, subtly, in portraits hanging at the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art.
Memorial service for former UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank honors her life’s work
University and government officials and community members celebrated former UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank’s life Saturday in just the way she planned — a sea of Wisconsin Red, German chocolate cake and plenty of Diet Coke.
A Supreme Court justice’s paragraph could mean weaker protections for voters of color
But the judge cited Gorsuch’s one-paragraph opinion and decided the case had to be thrown out. That’s because, the judge said, the Voting Rights Act does not explicitly say private groups can bring Section 2 lawsuits. Dan Tokaji, dean of the University of Wisconsin Law School, says that literal interpretation of the law doesn’t make sense.
More Doctors Can Now Prescribe Buprenorphine to Opioid Users. Will It Help?
Dr. Elizabeth Salisbury-Afshar, an addiction physician at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who has trained doctors in prescribing buprenorphine, said there were “so many health shortage concerns in rural areas” that it would be hard for health providers to meet demand, “because there aren’t enough clinicians.”
Putin One Skirmish Away From Reaching 150,000 Battlefield Losses: Ukraine
Mikhail Troitskiy, professor of practice at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, told Newsweek that it’s difficult for one military faction to calculate its own losses—let alone tally that of an adversary.
What is red light therapy? Benefits, uses and more
“In terms of red light therapy for facial rejuvenation, we don’t really have many human studies to look at,” said Dr. Apple Bodemer, a board-certified dermatologist and associate professor at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. According to the Cleveland Clinic, “most experts say that they don’t know yet if red light therapy is effective for all its claimed uses. Most say that the studies so far show some potential,” but ultimately, more studies are needed to prove its efficacy.
What Ivanka’s Testimony May Reveal to Trump Special Counsel
Ion Meyn, an assistant professor of law at the University of Wisconsin, said that the prosecution is also likely to ask Ivanka about other key players, which could be used to impeach those who denied being a part of certain conversations that day.
Mike Lindell’s ‘No Merit’ Lawsuit Over Jan. 6 Tapes Is Doomed to Fail
Ion Meyn, an assistant professor of law at the University of Wisconsin, also told Newsweek on Friday that Lindell, as a network owner, is “not part of a protected class under the equal protection clause.”
Democracy has a customer-service problem
Think income inequality, an extortionate health-care system, and rural decay. Think, too, about the senses many people have that the sources of power—both public and private—are far away and unresponsive, and that when something goes wrong, they’re on their own. Katherine Cramer, a political scientist at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, has argued that this anger breeds a “politics of resentment.”
Voting Rights Act’s private right of action is in danger
“I think it’s an open question only in the sense that no court has ever felt compelled to expressly say that people whose voting rights have been violated can sue under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act because everyone — and I do mean everyone — understood that that’s what Congress meant,” says Dan Tokaji, dean of the University of Wisconsin Law School, who has written about private individuals suing for violations of federal election laws.
Carla Vigue gives back to Native community as UW tribal relations director
Growing up on the Oneida Indian Reservation, just outside of Green Bay, Carla Vigue fondly remembers the close relationships she formed with the tribe’s leadership.
Camel antibodies could help pioneer future medicine
Every four months, pathologist Aaron LeBeau scoops into a net one of the five nurse sharks he keeps in his University of Wisconsin lab. Then he carefully administers a shot to the animal, much like a pediatrician giving a kid a vaccine. The shot will immunize the shark against a human cancer, perhaps, or an infectious disease, such as Covid-19. A couple of weeks later, after the animal’s immune system has had time to react, LeBeau collects a small vial of shark blood.
Inflammation of the body may explain depression in the brain
“Activation of these inflammatory pathways in the body and brain is one of the ways through which depressive symptoms can be produced,” said Charles Raison, a professor of human psychology, human ecology and psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin at Madison.
Covid-19 pandemic: Celebrities may have helped shape anti-vaccine opinions, study finds
The study doesn’t get into exactly why celebrity tweets would have such an impact on people’s attitudes about the vaccine. Dr. Ellen Selkie, who has conducted research on influence at the intersection of social media, celebrity and public health outcomes, said celebrities are influential because they attract a lot of attention.
