UW-Madison in the Media

A selection of media coverage about the university and its people.

• UW Political Expert Examines Doyle Decision WISC-TV 3 Aug. 18, 2009 Video: University of Wisconsin political scientist Charles Franklin discusses Gov. Jim Doyle’s decision not to run for another term.
• Public is more skeptical of health reform efforts Minnesota Public Radio Aug. 18, 2009 People appear divided on how health care should be changed and whether the Obama administration is doing a good job on the issue. Recent polls suggest the heated town hall exchanges may have had an impact on people's perception on how Congress and the president are doing on health care. Audio: Charles Franklin: Professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He's the co-founder of Pollster.com.
• Alternate Plan as Health Option Muddies Debate New York Times Aug. 18, 2009 Quoted: Prof. Ann Hoyt, an economist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who has done extensive research on cooperatives in many industries, said they could serve a useful purpose in health care — just as credit unions compete effectively with banks, prompting them to offer higher interest rates on deposits and lower rates on loans.
• Fishing lure has an angle Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Aug. 17, 2009 When thinking of things you can cook up in the kitchen microwave, soft plastic worms don’t usually leap to mind. Unless you are an inventor, angler and dreamer seeking to build a better fish bait. Ben Hobbins is just that, and he is hoping the bait he has invented and patented with help from the University of Wisconsin System will capture at least a portion of the $45 billion spent annually on fishing in the United States.
• If The U.S. Can Kill Mehsud, Why Not Osama bin Laden? ABCNEWS.com Aug. 7, 2009 Quoted: According to Joe Elder, a professor of sociology and a specialist on Pakistan at the University of Wisconsin, Mehsud has likely been under extreme surveillance for a long time now, whereas bin Laden has remained a moving target. "With the assistance of Pakistani intelligence it's much easier to track down and follow the head of the Pakistani Taliban. Many of them have been residing in the region for a long time," said Elder. "It's his home turf, so it's an easier target."
• Mysterious bright spot found on Venus New Scientist July 30, 2009 Quoted: The spot is bright at ultraviolet wavelengths, which may argue against a meteoroid impact as a cause. That's because rocky bodies, with the exception of objects very rich in water ice, should cause an impact site to darken at ultraviolet wavelengths as it fills with debris that absorbs such light, says Sanjay Limaye of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a member of the Venus Express team.
• Venus flytrap origins uncovered BBC News Online July 21, 2009 Noted: "Darwin was fascinated by carnivorous plants in general and the Venus flytrap in particular, I think, partly because they go against type," says Don Waller, a botanist at the University of Wisconsin, in Madison, US. "In his time and ours, most of us feel that plants are passive, harmless, and can't move. But the Venus flytrap acts like an animal, it moves fast and eats fresh meat." A DNA analysis by Ken Cameron of the University of Wisconsin confirmed that the Venus flytrap and waterwheel are indeed related, and the closest relative of both turns out to be a species called Drosera regia.
• University of Wisconsin-Madison, NASA share moon rock history Wisconsin State Journal July 20, 2009 For years before Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong first set foot on the moon, there were many arguments over the makeup of the lunar surface. Scientists were pretty sure it wasn’t green cheese. But one UW-Madison researcher got to prove to naysayers the surface was created by volcanic activity. Monday, July 20, is the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission moon landing.
• Shaky home movies get a big budget feel New Scientist July 14, 2009 The kind of shaky handheld footage that is a hallmark of home movies has become popular with Hollywood directors in recent years. But new software means that handheld cameras need no longer give wobbly results. Computer scientists at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and software giant Adobe have developed a technique that mixes 3D reconstruction with optical illusion to turn distinctive wobble of handheld camera footage into the smooth glide of a Hollywood tracking shot.
