Science

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SCIENCE

Study to connect concussions and academics

By Julie Spitzer | Sep. 26, 2016

The stick hit the puck and the puck glided across the ice. As the blades on his skates did the same, Vaughn Kottler, a now junior at UW-Madison but an incoming high school junior at the time, scurried around the hockey rink at tryouts. Little did he know what was about to hit him. He was so fixated on the puck and his stick, doing his best to make the team, that he didn’t notice the other player and the side of the rink so close to him. Crash! His body—and head—hit the boards.

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PODCAST

Sciencecast: Climate Change Series - Episode 1

By Julie Spitzer and Katie Piel | Sep. 26, 2016

Introducing Sciencecast: Climate Change Series! Twice a month, we will explore various facets of climate change through interviews with UW experts.

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SCIENCE

Fires damage, help forests

By Maggie Liu | Sep. 26, 2016

Yellowstone National Park is the nation’s oldest national park, spanning one of the largest swathes of wilderness in America. It’s famed for its pristine landscape and iconic wildlife. As UW-Madison’s Eugene P. Odum professor of ecology Monica Turner states, Yellowstone is the “crown jewel” of American national parks. However, Yellowstone’s forests, along with forest ecosystems elsewhere, are in danger of climate change.

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SCIENCE

Ask Ms. Scientist: knuckle pops and black holes

By Jordan Gaal and Maggie Liu | Sep. 26, 2016

Why do knuckles pop? What are black holes?

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SCIENCE

Worms invade Wisconsin soils, potentially harm plants

By Julie Spitzer | Sep. 12, 2016

While earthworms are generally welcomed in soils for their ability to break down dead leaves and other organic matter into nutrients the plants can absorb, the invasive Asian jumping worm does so at an astounding rate, potentially accelerating the losses of nutrients from soils and harming native plants.

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SCIENCE

University of San Diego lab showcased at Waisman Center lecture

By Kelsey O'Hara | Sep. 12, 2016

Previous UW-Madison research suggests autism can be reliably diagnosed by age two, but fewer than half of children with autism spectrum disorders are being identified in their communities by age five nationwide.

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SCIENCE

Ask Ms. Scientist: Hands and GMOs

By Jordan Gaal and Maggie Liu | Sep. 12, 2016

Dear Ms. Scientist, Why are so many people right handed? Manuel A. About 90 percent of all people around the world are right-handed.

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SCIENCE

Symmetry helps build synthetic collagen

By Julie Spitzer | Sep. 6, 2016

An assistant scientist at UW-Madison has a developed new design strategy for creating much more stable synthetic collagen, a previously difficult task.

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SCIENCE

Student debunks myth, wins challenge

By Julie Spitzer | Sep. 6, 2016

A fourth-year biomedical engineering student at UW-Madison has won the grand prize of an international, GE sponsored, university challenge for his proposed technique to do the impossible.

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SCIENCE

NASA appoints UW professor to lead new initiative

By Josie Russo | Sep. 6, 2016

For the general population, satellites are simply there to help watch T.V., text, for the conspiracy theorists, spying or for a Skynet-esque takeover.

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SCIENCE

Breaking down panda digestion

By Michael Frett | Jun. 9, 2016

In one of nature’s more endearing displays, a panda paws at a narrow, basil-colored stick of bamboo.

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SCIENCE

Capturing Wisconsin wildlife

By Jordan Gaal | Jun. 9, 2016

Wisconsin wildlife is about to take center stage and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is preparing to welcome these new celebrities.

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SCIENCE

Urban heat island effect hits Madison

By Yunhong Wu | Jun. 9, 2016

Urban heat island effect is a direct result of urbanization, through its conversion of pervious areas, or permeable surfaces that promise the growth of plants, into impervious areas, or hard surfaces like cement sidewalks or parking lots. The UHI effect means that the air in cities is warmer than the air in the countryside.

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SCIENCE

Post-drought forest repair challenged

By Michael Frett | May. 1, 2016

For more than a hundred years, Yellowstone has drawn millions to the American West. Each year, more than 3 million people visit the park, stopping for its 19,000-year-old geysers, its million-year-old mountains and its blankets of forests that look just as dense as they do in the hundred-year-old photos in the textbooks.

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SCIENCE

Worldwide climate is changing

By Jordan Gaal | May. 1, 2016

The earth is warming. Ninety-seven percent of scientists have agreed on the consensus that climate change is real and caused by man.

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SCIENCE

Ask Ms. Scientist: boiling pasta and Scantron machines

By Julie Spitzer | May. 1, 2016

Why does pasta boil over? How do Scantron machines work?

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CAMPUS NEWS

Science writer to talk to UW classes about science in the field of journalism

By Hannah Malone | Apr. 19, 2016

Alex Witze, science writer and journalist for Nature and Science News magazines, is on UW-Madison’s campus this week to discuss how to be a reporter in the current world of journalism and science.

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CAMPUS NEWS

UW-Madison research indicates meditation can improve attention span

By Peter Coutu | Apr. 19, 2016

A study published April 18 by Scientific Reports journal, conducted by UW-Madison researchers, indicated that short meditation exercises can help improve the attention span of those who multitask with different forms of media.

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SCIENCE

Music benefits the mind and health

By Maggie Liu | Apr. 18, 2016

Music is a universal language. It can make you laugh or cry. It can soothe you after a stressful day, or get your blood pumping for a competition.

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CAMPUS NEWS

Center for Healthy Minds researches best ways to improve mental health, well being

By Negassi Tesfamichael | Apr. 18, 2016

For most people, exercise includes breaking a sweat by lifting weights, going for a run or playing a game of pick-up basketball. However, researchers at UW-Madison’s Center for Healthy Minds focus on training the mind in order to seek better health.