A new treatment program for post-traumatic stress disorder is under way at the University of Wisconsin-Madison that doesn't involve drugs or traditional therapy.

Some veterans returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan are finding relief through yoga.

Some returning veterans who suffer from PTSD can't turn off the sounds and sights of war, which flood their mind.

"PTSD is the past hijacking your mind and impeding you life in the present moment," said Dr. Emma Seppala.

Symptoms of PTSD include intrusive thoughts, hyper-vigilance and emotional numbness, symptoms which sometimes go unnoticed.

"I didn't think anything was wrong," said Travis Leanna, 25, who served with the Marines in Iraq for six months

He was never diagnosed with PTSD, but something wasn't right, and Leanna said he didn't even know it.

"If you would have told me I had a problem, I would have laughed at you. I didn't think anything was wrong," he said.

With an overwhelming response of more than 70 people per class last session, the Monona Terrace has announced the return of Meditation at Monona Terrace.

The free sessions will take place at Monona Terrace from 11:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Mondays, Feb. 13 through Apr. 9, but not on March 19.

The sessions are held in the Community Terrace located on level 2. 

Mindfulness meditation can reconnect you with a sense of calm and inner peace, organizers said.  It is simple, inexpensive and doesn't require any special equipment. They said mindfulness can be brought to any of your daily activities, while out for a walk, riding the bus, waiting at the doctor's office or even in the middle of a difficult business meeting. 

The session are led by Lisa Rambaldo, a mind-body practitioner and licensed psychologist with Dean Clinic.

A University of Wisconsin-Madison study using primates could offer answers as to why girls are reaching puberty earlier, in some cases as young as age 7.

For years researchers have been studying why young women are maturing faster. Doctors believe early puberty in women may lead to breast cancer and type 2 diabetes later in life, and that it might stunt brain development in the final stages of the maturation process.

Over the past 150 years, the average age girls first menstruate has dropped by about four years. Work done at the National Primate Research Center on the UW-Madison campus is now offering the first clue as to what could be leading to those early puberties.

By feeding a group of four pre-teen rhesus macaque monkeys a higher-sugar, higher-fat diet, researchers discovered they did not get fat but instead reached puberty between a year and 18 months faster than animals in the control group.