• Flu strains circulate for years before becoming a pandemic USA Today July 14, 2009 A new study finds that the way swine flu multiplies in the respiratory system is more severe than seasonal flu. Tests in monkeys, mice and ferrets show that the swine flu thrives all over the respiratory system, including the lungs, instead of staying in the head like seasonal flu. The findings were released Monday by the journal Nature. The study's researcher, Yoshishiro Kawaoka of the University of Wisconsin, told the Associated Press that he is more concerned about swine flu because of these results.
• Low-Calorie Diet May Extend Life in Primates New York Times July 9, 2009 A long-awaited study of aging in rhesus monkeys suggests, with some reservations, that people could in principle fend off the usual diseases of old age and considerably extend their life span by following a special diet.
• UW-Madison makes an unlikely ally: the military Associated Press June 29, 2009 The University of Wisconsin-Madison, which saw some of the fiercest Vietnam War protests in the nation, is shedding its long-standing antimilitary image by hiring a military historian and teaching a new course for military officers. The university also has improved services for veterans after hiring an assistant dean with a military background last year.
• Chinese coming to a school near you Salt Lake Tribune, The June 15, 2009 Quoted: America is behind the rest of the world when it comes to bilingualism, with only 9 percent of the population reporting fluency in a second language, compared with 52 percent of Europeans, according to a research review by University of Wisconsin professor Francois Victor Tochon. English is spoken by about 15 percent of the world's population, but its "postulated ubiquity" is a "myth," writes Tochon. "On average, bilinguals earn more in the United States and, more recently, in the United Kingdom."
• Regional Dictionary Tracks The Funny Things We Say National Public Radio June 15, 2009 "Adam's off ox" is one of the phrases included in the Dictionary of American Regional English, Volume I: Introduction and A-C , part one of a multivolume effort to capture regional expressions. The DARE project, as it is known, was initiated in the 1950s by Frederic Cassidy, a well-known linguist who sent field workers out across the country in "word wagons" to interview people. Cassidy's catalogers talked to nearly 3,000 people over six years, making recordings along the way in order to capture pronunciations.
• Backyard chickens on the rise Los Angeles Times June 15, 2009 Quoted: "People are turning to things that remind them of simpler times," said Ron Kean, a poultry specialist at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. "If you're smart, you can save money doing this."
• Economist Michael Knetter: Technology is the key to U.S. recovery Wausau Daily Herald June 9, 2009 The United States is in the midst of its deepest economic downturn since World War II, but unlike the recession of the early 1980s, there is a clear avenue to recovery: technology. That is the outlook of Michael Knetter, dean of the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business, who will be among the featured speakers during a regional business summit Thursday in Wausau.
• Math: It's not a gender thing Los Angeles Times June 2, 2009 Math hasn't always been thought of as a girl thing. For decades, boys in the U.S. were considered the brainiacs when it came to mathematics, with many believing that their gender predisposed them to better understanding it. They just naturally had a head for numbers. Jur5lenc But new research from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, seeks to dispel that myth via a meta-analysis of studies and data showing that the gap is more a cultural issue than a gender-based one. The study, published in the June 2 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, sought to answer three questions: Do gender differences in math performance exist in the general population, do gender differences exist among the mathematically talented, and do females exist who possess profound mathematical talent?
• The Safety Net: Slumping Economy Tests Aid System Tied to Jobs New York Times June 1, 2009 Quoted: “We have a work-based safety net without work,” said Timothy M. Smeeding, an economist at the University of Wisconsin. “We’re really in a pickle.”
• An old flame in the Ring of Fire BBC News Online May 27, 2009 Of all the seismological hot-spots around the Pacific Rim, none has been as well documented as the Nankai Trough. "We have just a phenomenal record of earthquakes here," says Harold Tobin from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
• Innards of H1N1 Virus Resemble 'Flu Sausage' LiveScience.com May 22, 2009 Quoted: “The change we’ve seen is a different kind of change. In fact we’ve seen the creation of a new kind of virus through the process of reassortment,” said Christopher Olsen, a public health professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and co-author of the study. “The viruses we’ve seen emerge in pigs are a mixture of the classical swine flu, avian flu and human flu,” he said. Experts also witnessed the emergence of a new subtype in 1998. “We’ve not been able to determine any specific reasons for why that began to happen,” Olsen said.
