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The University of Wisconsin-Madison One of the hallmarks of UW-Madison research is its diversity. The campus has more than a dozen interdisciplinary research centers that bring teams of researchers together to solve complex challenges, from cancer prevention to the development of better computer microchips. Included are the McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, the Biotron, the Institute on Aging, the Wisconsin Regional Primate Research Center, the Arboretum, the Kegonsa Research Campus, the Space Science and Engineering Center, the University Research Park, the Biotechnology Center, the Institute for Environmental Studies and the Center for Dairy Research. This year, UW-Madison has developed new ways to promote creative intellectual links between departments. A major faculty hiring initiative will be built around emerging scientific fields that cross traditional boundaries. The new fields include genomics, which is developing the tools to sequence the complete genetic blueprints of life forms; nanophase materials, the creation of new hybrid materials at the atomic scale; and developing the zebrafish as an ideal model organism for molecular and genetic research. UW-Madison has more than 9,000 research projects under way annually, the majority of which are made possible by federal funding.
RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS
The technology, which cleans air of ethylene, a natural hormone that causes plants to prematurely wither and spoil. was developed for NASA plant-growth experiments by Marc Anderson, a UW-Madison professor of environmental engineering and materials science. This year, the device was adapted to help retailers win the battle against yellowing broccoli, rusty lettuce, mushy fruit and droopy flowers.
Called Bio-Kleen, the device uses titanium dioxide as a catalyst to break down ethylene into the harmless byproducts of carbon dioxide and water vapor. The chemical reaction is triggered by a process called photocatalysis, in which ultraviolet light is used to activate the titanium particles.
A cancer-fighting lesson from frogs Raines' quest began in 1991, when scientists discovered a protein in a certain breed of frogs that proved to be toxic to cancer cells. That substance is now the basis for a drug called Onconase, which is showing promise in treating some cancers in human trials.
But Raines wondered why the frog protein proved effective in fighting cancer when a similar protein in humans and other mammals, produced naturally by the pancreas, didn't have the same potency. He found the answer by comparing molecular structures of the proteins, discovering that the frog variety didn't bond as tightly with a natural inhibitor, allowing it to roam freely and attack cancer cells. In the laboratory, Raines and other UW researchers have altered the genetic structure of mammalian proteins to give them that same mercenary ability to seek out and destroy cancer cells.
The work suggests that the molecular machinery responsible for programming genes with an egg may be similar or identical in all mammals. It illustrates the possibility of using the eggs of one species as a "universal recipient" for genes from other species. If perfected, such a technology would have broad applications, from the development of customized tissue cell lines for transplants in humans to new ways to propagate valuable farm animals, or rare and endangered species.
Putting the super in superconductivity The study, conducted at UW's Applied Superconductivity Center, provides promising evidence that one of high-temperature superconductivity's biggest obstacles can be overcome by devising new manufacturing methods to eliminate the flaws.
The finding brings new hope to the long battle to harness superconductivity, the ability of some materials to conduct electricity with no loss of energy. It was discovered more than 80 years ago that some materials, when cooled to absolute zero, have this ability, and in the past decade, scientists have found that some materials demonstrate superconductivity at higher temperatures, up to 100 degrees warmer than absolute zero.
Reducing the pain of injury The molecules attack inflammation is the body's response to irritation, infection or injury. That natural reaction begins when, in response to an injury or irritation, white blood cells begin to stick to the cells lining a blood vessel, causing inflammation and pain.
While popular over-the-counter drugs such as ibuprofen deal with inflammation by blocking events inside the cell, the synthetic molecules act as inhibitors on the outside of the cell, preventing the cell from linking with an opposing cell.
The toxins produced by Photorhabdus are active against a wide range of insects and are at least as potent as the insect-killing poisons produced by Bacillus thuringiensis or Bt, the reigning king of natural insecticides.
Widely used for decades in the home, in forests and on farms, Bt is also a bacterium and is considered to be a safe, effective and environmentally benign weapon in the war on insect pests. In the last few years, researchers have genetically altered crop plants such as corn and cotton to naturally produce Bt, helping to ensure their safety. However, some plant populations are beginning to show resistance to Bt, making it urgent to develop an alternative natural insecticide.
Using a new instrument aboard the Hubble Space Telescope, the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph, UW-Madison scientists have found evidence of glowing hydrogen gas, something never before seen on the moon first discovered in 1610 by Galileo Galilei.
Scientists are not yet sure why the hydrogen exists at the poles or why it is glowing, but are anxious to uncover this latest mystery in an atmosphere filled with intrigue. including lakes of liquid sulfur, active volcanoes with plumes 200 miles high, and fantastic extremes of surface temperature.
Cracking the E.coli genome A genome is the sum total of the genes of an organism. Genes are encoded in the sequence of chemical base pairs that make up the intertwining strands of DNA. In the case of E. coli, a total of 4,403 genes have been identified in the 4,639,221 base pairs of DNA sequenced by the Wisconsin team. Of these, one-third are of completely unknown function.
E. coli holds a unique place in modern biology. It is arguably the single most studied cell in all of science. Humans have about 25 times as many genes as E. coli, but in the future a similar complete analysis will be possible for human DNA. For this reason E. coli is considered a model organism in the Human Genome Initiative of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Or that, at least, is what some public health officials fear, that as climate events such as El Niño become more pronounced, the range and prevalence of a mosquito whose disease-transmitting ways already puts half the world's population at risk might expand even more. And while that is a very real concern, predicting the ebb and flow of populations of the mosquito that transmits dengue, a family of debilitating and sometimes fatal viral diseases, has been more art than science.
But now a computer model being honed by scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison may help predict population booms, and when and where in the world the mosquito might show up in response to large-scale climate events like El Niño.
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Located along a glacial lake in Wisconsin's capital city, the 
Reaping the fruits of plant research
The next step in cloning
Natural-born insect killers
Secrets of Jupiter's moons
Forecasting the ebb and flow of a rogue mosquito
