Study points to new approach to clearing waste from brain

School of Medicine researchers have found a new druggable pathway, in mice, that potentially could be used to help prevent Alzheimer’s dementia. The scientists found a way to increase clearance of waste products from the brain.

First-year students celebrate Convocation

Wearing the bold colors of their residential colleges and waving WashU pennants, the 1,826 members of the Class of 2026 converged Aug. 27 in Brookings Quadrangle for the annual Convocation ceremony, one of the university’s most beloved (and loudest) traditions.

Distress leads to mixed results with COVID recommendations

New research from the Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences in Arts & Sciences indicates that fear-based messaging may result in mixed effects when it comes to public health.

WashU Expert on Artemis launch, space exploration goals

NASA plans to launch its Orion spacecraft today from the world’s most powerful rocket for a trip around the moon. Lunar scientist Bradley L. Jolliff in Arts & Sciences explains why the Artemis mission represents the next great leap in human exploration of space.

Notables

The American Psychological Foundation has awarded its Alexander Gralnick Research Investigator Prize to Deanna Barch, professor in Arts & Sciences and at the School of Medicine.

Research Wire

Researchers in Jianmin Cui’s lab at the McKelvey School of Engineering have looked at drug interactions and mechanisms behind a group of proteins to potentially develop a new strategy to treat epilepsy.

Research Wire

Geoffrey Goodhill, professor at the School of Medicine, and colleagues will track each cell in the brain as it cycles between waking and sleep states with $3.2 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Announcements

Flood crisis fund established for employees, students

The university has established a Flood Crisis Fund to assist employees and students who incurred financial costs related to flooding in the region in late July and early August. Online applications are due Sept. 9.