Science Market Update

For all the excitement there’s been over stem cells in biotechnology (including in our Science Market Update posts- for example  Mayo Clinic Spearheads Regenerative Medicine and California to Spend $32M on Stem Cell Research Biobank), one very exciting application for the technology that has been heretofore unannounced is stem cell transplants in the brain. Here to remedy this fact is the University of Wisconsin at Madison, where it was just recently discovered that stem cells can form nerve cells which can actually increase learning and memory capability.

When it comes to identifying the onset of Alzheimer’s disease, every minute counts. Often it’s not even possible to determine whether a person is afflicted with it until it’s too late: that is, once symptoms start to show. A promising study at the University of Wisconsin, Madison suggests that there exists a way to diagnose Alzheimer’s before the onset of symptoms, not after.

A little-known fact about the University of Wisconsin, Madison is their emphasis on fish research. In fact, according to an Isthmus article, the university uses and keeps over 400,000 fish: more than the rest of their three dozen species combined. The University of Wisconsin’s research on fish is extensive, and scales from regulating the waterways they travel through to the invasive dangers they face.

Wisconsin is universally known for its abundance of milk and cheese products, which establish its reputation as the “Dairy State.” Therefore, it stands to reason that the University of Wisconsin at Madison would have a fantastic Center for Dairy Research (CDR) at the forefront of cheese research. According to the CDR Homepage, this includes studying the functional and physical properties of cheese, create new flavors and varieties of cheeses, and investigate technologies for cheese production, safety, and quality.

Medical research building construction is underway at the University of Wisconsin-Madison with high hopes for top level research once the three stages of this project have all been completed. The goal for this project, which together will be called the Wisconsin Institutes for Medical Research (WIMR), "is to create a new kind of, almost revolutionary, model for how we do medical research," said Dr. Robert Golden, dean of the UW School of Medicine and Public Health.

The Madison Wisconsin has a vibrant and active life science research community that has been growing at an astonishing pace. To keep up with research needs, Madison area researchers have been finding new lab products for their  growing research programs  at the annual Madison BioResearch Product Fair™ Event. Interested life science professionals can access recent posts about research growth and development in the Madison area here where the following posts are available:

The University of Wisconsin at Madison is doing very well launching bioscience startups and attracting young entrepreneurs to set up shop near the sprawling campus on Lake Mendota. The University Research Park is so popular there's a huge Phase II addition several years in the planning and due to break ground any day. Funding for university spinoffs, like the NIH's Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grants, are helping to fuel Madison's bioscience economy too, as a team from the Dept. of Chemical and Biological Engineering just proved in securing $362,489 towards developing its novel advanced biomaterials for wound healing and surgical applications.

The Laboratory of the Year represents the highest overall standards in both architecture and laboratory design, and generally illustrates push-the-envelope concepts in science buildings. --R&D Magazine

The first overhaul to the University of Wisconsin, Madison's biochemistry facilities was completed in 1998, with the opening of a 200,000sf modern Biochem Addition building.  But that was only Phase I.  In a game of musical labs, the addition allowed biochemists to abandon their older buildings, which were taken over temporarily by the Microbiology Department until their new building was completed in 2008.  Then Biochem Phase II began.  Phase II included renovating the stately original 1912 biochemistry building and its 1937 wing, plus adding a six-story tower next door to house 20 research labs, auditoriums, a vivarium for research rodents, and instructional labs.  The $112M Biochem Phase II complex is now complete and researchers are moving into their spacious new and renovated quarters on the Henry Mall.

The University of Wisconsin has received research funding and an offer for a long-term partnership from Johnson Controls Inc., a high profile, Wisconsin based corporation that specializes in the development and production of high-tech batteries that will power the cars of the future.