UW-Madison in the Media

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

• Pioneer in emotions suggests training increases happiness Deseret News (Salt Lake City) Feb. 5, 2009 Think of happiness as a skill, not so different maybe from learning to play the piano: the more you train, the better you get. That was the encouraging message Wednesday night from Richard Davidson, a pioneer in the biology of emotions. Our emotions, it turns out, are revealed deep inside our brains, in areas such as the amygdala and the uncinate fasciculus. And these structures of our brain can physically change with training, says Davidson, who is a distinguished professor of psychology and psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and is director of the school's Waisman Laboratory for Brain Imaging and Behavior. He will also head up a planned Wisconsin Center on the Neuroscience and Psychophysiology of Meditation.
• Public mixed on stimulus package USA Today Feb. 3, 2009 Quoted: "It's sort of paradoxical: They're both supportive and pessimistic," says Charles Franklin, a political scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who studies public opinion. Still, President Obama "has been saying this is going to be a long process, so maybe it's not so surprising that voters would pick up the idea that there's no quick fix."
• Bouncing Back From New Year's Failures ABCNEWS.com Feb. 2, 2009 Quoted: Take, for example, smoking. "Think about 100 people who got up on New Year's Day and quit smoking," said Dr. Douglas Jorenby, professor of medicine at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in Madison.
• Passion for movement Isthmus Feb. 2, 2009 Chris Walker dances with the orishas in the university's hallowed Lathrop Hall. The UW Dance Program assistant prof is a long way from his native Jamaica, but the walls of his cozy fourth-floor office sport big pictures of Ochun, Oyá, Obatalá, Changó and Yemayá. Even in the dead of winter the Afro-Caribbean saints seem content in their new surroundings.
• A real chip off the old 'Badger' block Calgary Herald Feb. 2, 2009 "How are things in Calgary, anyway? It's a beautiful day here. Sun's shining. About four degrees. Hockey tonight. Hockey tomorrow. Hockey next week. "Things are great. Couldn't be better." The last name. That persuasive, invasive, effervescent optimism pumping fresh oxygen into deflating lungs. Even the area code on the phone -- 608, for Madison, Wisc. It's all very much an H. G. Wells/Time Machine moment.
• UW bacteria study could provide clue to controlling pathogens Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Feb. 2, 2009 Of the thousands of bacteria swimming inside you, relatively few are bent on destruction. Most busy themselves in a communal effort to keep you fit and free from disease - unless something changes. Scientists have long wondered what causes harmful bacteria to cross the species barrier from animals to humans and what causes a good bacterium inside us to turn bad. Now, researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have discovered that a single gene can cause bacteria to change hosts. Light-emitting bacteria called Vibrio fischeri colonized pinecone fish, then jumped to the bobtail squid - all because of a regulatory gene, the scientists reported Sunday in the journal Nature.
• Cutting calories may boost your memory CNN.com Jan. 27, 2009 Meanwhile, studies in animals dating back to the 1980s show caloric restriction can extend lifespan and slow aging. The current findings are "another piece of evidence that what we see in laboratory rodents on caloric restriction translates to humans," said Richard Weindruch, of University of Wisconsin--Madison, who has studied caloric restriction since 1975 but did not participate in Floel's study. "I find it somewhat remarkable that such a brief period of [caloric restriction] actually would have these effects."
• The Past as a Guide for Obama’s Address New York Times Jan. 20, 2009 Quoted: “That’s one of the secrets of his success, rhetorically,” said Stephen Lucas, a professor of communication arts at the University of Wisconsin. “He seems very focused on the purpose of the moment.”
• Yahoo picks University of Wisconsin-Madison graduate for CEO Wisconsin State Journal Jan. 14, 2009 SAN FRANCISCO — Yahoo named technology veteran Carol Bartz as its new chief executive Tuesday, bringing in a no-nonsense leader known for developing a clear focus — something that has eluded the struggling Internet company during a three-year slump. The decision to lure the University of Wisconsin-Madison graduate away from software maker Autodesk ends Yahoo's two-month search to replace co-founder Jerry Yang, who surrendered the CEO reins after potentially lucrative deals with rivals Microsoft and Google both collapsed.
