Mosquito abatement usually means one thing: blasting the pesky critters with pesticides. Those pesticides, although highly effective, can impair other organisms in the environment. Que Lan, insect physiologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and her colleagues in the entomology department are working on a new, more targeted approach to mosquito control: inhibiting their ability to metabolize cholesterol.

A University of Wisconsin-Madison bacteriology professor has created a web-based textbook from 30 years’ worth of lecture notes, making a wealth of information — written in an easy-to-understand style — about everything from anthrax to whooping cough available for students, teachers, scientists and information seekers from around the world.

There are only 27 programs in the country, they only graduate on average a handful of students every year, and the graduates have a 100-percent job-placement rate six weeks after they receive their degrees. The program is genetic counseling and the University of Wisconsin-Madison is at the forefront of training genetic counselors to meet the growing demand for such specialists in the healthcare field.

A cellular structure discovered 125 years ago and dismissed by many biologists as “cellular garbage” has been found to play a key role in the process of cytokinesis, or cell division, one of the most ancient and important of all biological phenomena.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison will use its share of a three-year, $15 million grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (HS) to investigate ways to detect intentional contamination of the nation’s food supply.

Synthetic molecules can mimic the proteins that control the expression of certain genes, according to a recently published report by a UW-Madison biochemist. This finding brings scientists closer to being able to activate or suppress genes, which may someday help fight cancer and other diseases.

Like pieces in an elaborate jigsaw puzzle, molecules interact based on the way they fit together. A tiny crevice or bump might cause a reaction to proceed, or keep it from happening at all. Working at the crossroads of mathematics, chemistry, and biology, one UW-Madison scientist uses computers to model molecular shapes and identify features that may influence interaction.

From fad diets to herbal supplements, healthy eating can seem like a complicated chore these days. But eating well doesn’t require a degree in biochemistry. Fruit, vegetables, eggs, meat, cheese and other foods grown by farmers across southern Wisconsin are simple ingredients in a healthy diet.

Vitamin A, a nutrient found in foods like eggs, meat and dairy products, appears to play a key role in preventing heart defects in developing embryos and may promote healthy adult hearts as well, according to a UW-Madison scientist.

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison are developing a vaccine against Toxoplasma gondii, a parasite that is the third leading cause of foodborne deaths in the United States.