University of Wisconsin–Madison

Tyler Fox

This post comes to us from departing science writing intern Tyler Fox, who graduated in May. Congrats, Tyler! And thanks for a year of great stories. Cannabidiol, better known as CBD, is everywhere. Walgreens and CVS now offer lotions and snacks containing CBD. Local restaurants sell cocktails with CBD infusions. […]

CBD: what researchers and medical professionals do and don’t know

June 14, 2019 by Tyler Fox

Hawaiian bobtail squid typically grow to around a golf ball in size, and have no outer protection from predators besides counter-illumination. — Imagine you’re a plucky, golf ball-sized squid swimming in the clear blue ocean on a moonlit night. Your round shape means a distinctive shadow casts on the ocean floor thanks to the light of the moon, and predators are looking for prey by night. How do you, a small piece […]

How charming squid and glowing bacteria make a match in ...

May 1, 2019 by Tyler Fox

Students examine their bacterial cultures as they check on how their variables affect the development of antibiotic stimuli. — More and more bacteria are becoming resistant to traditional antibiotics, and this resistance has become a focal point of research at many universities. Common infections like pneumonia, tuberculosis and salmonellosis are becoming harder to treat with today’s antibiotic medicines – creating an urgent need for new antibiotics. Tiny Earth was […]

Tiny Earth: Advancing antibiotic discoveries through undergraduate research

March 27, 2019 by Tyler Fox

Seven days before the polar vortex blanketed Madison in nearly record-low temperatures, researchers, meteorologists and UW administrative leaders were already discussing how campus would be affected. Immediately after learning of the impending cold, Shane Hubbard began to work with UWPD’s Emergency Management Unit to advise and prepare campus . A research […]

Disaster watch: Meet the meteorologist who keeps campus safe

February 13, 2019 by Tyler Fox

In July of 2018, a stalwart tree that had towered over the University of Wisconsin–Madison campus for generations and provided shade and residence for countless organisms was cut down. The American elm was one of the many long-standing elms in the U.S. to succumb to Dutch elm disease. Despite great […]

Elm tree conservation stayed by hybrid species research

December 12, 2018 by Tyler Fox

Waisman Center senior scientist Alexander Converse and colleagues from several international universities recently published a rhesus macaque brain atlas aligned to a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) template. — This post was contributed by Mason Muerhoff, who is the Associate University Relations Specialist for the Waisman Center. In search of a way to improve how scientists analyze brain images, researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison Waisman Center decided to build a brain. Or at least, a brain model. Waisman […]

How to make an open-source, computerized map of the brain

November 9, 2018 by Tyler Fox

No matter where you are, you can’t help but notice the new buildings slowly rising above the streets of University of Wisconsin-Madison’s campus. These new spaces are poised to enrich campus life for both students and faculty by providing new opportunities for education, culture and recreation to all on campus […]

How the new UW buildings will transform campus

November 2, 2018 by Tyler Fox

These lymphocytes, called monocytes, are partly how infectious mononucleosis got its name. — This summer, I started running. Partly because it seemed healthier than lifting, but also because summer gym memberships are expensive. However, being an inexperienced runner, and balancing multiple jobs, I often went for runs at odd times, like at night or on days where the heat index topped 100 degrees. […]

As a new semester starts, UW faculty discuss a common ...

October 1, 2018 by Tyler Fox

Chicken egg production varies throughout the world, though US practices may be the most rigorous. — If you’ve ever travelled abroad and visited a food market, you might’ve found a peculiar sight: open stands with shelves of unrefrigerated, unwashed eggs on display. In the U.S., this would be unthinkable. So why do we take such care to wash our eggs, transport them in temperature-controlled trucks, and […]

Most of the world does not refrigerate their eggs. So ...

September 12, 2018 by Tyler Fox