Month: November 2016

Plant scientists at Washington University in St. Louis have isolated an enzyme that controls the levels of two plant hormones simultaneously, linking the molecular pathways for growth and defense. Plant scientists have long known that distinct plant hormones can interact in complex ways, but how they do so has remained mysterious.

Lan Yang, the Edwin H. & Florence G. Skinner Professor at Washington University in St. Louis, has been named a fellow of The Optical Society.

The parasite that causes river blindness infects about 37 million people in parts of Africa and Latin America, causing blindness and other major eye and skin diseases in about 5 million of them. A study from the School of Medicine sheds light on the genetic makeup of the parasite, a step toward the goal of eradication.

A new, interdisciplinary academic program will combine courses in math, computer science, engineering and finance for Washington University in St. Louis students pursuing a career in financial engineering.

A combination of two topical drugs that have been in use for years triggers a robust immune response against precancerous skin lesions, according to a new study. The research, from the School of Medicine and Harvard Medical School, shows that the therapy activates the immune system’s T cells, which then attack the abnormal skin cells. The study was published Nov. 21 in The Journal of Clinical Investigation.

Boeing Co. has awarded Washington University in St. Louis’ Institute for School Partnership a grant for STEMpact.

Three School of Medicine faculty members are among 391 new fellows selected by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world’s largest general scientific society. Azad Bonni, Phyllis I. Hanson and Gary D. Stormo will receive the highest honor awarded by AAAS.

Images in and around the Washington University campuses.

Samuel Achilefu, the Michel M. Ter-Pogossian Professor of Radiology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has been elected as a fellow to the Royal Society of Chemistry and to The Optical Society.

New research at the School of Medicine shows that excess weight increases the risk that a benign blood disorder — called monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance — will progress into multiple myeloma, a cancer of the blood.