A compound produced by bacteria in most people’s digestive tract increases the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease and speeds up cognitive decline in dementia patients, […]

Madison’s serene lakes are home to a deadly, vampire-like hunter. Though sessile, it wields tentacle-like structures that first poison and immobilize prey, then act as […]

It’s well-known among scientists that viruses can alter the makeup and function of ecosystems. For example, they promote microbial diversity by infecting and killing select […]

In the King Hall greenhouse on the UW campus, Rebecca Smith stands amid a potted jungle of sorghum, clipping stalk segments into a plastic bin to be […]

By resurrecting a 3.2-billion-year-old enzyme and studying it inside living microbes, researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison have created a new way to improve our […]

Microbes are key to turning plants into liquid fuels. Yeasts and bacteria eat plant sugars, such as glucose, and turn them into alcohols, a process […]

Vector-borne diseases account for more than 17% of all infectious diseases and cause more than 700,000 deaths annually, according to the World Health Organization. Diseases […]

Hector DeLuca left his mark on the UW–Madison campus — literally. The professor emerit and former chair of biochemistry has three buildings that bear his name, […]

Birds make sounds to communicate, whether to find a potential mate, ward off predators, or just sing for pleasure. But the conditions that contribute to […]

Water bears are an ancient group of microscopic animals known for their pudgy, ursine appearance and their uncanny ability to survive under extreme conditions. The […]