University of Wisconsin–Madison

Health

Note: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention continued to update its guidance following the publication of this post. The most up-to-date guidance can be found here.) On December 27, 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention changed its guidance for some people who test positive for COVID-19. Instead […]

What should we make of the new CDC guidance for ...

December 29, 2021 by Kelly April Tyrrell

researcher in protective clothing in flu lab — This post is by student science writer Rachael Lee. When Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers announced he’d tested positive for COVID-19, the news shocked football fans everywhere, in part because Rodgers had told the public he was “immunized.” Most people took that to mean he’d been “vaccinated.” However, Rodgers […]

“Immunized” or “Vaccinated”: What’s the difference?

November 30, 2021 by Eric Hamilton

Story by David Tenenbaum — A University of Wisconsin–Madison alumnus is converting toasters into a conveyor-belt device that may be capable of sterilizing up to 150 face masks per hour using ultraviolet light so they can be reused. The intent is to aid frontline medical workers responding to COVID-19 by […]

Toasters repurposed for PPE in fight against COVID-19

April 20, 2020 by David Tenenbaum

This guest post comes to us from Jevin Lortie, a graduate research assistant in the Department of Nutritional Sciences at UW–Madison. Just before Christmas last year, Grandma Barbara, or Ba as we affectionately call her, had finally decided to let us admit her to the hospital. She had come down […]

Helping doctors keep their patients strong enough to recover

September 12, 2019 by Eric Hamilton

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

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

A vacuum tube holds a blood-fed strain of Aedes aegypti mosquito in place under a microscope. — Between 2004 and 2016, the number of people who acquired diseases from mosquitoes, ticks and flea bites tripled in the United States. These include Lyme disease, West Nile and dengue fever. Nine new diseases spread by mosquitoes and ticks, including Zika virus, were discovered or appeared here during that time. These statistics were […]

Combating ticks and mosquitoes in the Midwest

May 1, 2018 by Kelly April Tyrrell

The following comes from Adityarup Chakravorty, a science writer at the Waisman Center at the University of Wisconsin–Madison: Pick a word. Any word. To be able to speak aloud the word you picked needs exquisite coordination between several parts of the body. The brain, lungs, throat, voice box, tongue and […]

Mining the cerebellum for its role in speech

November 7, 2017 by Kelly April Tyrrell

In the hit HBO television series “Game of Thrones,” the show’s heroes are constantly struggling against a persistent enemy to the north of The Wall, a massive wall of ice that separates the wild northern lands from the southern kingdoms and their inhabitants. Their foes, called white walkers, are zombie-inspired snow creatures […]

Communicating immune health through pop-culture

October 6, 2017 by Mason Muerhoff