University of Wisconsin–Madison

Genetics

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

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

An abstract image shows a DNA double helix overlaying a human outline, with cartoon molecules depicting the different genetic and protein changes that may be causing disease — Precision medicine has become a fairly big buzzword in cancer treatment lately. The University of Wisconsin is planning the UW Center for Human Genomics and Precision Medicine, and the Wisconsin state government’s recently-passed budget includes funding for the UW Carbone Cancer Center’s statewide Precision Medicine Molecular Tumor Board. What is […]

What is precision medicine in cancer treatment?

September 25, 2017 by Sarah Perdue

When Max Haase set out for a walk in Green Bay’s Baird Creek Nature Preserve on a May day in 2015, it was pretty normal stuff. Baird Creek was practically in his backyard, and it was a good day for a hike — sunny and unseasonably warm for so early […]

“Packers” yeast, newly identified by a UW–Madison undergrad, uncovers a ...

May 26, 2017 by Chris Barncard

Mark Burkard and colleagues knew that when cells — from yeast to humans — have more DNA than normal, their biology changes. They also knew that cancer cells often have extra DNA. What they did not know was whether this feature, called polyploidy, could be exploited in cancer treatments. […]

Too much DNA: A new way to target cancer cells?

January 8, 2016 by Kelly April Tyrrell

Last year, Sean Carroll said it was a story that had never been put together in one place; the story of “how our bodies have modified over the years from our fishy ancestors,” said the Allan Wilson Professor of Molecular Biology and Genetics at UW-Madison. Now, that story, condensed into a […]

Your Inner Fish wins an Emmy

October 19, 2015 by Kelly April Tyrrell

In multiple myeloma, there are too many snipers - or plasma cells - and because they are diseased, they make and shoot too many bullets — Recently, UW-Madison researchers studied tumors from a patient with multiple myeloma to develop a new and promising approach to better understand the genetics of cancer. UW-Madison professor and lead researcher on the study, David C. Schwartz, described it as the “Google Maps” for the cancer genome because it allows scientists to zoom in […]

Multiple myeloma, a cancer of snipers and bullets

June 17, 2015 by Kelly April Tyrrell

Picture of painting by E. coli bacteria. — In science, researchers extract information – data – with the help of model organisms like E. coli and zebrafish. That data might inform cancer research or new ways to help control antibiotic resistant pathogens. But for Angela Johnson, a UW-Madison master of fine arts candidate, model organisms offer something else: […]

Mining science for the sake of art

March 19, 2015 by trdevitt

As we thought about the 206th birthday of Charles Darwin, celebrated this week at UW-Madison, we thought of two giants of genetic research who were on campus for more than 120 years, combined. James F. (Jim) Crow, 1916-2012 We interviewed Jim Crow in 2009, in his ninth office at UW-Madison, when […]

Evolution’s pillars: Two titans of genetics

February 13, 2015 by David Tenenbaum