Author: Ken Duenke

Talking to Martin Cripps is bound to make anyone just slightly jealous. For one thing, the man is unusually giddy. Whether he’s talking about his London upbringing, his family or his work, the youthful economics professor finds a way see the lighter side of life and laughs readily at it. Cripps, Ph.D., was recently installed […]

Summertime marks the height of ATV season.Most parents would never consider letting their 6-year-old child ride on the back of a motorcycle, yet many adults don’t think twice about letting kids ride all-terrain vehicles (ATVs). “Parental supervision is a key element to childhood safety,” explains Dee Hodge III, M.D., a pediatric emergency medicine specialist and associate professor of pediatrics at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. “And when it comes to ATVs, parents literally hold the key to their child’s safety. Injuries and death caused by ATVs are a serious and increasing problem in the United States, and it is critical that all riders understand the importance of safe and responsible ATV use,” adds Hodge, who is also associate director of clinical affairs for emergency services at St. Louis Children’s Hospital.

Summertime marks the height of ATV season.Most parents would never consider letting their 6-year-old child ride on the back of a motorcycle, yet many adults don’t think twice about letting kids ride all-terrain vehicles (ATVs). Injuries and death caused by ATVs are a serious and increasing problem in the United States, and it is critical that all riders understand the importance of safe and responsible ATV use, says Dee Hodge, pediatric emergency medicine specialist at Washington University School of Medicine and St. Louis Children’s Hospital.

The retirement of Sandra Day O’Connor from the Supreme Court will probably be the first of many changes in the makeup of the U.S. Supreme Court. “These changes would undoubtedly have an impact on how the Court decides its cases,” says Neil Richards, former law clerk for Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist and associate professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis. “In choosing future justices, I think that it’s important to focus not just on the outcomes of cases, but on how the Court does its business more broadly.”

Nerves talk to each other using chemicals called neurotransmitters. One of those “communication chemicals,” aptly named GABA (gamma amino butyric acid), shows up in unusually high amounts in some aggressive tumors, according to a new study from the School of Medicine in St. Louis.

RichardsWhether it happens this summer or some time in the future, there will eventually be changes in the personnel of the U.S. Supreme Court. Neil Richards, former law clerk for Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist and associate professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis, is available to comment on the possible retirement of current Justices and the future of the Supreme Court. “Recent speculation has centered largely on the potential effect of a retirement by one of the Justices,” he says.”The course of the Court’s jurisprudence may well be at stake depending on the justice or justices who step down from the bench.”

If you are a healthy male who is 65 years of age or older, you may be eligible for a study at the School of Medicine in St. Louis. The study is examining the benefits of restoring testosterone and growth hormone to youthful levels to determine if the therapy can improve muscle mass and strength, body fat, physical function and quality of life.

PomegranateExpectant mothers at risk of premature birth may want to consider drinking pomegranate juice to help their babies resist brain injuries from low oxygen and reduced blood flow, a new mouse study from the School of Medicine suggests.

He was one of only 45 physicians nationwide elected to mastership in 2005 at the college’s annual meeting in San Francisco.

The book reveals how four extraordinary women added their voices to the vigorous and prolific debate over the education of women during the 18th century.