Ideas and discoveries

• Baby's smell tamps down dad's testosterone levels Sept. 3, 2008 Does eau de infant make dad a better parent? It does, it seems, if you are a common marmoset, a New World monkey known for its collaborative approach to rearing offspring.
• Ice Age lesson predicts a faster rise in sea level Sept. 2, 2008 If the lessons being learned by scientists about the demise of the last great North American ice sheet are correct, estimates of global sea level rise from a melting Greenland ice sheet may be seriously underestimated.
• Patterns in changing ecological landscapes inspire professor Aug. 27, 2008 Thirty years after visiting Yellowstone National Park for the first time, Monica Turner has established herself as a leader in the field of ecology and made Yellowstone one of the most well-studied ecological landscapes in the country.
• Professor tracks mosquitoes for the sake of public health Aug. 22, 2008 Under a cloud of mosquitoes on a muggy June morning, Susan Paskewitz sits down in the grass, rolls up her pant leg and extends her calf as bait.
• Manes, trains and antlers explained Aug. 21, 2008 A team of Wisconsin scientists has worked out the molecular details of how a simple genetic switch controls decorative traits in male fruit flies and how that switch evolved.
• WiCell Research Institute launches new stem cell bank Aug. 21, 2008 The WiCell Research Institute, a private, not-for-profit supporting organization to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is launching its own stem cell bank to distribute cell lines beyond the 21 lines eligible for federal funding and distribution through the National Stem Cell Bank (NSCB).
• The biology of obesity: Do these genes make me look fat? Aug. 15, 2008 Scientists are probing the complex relationship between our DNA and our diets to unravel the root causes of obesity. But for those seeking a simple solution to the worldwide fat epidemic, their answers may be hard to swallow.
• Self-assembling polymer arrays improve data storage potential Aug. 14, 2008 A new manufacturing approach holds the potential to overcome the technological limitations currently facing the microelectronics and data-storage industries, paving the way to smaller electronic devices and higher-capacity hard drives.
• Professor sees optimism in prejudice research Aug. 13, 2008 It is a question on many Americans' minds: Is the United States ready for a black president, or will deep-rooted and even unconscious prejudices show at the polls?
• Rising from the ashes: The science of Yellowstone’s rebirth Aug. 6, 2008 When wildfires raged through more than a million acres of a beloved national park, the destruction seemed complete. But a UW researcher looked closer — and found hope growing among the remains.
• ESA to feature wide range of UW-Madison presentations Aug. 5, 2008 The Ecological Society of America will hold its 93rd annual meeting on Aug. 3-8, 2008, in Milwaukee, Wis. The society was founded in 1915 to promote the practice and awareness of ecological science. This year’s meeting will highlight the interdisciplinary nature of ecology and linking research with education. A wide range of UW-Madison research will be presented at the meeting.
• New $8.9 million project aims to unlock stem cell secrets Aug. 4, 2008 Although scientists have had access to human embryonic stem cells for a decade, precisely how the all-purpose cell gives rise to all other cells in the body and why others do not remains a fundamental mystery of biology.
• New ‘urban research park’ offers jolt of electricity to Madison high-tech startups Aug. 4, 2008 After three decades of almost exponential commercial growth on Madison's west side, the University Research Park (URP) will pursue an opportunity to sink roots downtown with an innovative "urban research park" targeting high-technology entrepreneurs.
• Researcher finds that women are speaking up July 31, 2008 There's a whole industry of books and seminars that hinge on the premise that women somehow need to be "fixed" when it comes to communication and must change the way they talk and behave to advance their career.
• Landmark book on Wisconsin fishes is only a cast away online July 29, 2008 George C. Becker's "Fishes of Wisconsin" is the first comprehensive survey of the state's fish species and the environmental challenges they face. Published by the University of Wisconsin Press in 1983, it remains the seminal reference to 157 fish species found in Wisconsin, many which are also found throughout much of the Great Lakes and Upper Mississippi River basins.
• Soil scientist's fascination with mineral yields plan for battling it July 29, 2008 A UW-Madison soil scientist may have found a solution to a pesky mineral that plagues wastewater engineers all over the country.
• Study: Surgical instrument size not suited to smaller hands July 25, 2008 The concept of one size fits all works with many things—smocks, baseball caps and inner tubes. But not disposable laparoscopic surgical instruments. So say the results of a survey of general surgery residents conducted by a group that included two surgeons at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.
• CLA approved as food ingredient July 25, 2008 On July 24, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced its finding that conjugated linoleic acid, known as CLA, is "generally regarded as safe" for use in foods. UW-Madison researchers have studied CLA since the 1970s.
• Study: No gender differences in math performance July 24, 2008 A team of scientists says that there aren't gender differences in math performance any longer.
• Coalition spreads the word in Wisconsin about free, low-cost health insurance July 23, 2008 Although more than 90 percent of Wisconsin residents have some form of private or public health insurance, that is little consolation to the estimated 500,000 who find themselves without coverage.