Air monitor can detect COVID-19 variants in about 5 minutes

By combining recent advances in aerosol sampling technology and an ultrasensitive biosensing technique, researchers at Washington University have created a real-time monitor that can detect any of the SARS-CoV-2 virus variants in a room in about 5 minutes.

Better orthopedic health often doesn’t help mental health

Orthopedic clinics at the School of Medicine ask patients to fill out an electronic questionnaire at each visit. Analyzing data from questions about anxiety and depression, researchers have found that as patients’ physical health improves, anxiety and depression don’t necessarily follow suit.

Glitches in the matrix

As reported in a paper in Nature Communications, physicist Chong Zu in Arts & Sciences and his team are finding new ways to harness the quantum power of defects in otherwise flawless crystals.

Notables

Michael Awad, MD, PhD, a professor of surgery at the School of Medicine, has been named president of the Association for Surgical Education.

Notables

Washington University undergraduate student Keona Dordor and St. Louis novelist Lyndsey Ellis are the inaugural recipients of the Heartland Journalism Fellowships.

Notables

A second broadside of the Declaration of Independence is now on view at Olin Library.

Announcements

WUPD active shooter training drill tomorrow

The Washington University Police Department will conduct an active shooter training exercise tomorrow on the west side of the Danforth Campus near fraternity row. The training exercise is not in response to a specific threat but is a proactive measure to ensure WUPD’s preparedness.