Science

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SCIENCE

Mouse study expands tumor knowledge

By Kelly Jelen and Adityarup Chakravorty | Sep. 9, 2014

When we think of ways to prevent or treat cancer, temperature control usually isn’t high on the list. But, researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, led by Dr. Caroline Alexander at the McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, have made crucial progress in understanding a link between ambient temperature and how it may affect our ability to resist tumors.

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SCIENCE

Ask Ms. Scientist: annoying voices and sunsets

By John Bruning and Corinne Thornton | Sep. 9, 2014

Dear Ms. Scientist,

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SCIENCE

Scientists authenticate human smile

By Adityarup Chakravorty | Sep. 9, 2014

A genuine smile can be a wonderful sight. It can energize us if we are feeling blue and encourage us when we are feeling troubled. It can give us strength, happiness, fortitude and peace. But all smiles are not created equal. There are kind smiles and cruel smiles, excited smiles and hopeless smiles. How is it that we are able to tell real smiles from false smiles?

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SCIENCE

UW research sparks cancer treatment innovations

By Ben Breiner and Erin Boyle | Sep. 9, 2014

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have made an important advancement toward improved imaging and treatment of cancer. Over years of research, they have developed a class of molecules that accumulate in cancer cells—and not in other cells of the body—making it possible to specifically target cancerous growths.

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SCIENCE

Campus lab fosters innovative technology

By Rachel Wanat | May. 29, 2014

A group of University of Wisconsin-Madison students were awarded this month for their efforts to perfect the system by which patients take medication—a prototype for a product called Medcuff.

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SCIENCE

Ask Ms. Scientist: vaccines and nighttime snacking

By Corinne Thornton | May. 29, 2014

Dear Ms. Scientist,

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SCIENCE

Stem cells allow new way to create muscle cells

By Jacob Blitstein | May. 4, 2014

Stem cells were first discovered at the University of Toronto in the 1960s and have since become one of the most promising fields in biological research. Stem cells are undifferentiated cells that have the ability to differentiate into a variety of specialized cells under the right conditions.

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SCIENCE

UW develops new asthma test

By Hamdi Hamzah | May. 4, 2014

Asthma affects one in every 12 people in the United States and this trend is increasing every year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Conventionally, patients are diagnosed through indirect measures such as lung functionality.  Direct methods have traditionally required a venipuncture blood draw and thus have been impractical because they can’t be used with everyone. However, with the kit-on-a-lid-assay (KOALA) microfluidic technology developed by a team of the University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers, only one drop of blood is required to detect asthma.

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SCIENCE

Ask Ms. Scientist: hops and scantrons

By Corinne Thornton | May. 4, 2014

What are hops and how are they used in beer production?

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SCIENCE

Exercise program for elderly reduces injury risks

By Jacob Blitstein | May. 4, 2014

Modern advancements in medicine have allowed the human population to live longer than ever before. There are currently more elderly citizens on our planet than there have ever been. By definition, a person is referred to as elderly or older if they are at least 65 years old. In 2009, the elderly population in the U.S. consisted of 39.6 million people, or about 13 percent of our nation’s population. This number is expected to almost double by 2030 due to a larger younger population that is expected to live longer.

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SCIENCE

Wisconsin Institututes for Discovery develop new method of cleaning up oil spills

By Alex Moe | May. 4, 2014

Imagine, if you will, a slick black surface extending as far as the eye can see, where once-clear water now laps sluggishly and dead fish float. This is the reality imposed upon our environment by oil spills, the disastrous result of many oil-tanker or oil-rig accidents. When a large amount of oil is leaked out into the ocean, it can form a coat on top of the water's surface that poisons and smothers sea creatures—especially those that live on the surface of the water.

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SCIENCE

Action Project: UW leads in good food system research

By Suma Samudrala | Apr. 21, 2014

Maintaining what nature has to offer us and harmonizing the relationship between nature and humans is the goal of sustainability.

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SCIENCE

Action Project: Interest in organic movement grows with technology

By Brita Larson | Apr. 21, 2014

The word “organic” is a buzzword in the whole foods/go natural movement. Prior to my interview with Erin Silva, associate director for the Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems, I had a narrow definition of what “organic” meant. I thought it was just food grown without pesticides typically found at places like Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods and the farmer’s market.

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SCIENCE

Ask Ms. Scientist: endangered bananas and hibernation

By Corinne Thornton | Apr. 21, 2014

Dear Ms. Scientist,

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SCIENCE

UW Study finds cause of canine tremors

By Catherine Steffel | Apr. 8, 2014

A team of researchers led by Ian Duncan, professor of neuroscience at the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine, reported last November in the journal glia that they have found the genetic basis for canine tremor disorder. Their findings hold implications for dog owners, dog breeders, and families of individuals with certain disorders.

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SCIENCE

Self-powered electronics may be the future

By Suma Samudrala | Apr. 8, 2014

Xudong Wang, an assistant professor of material science and engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison is a researcher in the field of nanogenerators, a technology that harvests mechanical or thermal energy into electricity. Wang was one of the early pioneers in the use of nanomaterials to harvest mechanical energy. While research on mechanical energy harvesting already existed, Wang helped advance nanomaterials for this application. While doing his post-doctorate at Georgia Institute of Technology, he developed the first nanogenerator.

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SCIENCE

Ask Ms. Scientist: Runny Noses and Bird Maps

By Corinne Thornton | Apr. 8, 2014

Dear Ms. Scientist,

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SCIENCE

The Oldest Known Piece of Earth

By Catherine Steffel | Apr. 2, 2014

“It started over beer in a meeting in China in 1998,” said professor John Valley. In Beijing that year, Valley met with Simon Wilde, who was able to provide him and a graduate student with what they needed: “the oldest oxygen on earth [that they] could find.”

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SCIENCE

Holoflops could prevent parasites

By Suma Samudrala | Mar. 11, 2014

A prevalent health problem in the developing countries of the tropics and subtropics is helminth or parasitic worm transmission. Among the most common parasites is a hookworm or a nematode roundworm with hooked mouthparts known to cause tissue obstruction, anemia and infestation in the stomach.

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SCIENCE

UW-Madison members part of South African dig strike fossil gold

By Paul Blazevich and Danielle Smith | Mar. 11, 2014

Participating in any archeological expedition requires a lot of skill and expertise in order for it to be successful. However, a dig that recently took place in northeastern South Africa had an especially unique qualification for any potential archeologists or excavators—the ability to squeeze through a tiny space called the International Postbox and repel down into a cavern named The Cradle of Humankind for its remarkable contents approximately 30 meters below.