Historian, essayist and former museum professional Chris Cantwell is an experienced analyst and archivist of American history and culture. His diverse areas of expertise include: Evangelicalism and Fundamentalism, religion and politics, history of the Midwest, collective memory and nostalgia, and labor and working-class history.
As climate change continues to push summer temperatures ever higher, the increased use of air conditioning in buildings could add to the problems of a warming world by further degrading air quality and compounding the toll of air pollution on human health, according to a new study.
Researchers at six National Primate Research Centers (NPRCs) combined results from individual studies to find that 26 percent of pregnancies in 50 monkeys infected with Zika virus during the first trimester of pregnancy ended in miscarriage or stillbirth, dwarfing the nearly 8 percent rate found earlier this year by a study of women infected with Zika early in pregnancy.
Carbon is a key element, weaving its way through the survival of all living things. The Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) July 1 Soils Matter blog explains how carbon gets into soil, and how climate change is making a difference.
A University of Wisconsin-Madison study examines the geologic changes of the Maule volcanoes, located in a region in Chile that has seen enormous eruptions during the last million years
Using a new tool they call FluVision, University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers are able to witness influenza infection in a living animal in action. It helps them better understand what happens when a virus infects the lungs and the body responds.
Agronomists and farmers are working hard to improve the sustainability of agricultural land. The June 22nd Sustainable, Secure Food blog explains which greenhouses gases are released in agriculture, and efforts to reduce them.
Infrared cameras are the heat-sensing eyes that help drones find their targets even in the dead of night or through heavy fog. Hiding from such detectors could become much easier, thanks to a new cloaking material that renders objects — and people — practically invisible.
A new study provides a platform for predicting how microbial gut communities work and represents a first step toward understanding how to manipulate the properties of the gut ecosystem. This could allow scientists to, for example, design a probiotic that persists in the gut or tailor a diet to positively influence human health.
A team at the University of Wisconsin has developed a portable, shareable light sheet microscope — an engineering feat that shrinks a tabletop-sized technology down to the weight and dimensions of a suitcase packed for a week’s vacation. The project can be mailed to a lab anywhere in the world, configured remotely by Morgridge Institute for Research engineers, and run one to three months of experiments.
Northwestern Mutual is forming a new partnership with Marquette University and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) to create the Northwestern Mutual Data Science Institute. The partnership is the latest step by the financial security company in its commitment to advance Milwaukee as a national hub for technology, research, business, and talent development.
Unlike humans, crops in a field can't move to air conditioning to endure a heat wave. Scientists in Australia are working to understand how heat waves impact wheat.
Iowa, known for its farms, also claims fame to a dramatic, rolling landscape known as loess hills. The Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) June 15 Soils Matter blog post explains what formed this feature, and why its soil requires special care.
The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee will host Foxconn's first formal international internship program in the United States, sending engineering students to Taiwan to study at Chung Yuan Christian University and work at Foxconn facilities there.
Headed out on vacation? Don’t forget to observe the soil along the way! Soils Matter, Soil Science Society of America’s science-based blog, can points out the soil landmarks. Bon voyage!
In sub-Saharan Africa, 20 to 80% of corn yields may be lost because of a semi-parasitic plant, Striga. In areas infested with Striga, farmers may even lose their entire crops. In a new study, researchers from southern Africa identified several varieties of corn resistant or tolerant to Striga. Importantly, these varieties also have improved nutritional content, particularly protein.
Some hurricanes are moving more slowly, spending increased time over land and leading to catastrophic local rainfall and flooding, according to a new study published Wednesday (June 6) in the journal Nature.
We experience fortified food in items like vitamin D-fortified milk or fortified breakfast cereals. But what is biofortified food? The June 7th Sustainable, Secure Food blog explains what biofortified food is. It also explains how crop scientists are using it to solve malnutrition worldwide.
Can urban treatment plants handle the growing amount of wastewater? This tool can determine how reliable aging plants are.
Rice production in Brazil is a multi-billion-dollar industry. It employs hundreds of thousands of people, directly and indirectly. Given the importance of rice farming in Brazil, researchers are working to develop improved rice varieties.
A new study that reconstructs the deep history of our planet’s relationship to the moon shows that 1.4 billion years ago, a day on Earth lasted just over 18 hours. This is at least in part because the moon was closer and changed the way the Earth spun around its axis.
There are hundreds of thousands—if not millions—of organisms in just a handful of soil. The Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) June 1 Soils Matter blog explains the important role of soil microbes in freeing up soil nutrients for plants.
New research supports the use of radish as a cover crop as a trap crop for fall nitrogen. However, what happens to that nitrogen afterward remains unknown.
