Author: Ken Duenke

Live broadcasts, student debates, Red vs. Blue analyses, panel discussions, and a host of other activities will be available for the WUSTL campus community on Thursday, October 2.

Want to be on national TV? Many opportunities will arise this week as the national media descends on the WUSTL campus.

Session musician, commercial recording engineer, live sound engineer, record producer, bestselling author and psychologist, Daniel Levitin visits the WUSTL campus at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, October 8 in Graham Chapel for the next installment of the Assembly Series.

Jay Swoboda is an entrepreneur who is showing the St. Louis community that there is a burgeoning market for green, modern, precision-built homes in urban neighborhoods. Swoboda will talk about his experiences at 4 p.m. Wednesday, October 15, for an Assembly Series program called “Gonzo Entrepreneurship: Creating Better Social Environments while Keeping a Roof over your Head.” The presentation will be held in the Danforth University Center Room 276 and is free and open to the public.

Calorie restriction, a diet that is low in calories and high in nutrition, may not be as effective at extending life in people as it is in rodents, according to scientists at the School of Medicine. Previous research had shown that laboratory animals given 30 percent to 50 percent less food can live up to 50 percent longer, but new research suggests the diet may not have the desired effect unless people on calorie restriction also pay attention to their protein intake.

Courtesy PhotoAfter delivering a well-attended Assembly Series presentation Sept. 17 in Graham Chapel, Elizabeth Kolbert answered questions from students, including Tyler Nading, a senior civil engineering major and member of the men’s basketball team.

The genome of a humble worm that dines on the microbial organisms covering the carcasses of dead beetles may provide clues to the evolution of parasitic worms, including those that infect humans, say scientists at the School of Medicine and the Max-Planck Institute for Developmental Biology in Germany. In a paper published in the current issue of Nature Genetics, the researchers reported finding some surprises as they have decoded the genome of the worm, a tiny nematode called Pristionchus pacificus.

A new predictive measurement, called a PEPI score, could bring good news to many women diagnosed with advanced breast cancer — a low PEPI (preoperative endocrine prognostic index) score could show that they have little risk of relapse and can safely avoid chemotherapy after surgery. For others, a high PEPI score could warn that the risk of relapse after breast surgery is large and indicate that careful follow-up and aggressive therapy may be needed, say researchers at the School of Medicine.

Cancer death rates in the United States are highest among African Americans, but a new report shows that in Missouri the disparity in cancer incidence and death between African Americans and whites is declining. As a result, cancer incidence (the rate of newly diagnosed cases) between the races is equal, although the death rate will probably remain higher for African Americans for some time.

When compared with recent MD program graduates from U.S. medical schools, M.D./Ph.D. program graduates are more likely to be male, have less educational debt, choose certain medical specialties and plan for research to play a major role in their careers. Researchers at the School of Medicine recently published these findings in the Sept. 10 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.