Ideas and discoveries

• 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.
• NASA co-op pushes student to new frontier of vehicle design July 22, 2008 A UW-Madison mechanical engineering student is helping to develop the robotic equipment needed to clear lunar dust.
• Blood-related genetic mechanisms found important in Parkinson’s disease July 21, 2008 A finding by scientists at UW-Madison, Brigham and Women's Hospital and the University of Ottawa may lead to new treatments for Parkinson's disease.
• Scattered nature of Wisconsin's woodlands could complicate forests' response to climate change July 14, 2008 If a warmer Wisconsin climate causes some northern tree species to disappear in the future, it's easy to imagine that southern species will just expand their range northward as soon as the conditions suit them.
• A 'red flag' for expanding biofuels in the tropics July 9, 2008 Biofuels, by recycling atmospheric carbon, are a potential boon to the world's ailing climate. But efforts in the tropics to significantly expand biofuel production by replacing tropical forests with oil palm, sugarcane and other agricultural biofuels could, in fact, accelerate climate change, according to a new study published this week (July 9).
• Flu-infected fly cells reveal dependencies of the virus July 9, 2008 By giving fly cells the flu, scientists have identified scores of host genes the pathogen requires for successful infection, revealing a raft of potential new pressure points to thwart the virus.
• Zero-gravity team finds spray cooling works in space July 8, 2008 For the 10th consecutive year, University of Wisconsin-Madison students have found themselves floating upside down over the Gulf of Mexico.
• Green snowmobile logs first month at Arctic research station July 3, 2008 An electric snowmobile built by student members of the University of Wisconsin-Madison College of Engineering Clean Snowmobile Team is now in Greenland, on loan to the National Science Foundation (NSF) for the summer to support climate research projects at the Greenland Environmental Observatory (GEO Summit Camp).
• Ice creamier: ‘Edible antifreeze’ puts the smooth in smoothie July 1, 2008 It's Friday night, and the movie's already spinning in the DVD player. You run to the kitchen to grab a gallon of ice cream and a spoon, but you find the tub nearly empty.
• Political science researchers partner to improve Wisconsin elections June 30, 2008 University of Wisconsin-Madison political science researchers are taking a key role in a federally funded project to improve the state's ability to collect accurate election returns.
• Airless tire project may prove a lifesaver in military combat June 26, 2008 An ambitious startup company in Wausau is working on a project to develop tires that can withstand extreme punishment, even those meted out in military combat zones.
• Studies of cell traits nets big award for UW-Madison researcher June 24, 2008 UW-Madison biochemist Doug Weibel has received a prestigious Searle Scholar Award.
• Study uncovers how Ritalin works in brain to boost cognition, focus attention June 24, 2008 In a paper publishing online this week in Biological Psychiatry, UW-Madison psychology researchers report that Ritalin fine-tunes the functioning of neurons in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) - a brain region involved in attention, decision-making and impulse control - while having few effects outside it.
• Newly born twin stars show surprising differences June 18, 2008 The analysis of the youngest pair of identical twin stars yet discovered has revealed surprising differences in brightness, surface temperature and possibly even the size of the two.
• Study: Breast cancer patients with greater need seek more information online June 18, 2008 Patients with more concerns about their breast cancer are heavier users of online information, according to a new study conducted by the University of Wisconsin-Madison Center for Excellence in Cancer Communications Research, funded by the National Cancer Institute.
• Ebb and flow of the sea drives world’s big extinction events June 16, 2008 A new study, published online June 15 in the journal Nature, suggests that it is the ocean, and in particular the epic ebbs and flows of sea level and sediment over the course of geologic time, that is the primary cause of the world's periodic mass extinctions during the past 500 million years.
• Ancient mineral shows early Earth climate tough on continents June 13, 2008 A new analysis of ancient minerals called zircons suggests that a harsh climate may have scoured and possibly even destroyed the surface of the Earth's earliest continents.
• Agent in red wine found to keep hearts young June 4, 2008 How, scientists wonder, do the French get away with a clean bill of heart health despite a diet loaded with saturated fats?
• Milky Way’s infrared portrait gives new view of galaxy June 3, 2008 Astronomers have obtained an entirely new perspective of our home galaxy: a complete mosaic portrait of the Milky Way in infrared light, a picture that when printed measures 180 feet long by 4 feet wide.
• Students design ‘disaster’ for Wisconsin rescue training facility June 2, 2008 When University of Wisconsin-Madison civil and environmental engineering students Dan Zignego, Jake Varnes, Bill Schmitz and Nick Bobinski began a design project meant to be the crowning glory of their educational careers, they never thought it would turn into such a disaster.