UW-Madison in the Media

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

• Scientists are inching closer to a cure for the common cold Chicago Tribune Feb. 13, 2009 Scientists announced Thursday that they have cracked the genetic code of all known species of the common cold virus, a major step forward in the effort to develop a cure—and perhaps even a vaccine—or the common cold. The findings, published this week in the journal Science, highlighted why researchers have found it so difficult to build effective drugs to combat the virus, which sickens millions each year and sends thousands of children with asthma to the hospital.
• Cure for the Common Cold? Not Yet, but Possible New York Times Feb. 13, 2009 Curing the common cold, one of medicine’s most elusive goals, may now be in the realm of the possible. Researchers said Thursday that they had decoded the genomes of the 99 strains of common cold virus and developed a catalog of its vulnerabilities.
• Adventures in evolution MSNBC.com Feb. 12, 2009 Evolutionary biology isn't just something you do in the lab or the library: Over the past two centuries, scientific pioneers have had to weather seasickness, survive shipwrecks and watch out for polar bears while they ferreted out the facts. In his latest book, "Remarkable Creatures," molecular biologist Sean B. Carroll recounts the rip-roaring adventure tales behind the great advances in the theory of evolution.
• Empathy Might Be in the Genes U.S. News and World Report Feb. 12, 2009 Genes may play a role in a person's ability to empathize with others, suggests a U.S. study involving mice. Researchers trained highly social mice to identify a sound played in a specific cage as negative by also having squeaks of distress come from a mouse in that cage. But a genetically different strain of mice that were less social didn't make the same negative connection.
• A Musician's Final Mission Spectrum Magazine Feb. 10, 2009 As one of the world's premier bass players, Richard Davis's music has touched the lives of countless fans, and his teaching has inspired generations of students in the classroom as well as with the Richard Davis Foundation for Young Bassists, Inc., which provides musical instruction for financially challenged youth.
• U.S. dairy farms in crisis as milk prices turn sour Reuters Feb. 10, 2009 Quoted: "We could see the lowest prices here in January or February. By March or April, we could see prices come up about a dollar or so, but as we move into the second half of the year we could be moving closer to $15 or $16," Bob Cropp, dairy economist at the University of Wisconsin at Madison.
• Freeing Up Stem-Cell Research Technology Review (MIT) Feb. 10, 2009 Three years ago, when Rene Rejo Pera was setting up a new lab at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), she had to make sure she had two of everything: one microscope for her federally funded lab, for example, and one for a privately funded replica next door. Because of funding restrictions on stem-cell research ordered by President George W. Bush in 2001, this was a redundant scenario played out in labs across the country. The edict specifically limited federal funding for embryonic stem-cell research to a small number of cell lines already in existence, leaving scientists who wanted to conduct cutting-edge research in this area scrambling for private money. Quoted: Tim Kamp, codirector of the Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Center at the University of Wisconsin.
• They Don't Make Homo Sapiens Like They Used To Discover Magazine Feb. 10, 2009 Bones don’t lie. John Hawks of the University of Wisconsin at Madison likes evidence he can put his hands on, so he takes me on a tour of the university’s bone laboratory. There, the energetic 36-year-old anthropologist unlocks a glass case and begins arranging human skulls and other skeletal artifacts—some genuine fossils, others high-quality reproductions—on a counter according to their age. Gesturing toward these relics, which span the past 35,000 years, Hawks says, “You don’t have to look hard to see that teeth are getting smaller, skull size is shrinking, stature is getting smaller.”
• No child left behind: Did Bush get it right? Guardian (UK) Feb. 9, 2009 Quoted: Gary Cook, a research scientist at the Wisconsin Centre for Education Research, part of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said that while "aligning the standards is a nice thing to say, I've tried to do it, and it's really difficult."
• New Efforts Focus on Exonerating Prisoners in Cases Without DNA Evidence New York Times Feb. 9, 2009 Noted: So-called innocence projects at Northwestern, the University of Wisconsin and the University of Cincinnati have reported that their non-DNA caseloads have risen. And for almost a year the district attorney in Dallas has been focusing on wrongful-conviction claims that lack DNA evidence.
• The evolution of Darwin's theory Los Angeles Times Feb. 9, 2009 Blue eyes are typically associated with beauty, or perhaps Frank Sinatra. But to University of Wisconsin anthropologist John Hawks, they represent an evolutionary mystery. For nearly all of human history, everyone in the world had brown eyes. Then, between 6,000 and 10,000 years ago, the first blue-eyed baby was born somewhere near the Black Sea.
• 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.