• Electrical engineers take on fuzzy cellphone photos USA Today Jan. 14, 2009 A new technology developed by researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison may make it easier to snap clear pictures with a cellphone camera. Associate Professor Zhenqiang (Jack) Ma and his team have developed a curved, high-end photodetector designed to eliminate some of the blur caused by tiny cameras.
• Downsized, but still in the game Boston Globe Jan. 12, 2009 Quoted: "Downsizing is a shock to the system, and it leads employees to take a much closer look at what they have and what they may find elsewhere," says Charlie Trevor, the University of Wisconsin-Madison associate professor who led the study. Employees afraid to quit in this extremely tight labor market may jump ship later.
• An ode to starlings, our most misunderstood bird Toronto Star Jan. 12, 2009 Quoted: According to neurologist Lauren Riters of the University of Wisconsin, starlings have among the longest and most complex songs of any birds in North America. They continually incorporate new sounds into their vocal arrangements, often mimicking frogs, goats, cats and even other birds. The result is an admixture: warbles, creaks, squeaks, whistles, throaty chirrups, twitters and raspy trills. While singing, the starling syrinx vibrates in two separate parts, which allow one bird to sing harmonizing duets with itself. "Starlings sing because it makes them feel good," Riters explains.
• Ten Cities For Job Growth In 2009 Forbes Jan. 6, 2009 Noted: Madison has several things going for it. Not only is the University of Wisconsin a major employer, but the university's research arm, the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, has been fueling growth in the biotech, health care and medical-devices industries. The foundation provides grants and helps scientists affiliated with the university to patent new discoveries. It has aided Madison in becoming a regional hub for those industries.
• New Study: Teens On MySpace, Facebook Engage In Risky Behavior WISC-TV 3 Jan. 6, 2009 A new medical study is linking the popular social network MySpace to some risky behavior among teenagers. Researchers hope the findings of the study lead teens and parents to talk about personal information online. "I don't really use MySpace anymore because in high school, most people use Facebook," said high school freshman McKenna Meuer. But MySpace is a well-known place to log in and make new friends. The online social network has 250 million users.
• Warned, Teens Clean Up MySpace Profiles, Cautionary Email From "Dr. Meg" (AP) CBSNews.com Jan. 6, 2009 Many teenagers cleaned up their MySpace profiles, deleting mentions of sex and booze and boosting privacy settings, if they got a single cautionary e-mail from a busybody named "Dr. Meg." The e-mail was sent by Dr. Megan Moreno, lead researcher of a study of lower-income kids that she says shows how parents and other adults can encourage safer Internet use.
• Art Review: Seeing the Beauty in 5,000 Bugs on the Wall New York Times Jan. 5, 2009 Noted: The 5,000 specimens in “Insect Fantasia” represent about a quarter of her collection; the installation, by Ms. Angus and two assistants from the University of Wisconsin, where she is associate professor in the environment, textiles and design department, took one week.
• Daniel Cubias: Sprechen Zie Deutsch?: Did European Immigrants Really Learn English Quickly? Huffington Post Jan. 5, 2009 Two researchers at the University of Wisconsin - Madison have published a study showing that America has a long history of (dare I say it?) multiculturalism. The researchers are Joseph Salmons, a German professor, and Miranda Wilkerson, a Ph.D. graduate in German.
• As Recession Deepens, So Does Surplus of Milk New York Times Jan. 2, 2009 Quoted: “People don’t want to panic,” said Brian W. Gould, an agricultural economist at the University of Wisconsin, adding that farmers were receiving $20 for 100 pounds of raw milk just a few months ago. The price is expected to drop to about $14 for 100 pounds of raw milk in coming months. “It is unclear as to whether this will be a short-term or long-term market correction. It all depends on how long it takes the U.S. economy to recover,” he said.
• Driven by Instinct, Nets' Harris Crashes Elite Rank New York Times Jan. 2, 2009 Before the highlight-tape drives, his moves a batter of reaction and action, Devin Harris met over the summer for a dinner with Nets Coach Lawrence Frank. They were conjoined through design and distress. Frank’s team seemed to be heading downward. Harris, a promising young point guard who had been traded to the Nets by the Dallas Mavericks in February, was still searching for his role in his new home.
• Challenges have only begun for Iraqi kids who've escaped war to live in Utah Salt Lake Tribune, The Jan. 2, 2009 Quoted: Lewis Leavitt, a University of Wisconsin pediatrics professor and an expert on the effects of war on children. "There are some children who can manage well and actually succeed, but as with any heavy burden, some people can't handle it."