Slamming the Door on Scholarship
“It’s a significant rupture,” said Theodore P. Gerber, a professor of sociology at the University of Wisconsin at Madison and director of its Wisconsin Russia Project. “It seems like there’s not going to be a happy ending any time soon.”
Sexual attacks against teen girls increased in 2021, CDC report found
“We really don’t have that robust evidence-based, supportive, trauma-informed education at scale in the United States. And at this particular time in history, it is especially needed given what we’re seeing,” said LB Klein, an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Such a curriculum would be included in what’s known as comprehensive sex education.
Wagner’s Ammo Problem Could Cost Them Bakhmut Amid Massive Losses
The contention of Mikhail Troitskiy, professor of practice at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is that Prigozhin is “going all in now” due to the number of mercenaries within his group being “decimated” in cities like Bakhmut and otherwise.
In New York, 2 Teens’ Deaths Underscore Dangers of ‘Subway Surfing’
In an increasingly digital world, the blurring of lines between screen and reality can normalize risky behavior, said Dr. Megan Moreno, interim chair of the department of pediatrics and principal investigator of the Social Media and Adolescent Health Research Team at the University of Wisconsin.
In Wisconsin’s supreme court race, a super-rich beer family calls the shots
“It’s escalating rapidly,” said Barry Burden, a political science professor at University of Wisconsin – Madison. “If $15m, $20m, $25m is spent on this race it’s more than you see in governor’s races in some states.”
Wisconsin Supreme Court race holds high stakes for abortion, redistricting and 2024
“This seat is crucial to the balance of the court, and the court is crucial to the balance of the state,” said Barry Burden, a political scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and director of its Elections Research Center.
How to let go of a grudge
Grudges exist on a spectrum, says Robert Enright, a professor in the department of educational psychology at the University of Wisconsin Madison and a founding board member of the International Forgiveness Institute. Some grievances don’t impact your daily life, but you remember them nonetheless. These surface-level grudges are easier to relinquish, Enright says. Others take root in the soul and can grow into hatred.
Mother Nature Has the Best Climate-Fixing Technology
Gregory Nemet, a co-author of the “State of Carbon Dioxide Removal” report and a public policy professor at University of Wisconsin at Madison, told me that pretty much all successful CO2 removal to date has come from natural climate solutions like protecting forests, planting trees and better managing soils. So I asked him, “Why not invest heavily in that?” To my mind, supporting and expanding the extraordinary potential of natural ecosystems to perform carbon removal is what investors and policymakers should be focusing on — not fantastical machines.
The EPA is updating the social cost of carbon to better fight climate change
I called up a philosopher to help me make sense of this. His name is Paul Kelleher. He’s a bioethicist at the University of Wisconsin.
Invasive Rusty Crayfish Appear to Be Dying Off and It’s Not Clear Why
“It can be tough to get an actual population estimate because there’s so many rusty crayfish in a lake,” lead study author Danny Szydlowski, a Ph.D. researcher at University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Center for Limnology, told Newsweek.
Ex-‘Shark Tank’ guest star Matt Higgins: Ditch backup plans to succeed
In a 2016 Wharton and University of Wisconsin-Madison study, two groups of research participants were given the same assignment and the same plan for completing it. One group had a backup plan. That group performed worse, and lost motivation to see their initial goal through.
If ChatGPT Can Replace What We Teach, We Should Teach Something Else
If AI that doesn’t really understand medicine (or much of anything else) can pass the test for being a doctor, then we need to change what we teach doctors—and everyone else. – David Williamson Shaffer is the Sears Bascom Professor of Learning Analytics and the Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor of Learning Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Data Philosopher at the Wisconsin Center for Education Research.
Animals with love lives more complicated than yours
Male Neopyrochroa flabellata beetles are attracted to a chemical called cantharidin. “Males eat the stuff like candy,” said Dan Young, a professor of entomology at the University of Wisconsin Madison. “They then sequester it away in their bodies, and they then transfer it to females when they copulate.”