The Wisconsin Week Wire — May 14, 2008
Top News
Support offered to students displaced by fraternity fire
The campus and Madison communities are coming together to respond to a fire early May 13 that destroyed the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity house at 237 Langdon St.
Geography students put local foods on the map
Four UW–Madison geography students have created an interactive, online map of food sources within 100 miles of Madison, with a goal of educating consumers and providing a resource for those interested in eating close to home.
Research
Virus mimics human protein to hijack cell-division machinery
A new study has found that human cytomegalovirus can mimic the common regulatory protein to hijack normal cell-growth machinery, disrupting a cell’s primary anti-cancer mechanism.
Sweeping analysis of research reinforces media influence on female body image
UW–Madison researchers have found that exposure to media depicting ultra-thin actresses and models significantly increased women’s concerns about their bodies, including how dissatisfied they felt and their likelihood to engage in unhealthy eating behaviors.
Features
Engineering senior turns hobby into cash
A senior graduating with a degree in biological systems engineering has turned a passion for Hula Hoops into a business.
Class works to protect lakes in service-learning project
A journalism class worked this semester on a service-learning project aimed at building awareness for the state’s Clean Boats, Clean Waters mission.
On Campus
Events calendar
Commencement ceremonies to be held this weekend
The university’s spring commencement ceremonies will take place Friday–Sunday, May 16–18, at the Kohl Center.
Gypsy moth spraying planned for campus, Arboretum
Aerial spraying to protect trees and forests from the potentially defoliating effects of the invasive gypsy moth could begin in Wisconsin in the next two weeks.
Conference to examine challenges, opportunities in housing market
The Graaskamp Center for Real Estate will host the conference “Challenges and Opportunities in Today’s Housing Markets” from 8:30 a.m.–4:15 p.m. on Friday, June 6, at the Fluno Center.
University builds new entrepreneurship learning community
UW–Madison will launch a new living-and-learning community next fall for students interested in entrepreneurship.
UW–Madison, club provide hearing aids
A program coordinated by the Department of Communicative Disorders and the Sertoma Club of Madison turns used hearing aids into credits to purchase new hearing aids for qualified recipients.
Institute sponsors symposium to explore integration of math, biology
The Morgridge Institute for Research and the Graduate School are sponsoring a two-day symposium open to faculty and academic staff interested in exploring the interfaces connecting the mathematic, computational and biological sciences, and the major impact of these evolving interactions on research, education, training and discovery.
Jazz benefit honors four early childhood educators
Local jazz singer Jan Wheaton, with the Jan Wheaton Quintet, will perform in a fundraising event to benefit UW–Madison campus child care centers.