The Record

Racism packs a punch for those enduring it over a lifetime

Researchers in Arts & Sciences have found evidence that elevated stress exposure and its inflammatory correlates may contribute to Black-white racial disparities in mortality risk.

Breath carries clues to gut microbiome health

Researchers at WashU Medicine and collaborators have shown that disease-associated bacteria in the gut can be detected through exhaled breath. The findings could pave the way for a rapid, non-invasive breath test to assess gut microbiome health.

WashU Expert on impact of eliminating Missouri income tax

Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe has called for a phaseout of the state’s income tax, a move that would cause the most pain to the state’s low-income residents, said Sarah Narkiewicz, a WashU expert on tax law.

Notables

Physicist Henric Krawczynski, in Arts & Sciences, has received the 2026 Bruno Rossi Prize, the most prestigious prize from the American Astronomical Society’s High Energy Astrophysics Division.

Notables

Mark Rank, at the Brown School, won the 2026 Independent Press Award in the category of sociology for his book “The Random Factor: How Chance and Luck Profoundly Shape Our Lives and the World Around Us.”

Announcements

Applications open for Biggs Travel Award

WashU faculty and students are invited to apply for the Penelope Biggs Travel Award for travel involving the study of Greco-Roman antiquity. Applications are due Feb. 15.