Science - The Daily Cardinal

SCIENCE

UW develops new asthma test

By Hamdi Hamzah | May. 4, 2014

Asthma affects one in every 12 people in the United States and this trend is increasing every year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Conventionally, patients are diagnosed through indirect measures such as lung functionality. Direct methods have traditionally required a venipuncture blood draw and thus have been impractical because they can’t be used with everyone. However, with the kit-on-a-lid-assay (KOALA) microfluidic technology developed by a team of the University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers, only one drop of blood is required to detect asthma.

SCIENCE

Ask Ms. Scientist: hops and scantrons

By Corinne Thornton | May. 4, 2014

What are hops and how are they used in beer production?

SCIENCE

Exercise program for elderly reduces injury risks

By Jacob Blitstein | May. 4, 2014

Modern advancements in medicine have allowed the human population to live longer than ever before. There are currently more elderly citizens on our planet than there have ever been. By definition, a person is referred to as elderly or older if they are at least 65 years old. In 2009, the elderly population in the U.S. consisted of 39.6 million people, or about 13 percent of our nation’s population. This number is expected to almost double by 2030 due to a larger younger population that is expected to live longer.

SCIENCE

Wisconsin Institututes for Discovery develop new method of cleaning up oil spills

By Alex Moe | May. 4, 2014

Imagine, if you will, a slick black surface extending as far as the eye can see, where once-clear water now laps sluggishly and dead fish float. This is the reality imposed upon our environment by oil spills, the disastrous result of many oil-tanker or oil-rig accidents. When a large amount of oil is leaked out into the ocean, it can form a coat on top of the water's surface that poisons and smothers sea creatures—especially those that live on the surface of the water.

SCIENCE

Action Project: UW leads in good food system research

By Suma Samudrala | Apr. 21, 2014

Maintaining what nature has to offer us and harmonizing the relationship between nature and humans is the goal of sustainability.

SCIENCE

Action Project: Interest in organic movement grows with technology

By Brita Larson | Apr. 21, 2014

The word “organic” is a buzzword in the whole foods/go natural movement. Prior to my interview with Erin Silva, associate director for the Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems, I had a narrow definition of what “organic” meant. I thought it was just food grown without pesticides typically found at places like Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods and the farmer’s market.

SCIENCE

Ask Ms. Scientist: endangered bananas and hibernation

By Corinne Thornton | Apr. 21, 2014

Dear Ms. Scientist,

SCIENCE

UW Study finds cause of canine tremors

By Catherine Steffel | Apr. 8, 2014

A team of researchers led by Ian Duncan, professor of neuroscience at the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine, reported last November in the journal glia that they have found the genetic basis for canine tremor disorder. Their findings hold implications for dog owners, dog breeders, and families of individuals with certain disorders.

SCIENCE

Self-powered electronics may be the future

By Suma Samudrala | Apr. 8, 2014

Xudong Wang, an assistant professor of material science and engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison is a researcher in the field of nanogenerators, a technology that harvests mechanical or thermal energy into electricity. Wang was one of the early pioneers in the use of nanomaterials to harvest mechanical energy. While research on mechanical energy harvesting already existed, Wang helped advance nanomaterials for this application. While doing his post-doctorate at Georgia Institute of Technology, he developed the first nanogenerator.

SCIENCE

Ask Ms. Scientist: Runny Noses and Bird Maps

By Corinne Thornton | Apr. 8, 2014

Dear Ms. Scientist,

SCIENCE

The Oldest Known Piece of Earth

By Catherine Steffel | Apr. 2, 2014

“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.”

SCIENCE

Holoflops could prevent parasites

By Suma Samudrala | Mar. 11, 2014

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.

SCIENCE

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

By Paul Blazevich and Danielle Smith | Mar. 11, 2014

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.

SCIENCE

Ask Ms. Scientist: Shots of Absinthe and Different Tastes

By Molly Reppen and Corinne Thornton | Mar. 11, 2014

Dear Ms. Scientist,

SCIENCE

Poverty may influence brain growth

By Donald Radcliffe | Feb. 18, 2014

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.

SCIENCE

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

By Catherine Steffel | Feb. 18, 2014

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.

SCIENCE

Ask Ms. Scientist: Sticky Skirts and Coffee Schedules

By Corinne Thornton | Feb. 18, 2014

Dear Ms. Scientist,

CAMPUS NEWS

UW-Madison senior Joshua Shutter receives Churchill Scholarship

By Daniella Emanuel | Feb. 5, 2014

University of Wisconsin-Madison senior Joshua Shutter is one of 14 students in the nation in 2014 to receive the Churchill Scholarship for his research in chemistry.

SCIENCE

Touchscreens may do more for toddlers

By Hamdi Hamzah | Feb. 4, 2014

“Sesame Street.” “Blue’s Clues.” “Dora the Explorer.” These television programs aim to teach children by providing an early exposure to learning. As effective as they are in increasing a child’s ability to learn, interacting with the screen media has proven to be a better way to educate children at the age of two to three years old—a finding reported by Dr. Heather Kirkorian, a researcher at University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Human Ecology.

SCIENCE

Sustainability is becoming a more prominent theme for UW Housing

By By Ethan Safran and Brita Larson | Feb. 4, 2014

When I decided to write about UW’s Housing sustainability projects, I didn’t expect to get a two for one during my interview, but indeed that is what I got. The program manager for sustainability is a brand new position in the housing department, acting as a testament to the importance of sustainability on this campus, and Laura Shere is the first person to hold this esteemed title.