For nursery growers who use tractors and wagons to move plants, one-person hitching systems can dramatically save time and reduce the risk of serious injury. Without having to climb down off the tractor, you can back up to a wagon until the coupling device locks the wagon in place. Unhitching is simply done by pulling a release cable. With this system no second person is required to guide or latch the hitch.

Spring rains may make flowers–and crops–grow, but when stormwater runs off fields it can carry topsoil, chemicals and nutrients such as phosphorus into rivers and streams. This spring, a University of Wisconsin-Madison scientist and his team will begin tests to understand the mechanisms of erosion by tracking sediment movement as well as the flow of water over fields.

Edward J. Schantz, biochemist and emeritus professor of food microbiology and toxicology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, died April 28, 2005 in Madison. He was 96 years old.

A newly discovered pathway by which cells protect themselves from a toxic byproduct of photosynthesis may hold important implications for bioenergy sources, human and plant disease, and agricultural yields.

From tropical tomato viruses to stressed-out pre-med students, about 25 undergraduate research projects from the UW-Madison’s College of Agricultural and Life Sciences will be presented at a symposium on Saturday, April 30, at the J. F. Friedrick Center, 1950 Willow Drive, from 8 until noon.

Upsizing or supersizing – taking advantage of fast food restaurants’ willingness to pile on lots more food for little more money – seems economically sound, but investigators at the University of Wisconsin-Madison say it’s no bargain financially if the extra calories get stored as fat.

Many projects will be featured at a poster session showcasing biotechnology research by University of Wisconsin-Madison graduate students, held March 10 from 4:30 to 7:00 at the Monona Terrace.

Young adults can be motivated to eat more servings of fruits and vegetables if they are exposed to tailored, practical messages about nutrition.

Scientific study sometimes focuses on one process at the expense of the larger, interconnected picture. One University of Wisconsin-Madison bacteriologist recognizes this trend, and tries to take a step back in her own research; she works to understand not just how biochemical processes work, but how they affect one another.

It’s probably more effective to get vitamins and nutrients by eating fruits and vegetables than by taking dietary supplements, according to a University of Wisconsin-Madison researcher. And what’s more, your vegetable options may soon expand as lines of specialty red, yellow and purple carrots begin appearing in stores.