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Ask Ms. Scientist: Runny Noses and Bird Maps

Dear Ms. Scientist,

The Oldest Known Piece of Earth

“It started over beer in a meeting in China in 1998,” said professor John Valley. In Beijing that year, Valley met with Simon Wilde, who was able to provide him and a graduate student with what they needed: “the oldest oxygen on earth [that they] could find.”

Flip Flops

Holoflops could prevent parasites

A prevalent health problem in the developing countries of the tropics and subtropics is helminth or parasitic worm transmission. Among the most common parasites is a hookworm or a nematode roundworm with hooked mouthparts known to cause tissue obstruction, anemia and infestation in the stomach.

UW-Madison members part of South African dig strike fossil gold

Participating in any archeological expedition requires a lot of skill and expertise in order for it to be successful. However, a dig that recently took place in northeastern South Africa had an especially unique qualification for any potential archeologists or excavators—the ability to squeeze through a tiny space called the International Postbox and repel down into a cavern named The Cradle of Humankind for its remarkable contents approximately 30 meters below.

Tongue

Ask Ms. Scientist: Shots of Absinthe and Different Tastes

Dear Ms. Scientist,

2014 Readers' Choice Awards

We asked. You voted. We present to you the 2014 Readers’ Choice Awards Winners. From food carts to drink specials and sushi to sex spots, it doesn’t get better than this. Thanks, readers, for speaking up! 

Rec Sports Master Plan referendum passes

Amid announcements regarding Associated Students of Madison representative positions, the ASM Spring Election resulted in the decision that has been on the campus community’s mind for months: the approval of the Recreational Sports Master Plan referendum.

UW-Madison researchers discover new species

University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers discovered a new parasite following the death of Mahal, an orangutan at the Milwaukee County Zoo, according to a university release.

Revelry may see new home on Langdon Street this year

University of Wisconsin-Madison students could see a new home for the second annual Revelry Music and Arts Festival, as current proposals place the event on Langdon Street, with one stage situated alongside Lake Mendota.

Total Gray Matter

This figure displays the total gray matter for each income group by age. Low income households are represented by the blue line, middle income households by the red line and high income households by the green line.

Poverty may influence brain growth

Poverty can cause a lot of challenges for a child. Parents in poverty tend to be out working most of the time, and they’re stressed by inconsistent income when they aren’t working. The social support network of parents tends to be smaller. Stress accumulates and indirectly passes down to the children. Children of poorly educated parents hear fewer words and tend to receive commands rather than questions. There are fewer books in poor households. Nutrition, hygeine and sleep can also be negatively affected by poverty.

IceCube, 2013 breakthrough of the year, brings neutrinos to the fore

Buried deep within one and a half miles of dark, clear Antarctic ice lies IceCube. After seven years of construction, the IceCube detector was completed in 2010: one cubic-kilometer of ice instrumented with over 5,000 optical sensors.

Cup of Coffee

Ask Ms. Scientist: Sticky Skirts and Coffee Schedules

Dear Ms. Scientist,

UW-Madison to close physics facility

The University of Wisconsin-Madison announced the closure of a Stoughton physics research center Friday, due to a lack of federal funding.

Obama nominates UW-Madison faculty member to federal position

President Barack Obama nominated an associate dean and professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison for a position in the U.S. Department of Health on Feb. 12, continuing the legacy of Badgers serving the department.

Badger student-athletes participate in ‘Science Saturday’

Dozens of University of Wisconsin-Madison student-athletes volunteered at “Science Saturday,” an interactive science fair open to the public Feb. 1, according to a university press release.

Joshua Shutter

UW-Madison senior Joshua Shutter received the 2014 Churchill Scholarship award for his research in chemistry.