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Category: Research

Scientists scrutinize happiness research

Knowable Magazine

Simon Goldberg, a psychologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, studies the effects of meditation, including research among people who have psychological problems such as depression and anxiety. He noted that because of Dunn and Folk’s strict criteria, they omitted hundreds of studies on meditation’s benefits. “It’s, in the spirit of rigor, throwing lots of babies out with the bathwater,” he says. “It’s really very obvious that meditation training reduces symptoms of anxiety and depression.”

AI copilots and cloud labs turbocharge research

Axios

Strateos, a Menlo Park-based cloud lab provider, says it has been able to reduce the experimental time cycle of protein engineers at University of Wisconsin Madison from 8 days to 6 hours by combining an “AI-driven protein design platform” with a cloud lab.

Wisconsin election clerks fear ‘ping pong’ of ever-changing rules

The Capital Times

A University of Wisconsin-Madison study of local clerks’ experiences after the contentious 2020 election found that over 60% of those surveyed said the turmoil wouldn’t affect their decision to continue serving. Some found that the experience actually strengthened their resolve to keep administering elections.

Wisconsin’s first nut crop fights climate change, farmers say

The Capital Times

Researchers and farmers have been trying to crossbreed these two species of hazelnuts for over 100 years, said Jason Fischbach, emerging crops outreach specialist with the University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension. Since 2007, Fischbach has worked to develop a commercially viable version of this crop through the Upper Midwest Hazelnut Development Initiative. He partnered with farmers who grew the plant from seedlings to breed the best varieties.

New Study Uncovers ‘Dark Vessels’ in the Ocean

The Inertia

Researchers have recently found a way to shine a light on ocean activity that was once conducted in the shadows. A new study published in the journal Nature was spearheaded with Global Fishing Watch (GFW), alongside researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Duke University, University of California Santa Barbara, and SkyTruth. In it, they combined satellite imagery, vessel GPS data and artificial intelligence to map industrial vessel activity and offshore energy infrastructure across the world from 2017 to 202

UW-Madison researcher shows spike in early births linked to COVID-19 infections declined as more people were vaccinated

Wisconsin Public Radio

At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, many health experts were concerned about the new disease’s impact on older adults and people who are immunocompromised.

Jenna Nobles, sociology professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, was interested in another potentially vulnerable group – pregnant people.

“We know that emerging infectious diseases can be extremely consequential for pregnancies, both people who are carrying the pregnancies and the infants who are born from them,” Nobles said.

We Are About to Enter the Golden Age of Gene Therapy

Inverse

Krishanu Saha, a bioengineer at the University of Wisconsin–Madison whose lab is working on gene therapies for treating blindness, says the precision allowed by CRISPR-Cas9’s programmability is its singular selling point.

“Traditional gene therapy, which we call gene augmentation, is essentially flooding the cell with extra copies of a normal gene; in some cases, this doesn’t work,” Saha tells Inverse. “We found in a few cases, it’s really important to destroy the mutant copy of the [gene] or fix the underlying mutation and that’s where you have to have the precision of CRISPR to go in and specifically do that.”

Study: Lack of childhood nurturing linked to accelerated aging

Wisconsin Public Radio

A new study by a researcher at the University of Wisconsin-Madison found that a lack of nurturing as a child is associated with accelerated aging later in life. The research looks at changes to a person’s genome that have been linked to their environment or behaviors — what’s called epigenetics. These markers can indicate a person’s biological age, or how much their body has aged physically.

Lauren Schmitz, professor at UW-Madison’s La Follette School of Public Affairs, said the field of research around these epigenetic changes is still new because data is limited. Studies require both survey data on people’s health experiences and a blood sample.

Novel helmet liner 30 times better at stopping concussions

New Atlas

To improve their effectiveness, helmets worn by military personnel and sportspeople must employ a liner material that limits both. This is where researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison come in. Determined to prevent – or lessen the effect of – TBIs caused by knocks to the body and head, they’ve developed a new lightweight foam material for use as a helmet liner.

Wisconsin scientists study how to keep cheese fresh and prolong the squeakiness of cheese curds

Wisconsin Public Radio

At the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Center for Dairy Research, tasting cheese is serious business.

“Everything is prescribed, down to what temperature we taste at, how many chews we do, how forcefully we chew and a lot of other things that standardize how we taste,” said Brandon Prochaska, a sensory coordinator for the center, during a recent appearance on WPR’s “The Morning Show.”

