I&D

• Research points to arctic strategies for Norway May 31, 2007 Plans for sustainable development in Norway's arctic region got a boost this month with the release of a study by University of Wisconsin-Madison graduate students.
• With a big assist from NASA, UW-Madison launches astrobiology push May 31, 2007 With the help of a $6.5 million grant from NASA, Wisconsin researchers will join the hunt for extraterrestrial life and early life on Earth by developing techniques and instruments to read the chemical signatures living organisms leave in rocks and minerals.
• Mutant parasites, unable to infect hosts, highlight virulence genes May 30, 2007 With a single approach, microbiologists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have identified dozens of clues to how human parasites may infect their hosts.
• Study to examine impact of culture on aging process May 30, 2007 A UW-Madison study is analyzing the consequences of cultural differences in people's emotional and physical health as they age.
• Freshman engineers seize the wind…and a new opportunity May 29, 2007 Inspired to reinvigorate his teaching after a yearlong sabbatical, electrical and computer engineering professor Giri Venkataramanan decided to try an experiment. During spring semester 2007, he challenged the freshman in his introductory engineering class to build a functioning wind turbine from scratch.
• Research may yield improved treatment for diseased lungs May 24, 2007 A multi-institutional team of engineers, scientists and clinicians from the University of Wisconsin-Madison will study large-artery biomechanics that could play a role in heart failure in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension.
• Computer scientists set on winning the computer virus ‘cold war’ May 24, 2007 First came the virus. Then came the antivirus software. Ever since, virus programmers have been escalating their technology, trying to stay one step ahead of the computer security engineers and vice versa.
• Study explores effectiveness of rain gardens May 22, 2007 Although many rain gardeners swear by prairie plants and other native species, vegetation plays a lesser role than other factors in how well rain gardens trap storm water runoff and coax it into the ground, according to a recent UW-Madison study.
• UW study to clarify safety, effectiveness of hormone therapy during menopause May 22, 2007 When is the best time in a woman's reproductive history to start hormone therapy? How does estrogen therapy affect a woman's cognition and mood? What is the most beneficial form of estrogen? These are just a few important questions that researchers at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health hope to answer in a federally funded nationwide study, the first of its kind, on the effects of estrogen therapy with perimenopausal women.
• Midwest News Index releases latest findings on TV political news May 21, 2007 A new University of Wisconsin-Madison study shows that political news stories on local television news outlets in five Midwestern states comprised less than two minutes of a typical 30-minute broadcast during the first quarter of 2007.
• Students create new environmental strategy for Lake Ripley May 17, 2007 With the help of University of Wisconsin-Madison students, communities around Lake Ripley in southeastern Wisconsin are among the first in the state to use an innovative social strategy known as community-based social marketing, or CBSM, to deal with an environmental problem.
• UW establishes stem cell and regenerative medicine center May 17, 2007 In an effort to strengthen and sustain its leadership in the companion fields of stem cell research and regenerative medicine, the University of Wisconsin-Madison will establish a new Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Center.
• Decoding protein structures helps illuminate cause of diabetes May 15, 2007 Any photographer can vouch for the difficulty of capturing a clear picture of a moving target. When it comes to molecules, however, sometimes the motion is exactly what scientists want to see.
• New program to help parents of students stay connected May 15, 2007 Given the increasing desire for parental connection to their son or daughter’s college experience and more students wanting their parents involved, UW-Madison is launching a major upgrade of its communication efforts and support services for parents.
• Book explores history, causes of allergy and asthma epidemic May 10, 2007 Why is it that actions we think will improve a situation more often than not make it worse?
• Wisconsin’s rural life inspires a classical composition May 8, 2007 When Martha Glowacki asked rural sociologist Michael Bell to offer commentary about "Wisconsin's People on the Land," the art exhibition she co-curated for the Wisconsin Academy's James Watrous Gallery, she thought he might say something about the state's rural roots or its long history with agriculture.
• Meditation may fine-tune control over attention May 8, 2007 Everyday experience and psychology research both indicate that paying close attention to one thing can keep you from noticing something else.
• Changing the face of science education May 7, 2007 Through the UW-Madison Delta Program in Research, Teaching and Learning, new faculty and graduate students can find instructional resources and support that help them transition from full-time graduate researcher to faculty member.
• New technique dissects stem cells’ picky likes, dislikes May 4, 2007 Whether their goal is to create therapies or simply investigate how organisms develop, stem cell researchers face what is perhaps one of biological science's toughest assignments: keeping their tiny research subjects under control.
• Resident bacteria may help clean phosphorous from lakes May 2, 2007 UW-Madison engineer Katherine McMahon is integrating her expertise in wastewater engineering and in biological systems to study the bacterial community in different eutrophied lakes — two in Madison and one in China — to learn more about how those bacteria affect phosphorus cycling in the lakes.