The Lyme disease incidence rate in Wisconsin has been well above the national average since at least 2005, and is rivaled by only a handful of other states. But these numbers don't represent a definitive count.
The Monarch butterfly is a vital pollinator across much of North America. But the species is facing some of the same environmental pressures afflicting other insect pollinators, and the number of monarchs overwintering at sites in Mexico is declining precipitously.
Toxicology labs like the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene are working to keep up with these unfamiliar opioids so law enforcement and health officials can better understand their impact and prevent their spread.
An effort to limit student use of social media in Madison public schools is turning out to be an interesting social experiment, and not entirely in the ways that school officials intended.
A diverse array of potent synthetic drugs are becoming more prominent in the opioid crisis, creating difficulties for medical investigators and public health officials.
As more and more Wisconsinites die of opioid overdoses, public and private toxicology labs are ground zero for understanding an ever-evolving mix of illicit drugs.
Over the course of 2016, Richland County in southwestern Wisconsin had five drug overdose deaths, one of which involved a synthetic opioid. This latter case startled the county coroner's office.
The Midwest is home to over a dozen tick species. While only a few types are encountered regularly by people and pets, the medical concerns posed by some species can be quite significant.
With the first green shoots of spring appearing across the state, Wisconsin's insect populations are likewise emerging and preparing for the warmer months ahead.
