UW-Madison

  1. Wisconsin cave holds tantalizing clues to ancient climate changes, future shifts

    Photo of then-UW student Cameron Batchelor (left) and Richard Slaughter (right), director of the Geology Museum at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, studying cave walls while doing research at the Cave of the Mounds near Blue Mounds, Wisconsin. Batchelor led the analysis of mineral samples to identify a possible link between ice age warm-ups recorded in the Greenland ice sheet. PHOTO: BRYCE RICHTER

    March 15, 2023

    Even in their dark isolation from the atmosphere above, caves can hold a rich archive of local climate conditions and how they’ve shifted over the eons. Formed over tens of thousands of years, speleothems — rock formations unique to caves better known as stalagmites and stalactites — hold secrets to the ancient environments from which […]

  2. New carbon nanotube-based foam promises superior protection against concussions

    Photo of postdoctoral research associate Komal Chawla, who studies the architected vertically aligned carbon nanotube foam in the lab. JOEL HALLBERG

    December 14, 2022

    Developed by University of Wisconsin–Madison engineers, a lightweight, ultra-shock-absorbing foam could vastly improve helmets designed to protect people from strong blows. The new material exhibits 18 times higher specific energy absorption than the foam currently used in U.S. military combat helmet liners, as well as having much greater strength and stiffness, which could allow it […]

  3. A Research Network at the Nexus of Water and Agriculture

    Photo of students meeting with farmers during the Ag-Water Nexus field trip.

    December 1, 2022

    Wisconsin’s abundant rivers, lakes and streams helped the state become an agricultural leader. Yet agricultural processes, including irrigation and pesticide use, also greatly impact our state’s water quality and quantity. One of the biggest challenges facing Wisconsin is determining how to maintain the state’s agricultural prominence while also ensuring plenty of safe water for drinking, […]

  4. Wearable sensor can help unlock the potential of exosuits in real-world environments

    Photo of a study participant wearing the exosuit and tensiometer while walking outside. PHOTO BY HARVARD BIODESIGN LAB

    November 29, 2022

    Wearing an exosuit could help people rehab from an injury or even give them extra oomph if they’re carrying something heavy. But, according to University of Wisconsin–Madison and Harvard University researchers, not everyone who dons a wearable robot today can immediately reap benefits from the assistance. For the first time, the research team harnessed a […]

  5. UW-Madison grad students work with climatologist on tool to alert communities to dangerous heat levels

    Photo of (from left) graduate students Sara Pabich, Elizabeth Berg, and Becky Rose, who are collecting data for a new heat warning system that could help save lives. PHOTO: ALTHEA DOTZOUR

    November 18, 2022

    As dangerous heat levels are breaking records across the United States and the world, three University of Wisconsin–Madison graduate students are collecting data to inform a heat warning system based on health outcomes — a tool they hope could eventually save lives. Nelson Institute Environment & Resources PhD students Elizabeth Berg and Becky Rose and […]

  6. New interactive mural invites exploration and engagement with science

    Photo of a mural by artists Alicia Rheal, Sharon Tang and Amy Zaremba now hanging in the Town Center of the Discovery Building. The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation commissioned the work, titled “Landscape of Discovery.” MICHAEL P. KING

    November 9, 2022

    Bright colors, bold lines and intricate patterns framed within abstract shapes come together to form a new mural currently on display in the first-floor atrium of the Discovery Building. Created by Wisconsin artists in partnership with the Illuminating Discovery’s Science to Street Art initiative at the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, the Morgridge Institute for Research […]

  7. New UW-Madison study allows scientists to test therapeutics for rare disease affecting young children

    Image of a human stem cell-derived neuron, the Trk-fused gene protein (TFG) is shown in green and the Golgi Apparatus, the organelle which helps package proteins for transport to the rest of the neuron, is shown in red. UW–MADISON

    October 21, 2022

    For the first time, scientists will be able to test therapeutics for a group of rare neurodegenerative diseases that affect infants and young children thanks to a new research model created by scientists at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Hereditary spastic paraplegias (HSPs) are a group of neurodegenerative diseases caused by genetic mutations. They lead tens […]

  8. UW-Stevens Point: Helping more people access farmers markets

    Photo of alumna Taylor Christiansen (left) and Alissa Lick, graduate assistant in the Sustainable and Resilient Food Systems program at UW-Stevens Point, who are at the Marshfield farm market, one of six where customers and vendors are being surveyed.

    September 21, 2022

    Current and former UW-Stevens Point students are working to improve access to nutritious food at farmers markets in central Wisconsin. Thanks to a U.S. Department of Agriculture grant of $200,000, they are studying farmers markets in Adams, Marshfield, town of Rome, Stevens Point, Waupaca, Wausau and Wisconsin Rapids. The project aims to establish a Central Wisconsin […]

  9. UW-Madison: New injectable gel offers promise for tough-to-treat brain tumors

    Photo of Quanyin Hu

    August 23, 2022

    Like the hardiest weed, glioblastoma almost always springs back — usually within months after a patient’s initial brain tumor is surgically removed. That is why survival rates for this cancer are just 25 percent at one year and plummet to 5 percent by the five-year mark. One of the challenges of treating this disease is […]

  10. UW-Stout: Health of Red Cedar watershed topic of LAKES students, mentors Aug. 11 community presentation

    Photo of Senior Lecturer Arthur Kneeland (center, back) with LAKES students Evelyn Dyer (left) and Sahi Chundu scooping soil samples from the riverbed.

    August 10, 2022

    Eleven researchers from around U.S. invite conversations on challenges, opportunities in the region Eleven students from universities across the nation conducted research this summer to understand and improve the health of the Red Cedar watershed, which is affected by eutrophication – phosphorus and nitrogen pollution, causing blue-green algae blooms and dissolved oxygen levels. UW-Stout professors […]

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