Focus: Hidden - Wisconsin

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Soils help moderate global temperatures, store carbon

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Sometimes, the way forward is to look back. This may be the case with soybeans, whose wild relatives have higher levels of beneficial fatty acids.

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When Wes Schroll moved from a dorm into an apartment and began grocery shopping, he hated it. “Every single one had the same issues,” he says. “I had no idea how much I'd spent until I checked out. Coupons were a pain in the butt, so I never used them. And the checkout was inefficient." Pointing to his smartphone, he adds, "I figured there had to be some way to utilize these pieces of technology that everyone has to streamline the process.”

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“Climate Change Policy and Public Health,” the sixth and final Massive Open Online Course offered by the University of Wisconsin-Madison this year, launches Nov. 9. The course will be taught by Jonathan Patz, a professor in the Department of Population Health Sciences and the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies.

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The mushroom nicknamed "death cap” made headlines this summer when it poisoned Syrian refugees fleeing through Eastern Europe. But it was cooperation, not toxicity, that attracted Anne Pringle to Amanita phalloides.

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A new species of giant Galapagos tortoise, revealed this week in a study conducted by scientists at Yale University, also happened to be lurking in the collections of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Zoological Museum, it turns out.

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In May 2007, hundreds of freshwater drum — also known as sheepshead — turned up dead in Lake Winnebago and nearby Little Lake Butte des Morts, both inland lakes near Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The fish were splotched with red and their eyes were swollen and bulging. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) launched a quick response and, working with the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (WVDL), quickly learned that a deadly virus was responsible: viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus, or VHSv.

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University of Wisconsin–Madison engineer’s solution for streamlining the construction of skyscrapers is having a skyscraper moment in one of the most seismically active regions of the country. All coupling beams in the 1.5 million-square-foot Lincoln Square Expansion —which includes luxury condos, a hotel, dining, retail and office space in two 450-foot towers in the heart of Seattle suburb Bellevue, Washington — are made of fiber-reinforced concrete using a unique design co-developed by Gustavo Parra-Montesinos.

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Working model has successfully increased crop yields on half the land area in trials

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A global effort to create a new computer ecosystem that is easily accessible to people with disabilities, senior citizens and others with special needs is set to become reality through a $20 million federal grant to the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

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Beavers, once valued for their fur, may soon have more appreciation in the Northeastern United States. There they are helping prevent harmful levels of nitrogen from reaching the area’s vulnerable estuaries. By creating ponds that slow down the movement of water, they aid in removing nitrogen from the water.

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Vigor, viability and dormancy are keys to the success of seeds

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How nacre, or mother-of-pearl, is first deposited by the animals that make it has eluded discovery despite decades of scientific inquiry. Now, a team of Wisconsin scientists reports the first direct experimental observations of nacre formation at its earliest stages in a mollusk.

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A study of zircons from a gigantic meteorite impact in South Africa, now online in the journal Geology, casts doubt on the methods used to date lunar impacts.

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Spring flooding. Droughts in July. These are the climate factors our nation’s growers must face each year. Scientists and farmers are creating public-private partnerships that address large scale improvements in agricultural resilience. One key area of focus? Soil health. To discuss this crucial topic, the Synergy in Science ASA, CSSA, SSSA International Annual Meeting in Minneapolis, MN will hold a “Public Private Partnerships to Improve Soil Health and Agronomic Resiliency” symposium. The symposium will be held Monday, November 16, 2015. Synergy in Science meeting is sponsored jointly by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and the Soil Science Society of America.

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Trees may be the overlooked workhorses of green infrastructure. In a study published in the Journal of Environmental Quality, these tree species were the best at removing storm water from bioswales and back into the atmosphere—a process known as water cycling.

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Important prize promotes development of cutting edge technologies

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Exploring soil beyond local borders helpful for growers, scientists

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Crop advisers identify features such as disease, nutrient deficiencies, and plant injury quickly and accurately in order to maximize field production. Undergraduate students of agronomy, crops, and soils will demonstrate this skill during the Crops Competition Showcase at the Synergy in Science ASA, CSSA, SSSA International Annual Meeting in Minneapolis, MN, on Monday, November 16, 2015.

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Wheat is vulnerable. Among the most damaging diseases that affect wheat crops across the world are rusts. These parasites cannot grow without infecting a host plant, and are responsible for some of the greatest destructions of crops in human history. Breeders have recently released a cultivar of winter wheat – TAM 305 – that is resistant to many of the rust fungi.

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Peat is currently a major component of many potting soil blends. Peat is the layered accumulation of partially degraded organic material over hundreds of years. But in some parts of the world, peatland habitats are shrinking. The harvest of peat may also release additional carbon, contributing to climate change. Efforts are underway to find suitable replacements—a considerable challenge given the airy, absorptive nature of peat that is ideal for plant growth.

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A new study shows that iron-bearing rocks that formed at the ocean floor 3.2 billion years ago carry unmistakable evidence of oxygen. The only logical source for that oxygen is the earliest known example of photosynthesis by living organisms, say University of Wisconsin-Madison geoscientists.