Common chemo drugs for cancer work differently than assumed, UW study says

Wisconsin State Journal

Widely used chemotherapy drugs don’t attack cancer the way doctors thought, according to a UW-Madison study that identifies a new mechanism that could improve the search for new drugs and help tailor treatments for patients,

“It’s a totally different mechanism than the field had been thinking about for the last several decades,” said Beth Weaver, a UW-Madison professor of cell and regenerative biology who is senior author of the study, published recently in the journal PLOS Biology.

UW study: Mice live longer, healthier lives with less of one amino acid

Wisconsin Public Radio

A calorie is not just a calorie. That’s the lesson University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers said they demonstrated in a new study where mice lost weight while eating more.

“And they’re fitter throughout their lifespan, too,” said professor and metabolism researcher Dudley Lamming. “So they’re still able to run and climb, and they don’t grow as frail as normal animals do as they age.”

New research highlights effects of biodiversity and pollution in spread of animal diseases

Wisconsin Public Radio

New research out of the University of Wisconsin-Madison shows that pollution and biodiversity are factors that can change how vulnerable animals are to disease or parasites.

Jess Hua, an associate professor in the department of Forest Wildlife and Ecology at UW-Madison, said diseases affecting various animal species are “emerging at unprecedented rates” and biologists are trying to learn why.

Octopus DNA seems to confirm scientists’ theory about a long-standing geological mystery

CNN

In a commentary published alongside the study, Andrea Dutton, a professor in the department of geoscience at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Robert M.
DeConto, a professor at the School of Earth and Sustainability at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, called the new research “pioneering.”

They noted that while geological evidence had been mounting that the icy expanse of the West Antarctic ice sheet may have collapsed during the Last Interglacial period, “each study’s findings have come with caveats.”

Could lab-grown meat compete with factory farms?

Wisconsin Public Radio

Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture approved the first lab-grown chicken meat for commercial sale. It’s the first cell-cultivated meat to be approved in the country, and it’s grown from stem cells in a bioreactor—no slaughter required. We talk to Jeff Sindelar, a professor and extension meat specialist in the department of Animal Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, about whether lab-grown meat could eventually compete with the factory-farmed meat that dominates the industry.

Tax credits and remote work

POLITICO

New Jersey development continues to flourish in some of the Garden State’s most fire-prone areas, the Asbury Park Press found during an analysis of housing and forest data from the University of Wisconsin.

Why won’t we listen? How about 25 Black counselors and teachers in MPS, not cops.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

New research by a University of Wisconsin-Madison professor suggests police in schools don’t reduce violence, diminish crime, or have any impact on the presence of weapons or drugs in a school.

If anything, having police in schools has an impact on young people’s mental health, according to Ben Fisher, a UW-Madison associate professor who reviewed 32 evaluations of school-based police programs, said he found that police in schools weren’t shown to diminish school violence, crime, or the presence of weapons or drugs.

UW-Madison Researcher: AI holds promise in schools

Spectrum News

A University of Wisconsin-Madison researcher who studies technology in education said artificial intelligence holds promise in schools. David Williamson Shaffer is the Sears Bascom Professor of Learning Analytics at UW-Madison. He got into this work after being a teacher in the 80s and 90s.

“Graphing calculators and computers were just starting to come to the place where they were impacting the classroom, were a kind of change agent,” Shaffer said. “They were a way in which the old system was disrupted just enough that we had a chance to rethink a little bit about what we were doing.”

Tantalum cold spray boosts potential of fusion reactor chambers

New Atlas

“These hydrogen neutral particles cause power losses in the plasma, which makes it very challenging to sustain a hot plasma and have an effective small fusion reactor,” said Mykola Ialovega, a postdoctoral researcher in nuclear engineering and engineering physics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW–Madison). Ialovega has led research on a coating that has demonstrated the ability to line fusion reactor chambers and capture this rogue hydrogen.

Wisconsin scientists studying gene-editing tech to cure blindness

Wisconsin Public Radio

Krishanu Saha leads the CRISPR Vision Program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and is member of National Institute of Health’s Somatic Cell Genome Editing Consortium. His lab is specifically studying how to cure Best disease as well as Leber congenital amaurosis, one of the most common causes of blindness in children.

“All of the testing that we’ve done thus far shows a lot of promise that it can actually correct the defects in these cells. And so the task for us over the next five years is to formulate a medicine that could be used here in trials enrolling patients,” Saha said in a recent interview with WPR’s “The Morning Show.”

Smith: A marten on Madeline Island is part of positive trend for endangered species

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The marten has been the focus of several reintroduction efforts over the last 75 years. Ten Pacific marten were introduced to the Apostle Islands from Montana and British Columbia in the 1950’s but didn’t survive; the last was detected in 1969, according to Jonathan Pauli, marten researcher and professor in the Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Wisconsin.