• Scientists recreate nerve disease to study it Reuters Dec. 26, 2008 U.S. scientists have created the first human model for studying a devastating nerve disease, which allows them to watch how the disease develops and could help researchers find a way to treat it. Using skin cells from a child with spinal muscular atrophy, a genetic disease that attacks motor neurons in the spinal cord, researchers grew batches of nerve cells with the same genetic defects. The finding allowed scientists to watch the nerve cells die off.
• Shirtless Barack Obama photos heat up the Internet Dec. 26, 2008 http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-talk-obama-shirtless-24-dec24,0,3288592.story If you were one of the many people who checked out President-elect Barack Obama's topless Hawaiian beach photos this week on the Internet, don't worry, you're not a presidential pervert. "Everybody's gonna talk about it," says Charles Franklin, a political science professor at University of Wisconsin-Madison, who admits that he, too, visited paparazzi blog bauergriffinonline.com late Monday night to see our soon-to-be commander in chief in swim trunks, looking sun-kissed and svelte.
• Visionaries Work to Get Rooftop and Vertical Farming Off the Ground New York Times Dec. 15, 2008 Keith Agoada, 22, became interested in the idea of rooftop farming after winning the top prize — $10,000 — for his Sky Vegetables concept in the University of Wisconsin School of Business 2008 G. Steven Burrill business plan competition. He says that turning a profit is key. “We want the farm to have a financial feasibility,” he said. “The idea is to minimize the carbon footprint while maximizing the profit. Without economic viability, it’s hard to have adaptors.”
• End times and antichrist Wisconsin Radio Network Dec. 9, 2008 The internet is a perfect breeding ground for certain dialogue including interpreting prophecies about the end of the world, according to Robert Glenn Howard, Associate Professor of Religious Studies at UW-Madison.
• Policing the intersection of nanotechnology and culture Ars Technica Dec. 9, 2008 Religious beliefs are important to public support of nanotechnology, as well. Dietram Scheufele from the University of Wisconsin-Madison led a research team that found a correlation between the strength of religious beliefs and the acceptance of nanotechnology across Western nations.
• Migrants' English use rebutted Dec. 9, 2008
• U. of Wisconsin Dean's Perspective on the Economy Seeking Alpha Nov. 21, 2008 Courtesy of the Wilson Law Group, an excellent estate-planning firm here in Madison, one of your correspondents attended a fascinating talk last night. The speaker was the Dean of the University of Wisconsin School of Business, Michael M. Knetter (yes, the "k" gets a little enunciation). Knetter spoke for nearly an hour on a broad range of topics, from international trade to the credit bubble to tax policy. Here are a few highlights, in no particular order, from last night's event:
• Jewish Republican Eric Cantor elected party whip Jerusalem Post Nov. 20, 2008 Quoted: Political scientist Kenneth Goldstein of the University of Wisconsin-Madison said the deep unpopularity of the current Republican president and the spiraling economic crisis caused the "extraordinary" GOP reversals.
• Sleep Makes Room For Memories Science News Nov. 19, 2008 WASHINGTON — Sleep not only refreshes the body, it may also push the reset button on the brain, helping the brain stay flexible and ready to learn, new research shows. Whether it is slow-wave sleep or rapid eye movement (REM), sleep changes the biochemistry of the brain, and the change is necessary to continue learning new things, suggests research presented November 18 at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience. Hundreds of genes behave differently when an animal is asleep rather than awake, says Chiara Cirelli of the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Cirelli and her colleagues are trying to settle a long-standing debate about why sleep is necessary. One theory is that sleep helps solidify memories by replaying information learned during the day. Another idea holds that sleep is for energy restoration.
• New honeycomb tire is 'bulletproof' CNET.com Nov. 18, 2008 The University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Wausau, Wis., company have come up with a 37-inch, bullet and bomb-proof Humvee tire based on a polymeric web so cool looking there's no need for hub caps. Resilient Technologies and Wisconsin-Madison's Polymer Engineering Center are creating a "non-pneumatic tire" (no air required) that will support the weight of add-on armor, survive an IED attack, and still make a 50 mph getaway. It's basically a round honeycomb wrapped with a thick, black tread.