In an effort to build the next generation of machine-learning methods to support its needs, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research and the Air Force Research Laboratory have awarded $5 million to establish a university center of excellence devoted to efficient and robust machine learning at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
Summertime is recreation time! While the wilds may call us, respect for ecosystems should guide us. Soils Matter, Soil Science Society of America’s science-based blog, explains why we should protect life underfoot.
Faculty in the School of Architecture & Urban Planning at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee have elected Lingqian (Ivy) Hu to serve as chair of school’s internationally recognized department of urban planning.
A new technique offers a 'molecular fingerprint' for functional groups, such as proteins, carbohydrates and lipids, which can signal the development of retinal disease
Researchers have recently published results identifying the major sources of E. coli breakouts on several beaches on Lake Michigan. They have also researched an effective method of reducing the breakouts and the resulting beach closings.
A new study suggests compassion meditation training may reduce the distress a person feels when witnessing another’s suffering. The findings may have implications for professions in which people routinely work with others who are suffering, like doctors, law enforcement officers and first responders.
Growers strive for a reliable food supply for the world’s population. And they use science to do so. The May 22nd Sustainable, Secure Food blog explains how growers’ use of the right fertilizers and pesticides, at the right time, is a continuously improving science.
New research shows how some harmful microbes in the soil have to contend not just with a farmer’s chemical attacks, but also with their microscopic neighbors — and themselves turn to chemical warfare to ward off threats.
Mo Zell was elected to serve as chair of the architecture department at UW-Milwaukee's School of Architecture & Urban Planning effective August 1, 2018.
The Sustainable Agronomy Conference, sponsored by American Society of Agronomy (ASA) June 26-27, “will bring together the best science and the best practitioners to advance sustainability,” says Gary Pierzynski, ASA president.
In Texas, the Southern High Plains uses water from an aquifer to water cotton fields. However, the aquifer is running low. Scientists from the area are working to find the best irrigation method for cotton that uses the least water.
More neighborhoods are incorporating native grasses to their landscapes—but it’s not as easy as one might think. The Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) May 15 Soils Matter blog outlines the necessary conditions to rehabilitate land back to native grasses.
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison have developed liquid crystal films and droplets that can hold a wide range of “micro-cargo” until their release is cued by body heat or a beam of light or even the wake of swimming microorganisms. The trick is in exploiting the way liquid crystals can be organized, as UW–Madison chemical and biological engineering professor Nick Abbott and members of his lab describe today in the journal Nature.
New research from the lab of Pamela Kreeger, a University of Wisconsin-Madison biomedical engineering professor, has identified one way ovarian cancer cells appear to successfully spread.
Healthy, fertile soil feeds our garden’s growth. The May 7th Sustainable, Secure Food blog explains how to build soil health in two words: organic matter!
New research out of the University of Wisconsin–Madison has, for the first time, detected prions responsible for chronic wasting disease (CWD) in samples taken from sites where deer congregate.
Crop breeding research and innovation requires funding. But funding—and revenue from the crops developed—is increasingly hard to obtain.In response, a group of plant breeders met to discuss best practices. A recent paper summarizes their recommendations.
The concrete jungle is anything but natural. But there are ways to help it be a little greener. The Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) May 1 Soils Matter blog explains what green roofs are, and how they benefit urban life.
How do you boost soil water content and soil health without irrigating? Best cover it with a layer of straw, a new study concludes.
For athletes and weekend warriors alike, returning from a tendon injury too soon often ensures a trip right back to physical therapy. However, a new technology developed by University of Wisconsin–Madison engineers could one day help tell whether your tendons are ready for action.
Many homeowners appreciate the springy feel of a healthy lawn. But what are the tricks to keeping your lawn healthy? The April 22nd Sustainable, Secure Food blog explains how to maintain your lawn, and where to find resources specific to your region.
Gardeners, are you eager for winter to lose its icy grip? There’s no time like the present to improve your garden knowledge! Soils Matter, Soil Science Society of America’s science-based blog, provides insights to starting off the garden season.
We might think of roots as necessary, but uninteresting, parts of the crop production process. New research, however, focuses on what’s going on in the soil with the plant’s roots and the chemicals they produce.
We think of forests as wild places that take care of themselves. But sometimes a little help is necessary. The Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) April 15 Soils Matter blog explains what forest soils do and why we need to give them a hand.
Researchers have good news for growers. Farmers raising a nitrogen-hungry crop like sweet corn may save up to half of their nitrogen fertilizer cost. The key: using a faba bean cover crop.
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