The forgiving brain

CNN, "Chasing Life with Dr. Sanjay Gupta"

During the holiday season, we’re often encouraged to make amends and forgive people, but what does it take to really forgive someone? And what happens to your brain and body when you do… or don’t? In this episode, Dr. Sanjay Gupta talks with forgiveness science pioneer, Robert Enright. He’s been studying and writing about forgiveness for decades at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and he says forgiveness is a choice, and that your ability to do it can be strengthened like a muscle. Enright walks us through a range of scenarios, from forgiving small things like being late for a meeting to larg

Studying Wisconsin’s class of 1957

Wisconsin Public Radio

How does late adolescence impact you in your 80s? A decades-long study aims to answer that question after following thousands of students who graduated from Wisconsin high schools in 1957. We hear from Michal Engleman, an associate professor of sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and current director of the study, on takeaways from one of the longest longitudinal studies in the country.

‘Plant hardiness’ can help map Wisconsin’s changing climate. Here’s how.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The map is meant for horticulture, not agriculture, said Chris Kucharik, a plant and agrosystem sciences professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, because farmers in the Midwest have largely been planting the same crops for decades.

Since the last map was released in 2012, all of Wisconsin’s hardiness zones have shifted about half a zone warmer, said Laura Jull, associate professor in the plant and agrosystem sciences department at UW-Madison.

Tasting cheese for dairy research

Wisconsin Public Radio

When the University of Wisconsin-Madison posted five part-time cheese tasting positions for its Center for Dairy Research, more than two hundred people applied for the jobs. Brandon Prochaska, the center’s sensory coordinator, tells us what it takes to taste cheese for scientific research.

Misinformation research plows ahead—but so do detractors

Inside Higher Ed

Mike Wagner, Helen Firstbrook Franklin Professor of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, received a letter from Jordan, the House Judiciary chair, in August requesting documents—followed by a subpoena in September demanding them. The August letter, which Wagner provided to Inside Higher Ed, noted that Course Correct, a project the University of Wisconsin at Madison is involved in, was funded by the National Science Foundation. The letter said the grant program was very similar “to efforts by other federal agencies to use grants to outsource censorship to third parties.”

UW-Madison grads create Happy Scratch to help pets fight allergies

The Capital Times

Happy Scratch, a nutritional supplement for cats and dogs with seasonal or food allergies, began in the laboratory of the late UW-Madison animal science professor Mark Cook, who discovered the allergy-fighting technology with molecular toxicologist Jordan Sand about 10 years ago. The two patented their discovery in conjunction with the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation.

Dane, Milwaukee counties stop making unwed fathers pay for Medicaid birth costs

Wisconsin State Journal

In Dane County, fathers were more likely to pay child support, and those payments increased, after the county stopped new birth cost recovery cases in 2020, according to a study this year by UW-Madison researchers. The study, by the university’s Institute for Research on Poverty, compared unmarried Medicaid deliveries in the county in 2020-2021 with those outside of the county in 2016-2021 and in the county before 2020.

UW professor behind study showing COVID-19 vaccines reduced premature births breaks down findings

WISC-TV 3

COVID-19 caused an alarming surge in premature births, says Jenna Nobles, a UW sociology professor. “The effect of maternal COVID infection from the onset of the pandemic into 2023 is large, increasing the risk of preterm births over that time by 1.2 percentage points,” Nobles said. “To move the needle on preterm birth that much is akin to a disastrous environmental exposure, like weeks of breathing intense wildfire smoke.”

Exercise may help treat and even prevent postpartum depression. Researchers recommend this weekly routine

Fortune

Other potential non-drug treatments that may help ease PPD, according to the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health, include: counseling or therapy, including art therapysocial support from groups like La Leche League, or community groups based at religious centers, libraries, and/or public health centers.

UW-Madison professor discusses upcoming United Nations climate change conference

WORT FM

Professor Sumudu Atapattu is the director of the Global Legal Studies Center at UW-Madison Law School. She’ll be attending the conference and spoke to WORT News Producer Faye Parks earlier this afternoon. Professor Atapattu says that human rights and climate change are inextricably tied – and the nations of the world need to prepare.

Government-education censorship alliance is the greatest threat to democracy

Fox News

Given the ‘success’ of this project, the Biden administration expanded the government-higher education alliance in June 2021 through the National Strategy for Countering Domestic Terrorism. Since then, a plethora of new partnerships between the government and higher education have emerged to shape our perceptions and opinions. For example, the National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded $5 million taxpayer dollars to the University of Wisconsin to develop a system that can detect and “strategically correct” what the government perceives as misinformation. This is in addition to $7.5 million awarded to ten other universities to work on similar censorship-type programs, and $40 million awarded to 15 higher education institutions under the “Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention Grant.”

