The Latest
Wisconsin Science Festival Rolls Out 2025 Feature: “Rock and Roll”
The 15th annual Wisconsin Science Festival, set to take place October 16–26, 2025, has announced its theme: Rock and Roll. “It’s a play on words—not just about sound and music, but also the geology that shapes Wisconsin, the physics of motion, and the creative energy that drives discovery,” says Sam Mulrooney, Director of the Wisconsin Science Festival. Host registration is now open for those interested in submitting an event for this year’s festival.
Honoring a Legacy: Morgan Ramsey Receives the Brian Howell Memorial Scholarship
Morgan Ramsey, a Wisconsin Institute for Discovery intern for Communications and Multimedia, was awarded the Brian Howell Memorial Scholarship at Madison Magazine’s Best of Business Awards Luncheon on February 20, 2025. This award, established in honor of Madison Magazine Editor Brian Howell, recognizes outstanding students in Life Sciences Communication.
Co-Zorbing: The New Frontier in Bacterial Cooperation
In a recent study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), researchers discovered that biofilms made of a specific type of bacterium, Flavobacterium johnsoniae, can form 3-D structures called Zorbs that are capable of moving. Not only do these structures move, but researcher, Shruthi Magesh, from the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery have also found that they can transport other species of bacteria by forming tri-zorbs.
Jo Handelsman Shared Insights on Federal Research Funding Cuts in Wisconsin
Last Friday morning on Wisconsin Today, a program on Wisconsin Public Radio, Jo Handelsman, Director of the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery (WID), examined the potential impact of proposed federal research cuts. In this 13-minute talk, Handelsman discussed how the National Institutes of Health (NIH) had been considering a directive to cap overhead costs at 15 percent, a move that could cost the University of Wisconsin–Madison at least $62 million annually. Her remarks provide valuable insight into how the Trump Administration’s plan to reduce federal funding for medical research could affect UW–Madison laboratories and the broader scientific community.
