University of Wisconsin-Madison
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Monday, March 24, 2014
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UW researchers make stem cell advancement of human stem cell to rats suffering from Lou Gehrig’s disease improved longevity and muscle function. He said in the release muscle progenitors, which serve as prototype for the formation of muscles, could have a similar but heightened effect. While various methods have been used to increase the number of stem cells that become muscles, Suzuki’s co-author Jonathan Van Dyke explained in the release these often cannot be worked within a clinical setting. “What’s exciting about the new protocol is that we avoid some techniques that would prohibit clinical applications,” Van Dyke said in the release. “We think this new method has great promise for alleviating human suffering.” Additionally, the new technique could advance disease and drug research by allowing cells infected with certain genetic diseases to be grown in a dish. —Adelina Yankova
Police find materials to build explosives in man’s apartment
STUDENT PROFILE
UW-Madison junior Melanie Meyer advocates for student activism
By Adelina Yankova THE DAILY CARDINAL
Workers’ rights have always been a passion for University of WisconsinMadison junior Melanie Meyer, whose involvement with the Student Labor Action Coalition draws upon a family history of union participation. As the granddaughter of a United Automobile Workers union local chapter president and daughter of a UAW member, Meyer said her increasing understanding of the importance of the labor movement has greatly inspired her work as a student advocate. “Workers’ rights are human rights,” Meyer said. “To be an activist and speak up on behalf of people who work very hard is something that is just so important to me.”
“Being an activist and speaking out for what you believe in is just part of being American.” Melanie Meyer junior UW-Madison
Meyer serves as one of three student members on UW-Madison’s Labor
GREY SATTERFIELD/THE DAILY CARDINAL
Melanie Meyer is a workers’ rights activist and an active member of the UW-Madison Student Labor Action Coalition. Codes Licensing Compliance Committee, a shared governance group that advises administration on matters relating to labor codes of conduct. Through her work with the LCLCC and SLAC, Meyer played an active role in a campus campaign encouraging Chancellor Rebecca Blank to require all university licensees to sign onto the Accord for Fire and Building Safety in
Bangladesh. This agreement, which the chancellor signed March 14 after months of pressure from SLAC, ensures regular safety inspections and repairs in Bangladeshi garment factories. “The fact that the accord allows the workers’ voices to be heard is extremely significant,” Meyer said. “Although the accord,
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Scott Walker appoints three members to Board of Regents Gov. Scott Walker appointed three members to the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents March 21, pending approval from the Wisconsin state Senate. Jose Delgado, Eve Hall and Anicka Purath were appointed by Walker, according to a release from the governor’s office. Delgado and Hall will each serve seven-year terms on the board, effective May 1, 2014. Both appointees have previous experience in areas of education throughout the state of Wisconsin. Delgado served on advisory committees for both UW-Milwaukee and Marquette University, while Hall worked for education reform under former Gov. Tammy Thompson, according to the release. Purath, a sophomore at UW-La Crosse, will be the next to fill the traditional student representative position on the board. Once vacated in May, Purath will serve a oneyear term. Walker highlighted the qualifications of each appointee in the release, saying each brings skills and experience to benefit the Board of Regents. The 18-member board acts as the governing body of the UW System, which is comprised of 26 universities and colleges.
Ethnic studies requirement: more harm than good
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Sophomore forward Sam Dekker celebrates as the Badgers beat Oregon Saturday to advance to the Sweet 16 . + Photo by Shoaib Altaf
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How sweet it is!
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MILWAUKEE
Madison police confiscated materials commonly used to construct an “explosive device” from an apartment on the 10 block of North Brooks Street Friday afternoon and arrested 20-year-old Andrew Cockerham in connection to the discovery, according to a Madison Police Department report. The report rules out any ongoing threat, and assures police stabilized the materials before any injuries occurred. Responding officers also seized documents from the apartment indicating Cockerham’s intent to distribute the device after a caller tipped them off to the situation, Sgt. Paige Valenta said in the report. Cockerham was arrested for possession of an explosive device, but no additional information about the nature of the device was released. According to the report, more details will be released as the investigation continues. Police were unable to confirm Cockerham’s status as a University of Wisconsin-Madison student, and his name is not listed in the university’s online directory.
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Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison discovered a new method for generating muscle cells from stem cells, according to a Friday news release. The new procedure is unique in its ability to yield large quantities of muscle cells, as well as muscle progenitors, directly from pluripotent stem cells without the use of genetic modification, according to the release. Pluripotent stem cells have yet to undergo differentiation and can develop effectively into any adult cell in the body. Masatoshi Suzuki, UW-Madison assistant professor of comparative biosciences and co-author of the research project, pioneered the discovery. His method calls for the placement of stem cells in high concentrations of growth factors that influence growth and cell differentiation. Last year, Suzuki showed that transplanting another type
Man builds suspect device
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GRAPHIC BY MIKAELA ALBRIGHT
The location of the man’s apartment where the device was found is pictured above.
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