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A new study published online this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences says managing our environment for predictable outcomes is risky. In fact, more often than not, it backfires.

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The “Upper Midwest Organic Agriculture Tour” planned at the Synergy in Science ASA, CSSA, SSSA International Annual Meeting in Minneapolis, MN, will highlight the Twin Cities’ thriving local and organic food system.

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Studying Martian soil may give insights into Earth surfaces as well

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The genetic and developmental innovations plants used to make the leap to land have been enduring secrets of nature. Now, an international team of researchers reveals that the aquatic algae from which terrestrial plant life first arose were genetically pre-adapted to form the symbiotic relationships with microorganisms that most land plants need to acquire nutrients from the soil.

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Researchers find cover crop decomposition and nitrogen release vary with type of cover crop used and addition of poultry litter.

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Packing some pinto bean seeds would increase his chances of survival.

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Most of our food, many everyday objects that we use, depend on soil

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A new University of Wisconsin-Madison study details how extreme temperatures affect urban heat islands — densely built areas where heat-retaining asphalt, brick and concrete make things hotter than their nonurban surroundings.

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Collecting genetic information from crop wild relatives may preserve valuable traits but takes cooperation

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Many people assume that electronic medical records would simplify doctoring, helping medical staff retrieve symptoms, diagnoses and prescriptions at computer speed. But Jonathan Baran, a Madison entrepreneur who began developing medical automation software while a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, says providers often don't see the promised efficiencies.

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Imperfections running through liquid crystals can be used as miniscule tubing, channeling molecules into specific positions to form new materials and nanoscale structures, according to engineers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. The discovery could have applications in fields as diverse as electronics and medicine.

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Greater numbers of women are in the workplace and represented in science. While roles have expanded, personal and institutional biases still exist. The “Breaking the Bias Habit to Promote Gender Equity” mini-workshop planned at the Synergy in Science ASA, CSSA, SSSA International Annual Meeting in Minneapolis, MN, will address this important topic.

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Students and faculty in UW-Milwaukee's American Sign Language and interpreter training programs reach out to the hearing community with education and events celebrating deaf culture and history.

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Admissions staff who are fluent in both Spanish and English are reaching out to potential students at their high schools, recruiting fairs and other events.

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Microbes respond differently to their environment; the entire system influences plant and soil and health

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The new “poverty numbers” from the U.S. Census Bureau reflect some good news for the nation’s antipoverty efforts, according to UW–Madison experts.

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A team of University of Wisconsin-Madison engineers recently released a new computer-aided engineering software program, and its users are already calling it a “gift from heaven.” Mechanical engineering Professor Krishnan Suresh led a team that spent four years developing the software, which assists in optimizing the design of parts for just about anything — from bicycles and airplanes to bridges and furniture.

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Francis Halzen, the University of Wisconsin-Madison physicist and leader of the giant neutrino telescope known as IceCube, has been named winner of a 2015 Balzan Prize. The Balzan Prizes are awarded annually to four scientists, scholars or artists who have distinguished themselves through contributions to four fields chosen more than a year in advance.

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A $22 million commitment over four years from The Grainger Foundation of Lake Forest, Illinois, will establish the Grainger Fund for Undergraduate Education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison College of Engineering to help give undergraduate students an unparalleled environment that will position them for success, not only academically, but in their future careers.

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Soils in cities have great potential for taking and holding atmospheric carbon dioxide

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After blending the labs and lectures into a studio style soil course with mini-lectures, activities, and hands-on interaction, researchers saw significant increases in different types of student performance.

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Moisture content, organic matter, color of soil varies across the US

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New sustainability certification to be announced.

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"In the hydrogen evolution reaction, the whole game is coming up with inexpensive alternatives to platinum and the other noble metals," says Song Jin, a professor of chemistry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In the online edition of Nature Materials that appears today, Jin's research team reports a hydrogen-making catalyst containing phosphorus and sulfur — both common elements — and cobalt, a metal that is 1,000 times cheaper than platinum.

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Working in a cave complex deep beneath South Africa’s Malmani dolomites, an international team of scientists has brought to light an unprecedented trove of hominin fossils — more than 1,500 well-preserved bones and teeth — representing the largest, most complete set of such remains found to date in Africa. The discovery of the fossils, cached in a barely accessible chamber in a subterranean labyrinth not far from Johannesburg, adds a new branch to the human family tree, a creature dubbed Homo naledi.

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Paul Porter, a professor in the College of Food, Agriculture, and Natural Resource Sciences at the University of Minnesota, rode a bicycle across Africa and South America while teaching students about issues like using plants for food and fuel, managing water, and the changing climate.

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“Gaydar” — the purported ability to infer whether people are gay or straight based on their appearance — seemed to get a scientific boost from a 2008 study that concluded people could accurately guess someone’s sexual orientation based on photographs of their faces. In a new paper published in the Journal of Sex Research, researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison challenge what they call “the gaydar myth.”

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Impact of climate change, need for genetic diversity, important to $25 billion US industry