• 'Roid Rage: John Stossel Confronts Steroid Alarmists ABCNEWS.com May 7, 2009 Quoted: University of Wisconsin bioethicist Norman Fost says "the horror stories about the medical claims, some of them are just frankly made up."
• H1N1 could get serious if not prepared Wisconsin Radio Network May 6, 2009 State Health experts discuss the flu virus at a public hearing at the state capitol. Dr. Dennis Maki, head of Infectious Diseases at the UW Medical School, tells members of the Assembly Health Committee the H1N1 Influenza A is serious.
• Thai Leader Struggles at the Center of a Storm New York Times May 6, 2009 Quoted: “I’m not sure he knows or accepts that he came to power through the support of one side of the conflict,” said Thongchai Winichakul, a specialist in Southeast Asian studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “I’m not sure he has enough guts and that he has gathered enough political clout to break away from the people who brought him to power.”
• How to beat stress and angst through meditation Chicago Tribune May 5, 2009 Quoted: One study of individuals who were new to meditating showed measurable brain and behavior differences after just two weeks of daily 30-minute sessions, says Richard Davidson, director of the Waisman Laboratory for Brain Imaging and Behavior at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. But meditation is like any other workout: To reap the benefits, don't stop.
• Lab Notes: A Tweeting Brain Newsweek April 21, 2009 Writing emails is all well and good, but now brain-computer interfaces have made the big leagues: a BCI has been used to Tweet. Earlier this month Adam Wilson, a graduate student in biomedical engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, sent “using EEG to send tweet.” He used what has become the standard methodology, in which EEGs pick up electrical signals from the brain and translate them into movements of a cursor, in this case on a screen with the 26 letters of the alphabet, as the scientists show in this video.
• Scientist updates Twitter using only his mind The Telegraph (UK) April 21, 2009 Adam Wilson posted the 17-character message using a brain-computer interface (BCI) that he is helping to build for people whose minds function but whose bodies do not work. Mr Wilson, a biomedical engineering doctoral student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, first wrote: "SENT FROM BCI2000", referring to the model number of his machine.
• Twitter Telepathy: Researchers Turn Thoughts Into Tweets Wired.com April 21, 2009 Early on the afternoon of April 1, Adam Wilson posted a message to Twitter. But instead of using his hands to type, the University of Wisconsin biomedical engineer used his brain. "USING EEG TO SEND TWEET," he thought. That message may be a modern equivalent of Alexander Graham Bell's "Mr. Watson, come here. I want to see you." Brain-computer interfaces are no longer just a gee-whiz technology, but a platform for researchers interested in immediate real-world applications for people who can think, but can't move. "We're more interested in the applications," said Justin Williams, head of the University of Wisconsin's Neural Interfaces lab. "How do we actually make these technologies useful for people with disabilities?"
• Tune in: Online radio show on African women in power Worldfocus Radio April 15, 2009 Over the past several decades, women politicians have made strides in Africa. The share of parliamentary seats held by women increased from 7 percent in 1990 to 17 percent in 2007. Interviewed: Aili Mari Tripp is a professor of political science and women’s studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the director of the Women’s Studies Research Center. (Audio.)
• Thai Protests Reveal Deep Divisions New York Times April 14, 2009 Quoted: “Whoever wins or loses this round, the stalemate and tension will remain,” said Thongchai Winichakul, a professor of Southeast Asian history at the University of Wisconsin.
• Underground economy thriving, UW economist says Milwaukee Journal Sentinel April 14, 2009 While the overall economy is struggling, the underground economy is surging, based on research by a University of Wisconsin-Madison economist. Unreported income in the United States has likely ballooned to as much as $2.25 trillion, creating a ratio of unreported income to reported adjusted gross income that is approaching the peak levels of the World War II era, the university said Monday.