Advancing knowledge of human development, developmental disabilities, and neurodegenerative diseases.
But the specks in the Petri dishes were the result of years of research in the laboratory of David Gamm, an ophthalmologist at the UW’s Waisman Center. And as members of the Reese family carefully cradled the dishes, they held the future of their descendants’ eyesight in their hands.
Down syndrome, the most common genetic form of intellectual disability, results from an extra copy of one chromosome. Although people with Down syndrome experience intellectual difficulties and other problems, scientists have had trouble identifying why that extra chromosome causes such widespread effects.
For many families, the occasional evening out for dinner at a restaurant is an enjoyable treat. But for parents who care for children with autism, the notion of eating out can be panic inducing. “We did not eat out at a restaurant until my daughter was 7 or 8 years old,” says Karl Pierick, whose …
By Susannah Brooks Harry Waisman was a pediatrician, as well as a biochemist and researcher of developmental disabilities. Throughout its history, the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Waisman Center has built strong relationships with children and families, providing early intervention, educational and outreach programs. The Waisman Center Children’s Theatre series might make fewer headlines than the center’s …
A University of Wisconsin-Madison research group has converted skin cells from people and monkeys into a cell that can form a wide variety of nervous-system cells -- without passing through the do-it-all stage called the induced pluripotent stem cell, or iPSC.
Compassion is now a core component of Davidson’s groundbreaking work at the University of Wisconsin’s Center for Investigating Healthy Minds, the brain research facility at the Waisman Center where the Dalai Lama visited for its grand opening and to which he recently made a rare personal donation of $50,000.
For the first time, human embryonic stem cells have been transformed into nerve cells that helped mice regain the ability to learn and remember. A study at UW–Madison is the first to show that human stem cells can successfully implant themselves in the brain and then heal neurological deficits, says senior author Su-Chun Zhang, a professor of neuroscience and neurology.
The age at which a child with autism is diagnosed is related to the particular suite of behavioral symptoms he or she exhibits, new research from the University of Wisconsin-Madison shows. Certain diagnostic features, including poor nonverbal communication and repetitive behaviors, were associated with earlier identification of an autism spectrum disorder, according to a study in the April issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Displaying more behavioral features was also associated with earlier diagnosis.
For the first time, scientists have transplanted neural cells derived from a monkey’s skin into its brain and watched the cells develop into several types of mature brain cells, according to the authors of a new study in Cell Reports. After six months, the cells looked entirely normal, and were only detectable because they initially were tagged with a fluorescent protein. Because the cells were derived from adult cells in each monkey’s skin, the experiment is a proof-of-principle for the concept of personalized medicine, where treatments are designed for each individual.
Event organizers today announced that the Dalai Lama will visit Madison on May 15, 2013, to lead “Change your Mind Change the World 2013,” a series of panel discussions with thought leaders from a variety of fields, including neuroscience, economics and sustainability, moderated by Arianna Huffington and Daniel Goleman.