Wisconsinites observe negotiations at United National Climate Change Conference

Wisconsin Public Radio

Several representatives from the University of Wisconsin-Madison are observing the negotiations in Dubai. Sumudu Atapattu, director of the Global Legal Studies Center at the University of Wisconsin Law School; Jonathan Patz, director of the Global Health Institute at UW-Madison; and Nova Tebbe, a PhD student focusing on the health benefits of climate mitigation policy, will share what they learn with a virtual audience on Dec. 4.

Under new bill, Wisconsinites could seek mental health services from out-of-state providers via telehealth

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Ignatowski, the Institute for Reforming Government director, noted that Wisconsin is ranked No. 32 in the United States for the number of mental health professionals.

That ranking is based on 2021 data from the County Health Rankings & Roadmaps, a program of the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute. Data from 2023 show that there are 420 people for every one mental health provider registered in Wisconsin. The national ratio is 340 people per one provider.

Tom Still: Expert on AI jitters — Calm down, learn to use it, keep people at its center

Wisconsin State Journal

Enter the steadying voice of Charles Isbell Jr., a nationally recognized expert in computing and AI who started work this summer at the UW-Madison as its latest provost.

If the UW-Madison were a private company, the role of provost might best be described as “chief academic officer.” It is historically the No. 2 position on campus behind the chancellor. Isbell is settling into that role across UW-Madison’s many colleges and schools, but he also brings a wealth of experience in what is one of the defining technological moments in a generation.

COVID Vaccine Prevented Thousands of Premature Births in Pandemic—Study

Newsweek

In their study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Torche and Jenna Nobles from the University of Wisconsin-Madison analyzed birth records from siblings born in California between 2014 and 2023. By comparing sibling births, the researchers found that from July to November 2020 mothers were nearly twice as likely to give birth three weeks before their due date.

Bipartisan bill would make it easier to treat veterans’ PTSD with magic mushrooms

Wisconsin Public Radio

To give Wisconsin veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder more options, a bipartisan group of lawmakers is working to make it easier for researchers to treat those with acute PTSD with the active ingredient in hallucinogenic mushrooms.

The bill would create a state trust fund called the “medicinal psilocybin treatment program” that would be administered by researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Opinion | Biden Trade Policy Breaks With Tech Giants

New York Times

The truth is that Ms. Tai is taking the pen away from Facebook, Google and Amazon, who helped shape the previous policy, according to a research paper published earlier this year by Wendy Li, a doctoral candidate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who used to answer the phone and interact with lobbyists at the U.S. trade representative’s office.

Wisconsin’s ‘Happy Days cohort’ is helping researchers understand aging

Wisconsin State Journal

“We’re trying to understand how this rich data that we collected when they were younger and in middle age is influencing their memory and cognitive function now,” said Michal Engelman, a UW-Madison sociology professor who directs the study.

“There’s biological and physiological processes, but there’s also the social and economic environment,” Engelman said. “All of these things work together to shape people’s well-being through their life course.”

Reducing intake of one amino acid improves longevity & health in mice

New Atlas

Studies into the benefits of protein-restricted diets have shown that lower protein consumption is associated with a decreased risk of age-related diseases and mortality and improved metabolic health. Now, exploring alternatives to calorie-restricting diets, researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have found that reducing the intake of a single amino acid in mice extended their lifespan, making them leaner, less frail, and less susceptible to cancer.

“We like to say a calorie is not just a calorie,” said Dudley Lamming, corresponding author of the study. “Different components of your diet have value and impact beyond their function as a calorie, and we’ve been digging in on one component that many people may be eating too much of.”

New analysis looks at relationship between gender, wages and trust in tap water

Wisconsin Public Radio

A recent analysis from a UW-Madison professor finds that bottled water consumption is most prevalent among low-income women, signaling a distrust in household tap water. We speak with Manny Teodoro, an associate Professor in the LaFollette School of Public Affairs/Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies at UW-Madison.

Is eating cheese on your resume? In Wisconsin, it could be

WUWM

When the University of Wisconsin’s Center for Dairy Research publicized it was looking for a new crew of cheese tasters, the response was exuberant, as you might expect in a state known as the country’s cheese capital.

250 people applied for five part-time jobs available. The Center rigorously trains them to analyze cheese made and provided by graduate student researchers, pizza makers and the state’s esteemed cheese industry.