Author: Talia Ogliore

Using ancient DNA and tools from the modern genomic age, Susanne Renner in Arts & Sciences discovered that domesticated watermelons most likely came from wild crop progenitors near Sudan.

Laura Escobar Vega, assistant professor of mathematics and statistics in Arts & Sciences, shows students and young professionals new ways to connect with math and see themselves in the field.

Irene Hamlin, a senior majoring in biology with a minor in medical humanities in Arts & Sciences, will receive this year’s Harrison D. Stalker Award, in recognition of outstanding scientific scholarship with significant contributions in the arts and humanities.

A new study with zebrafish shows that a deadly form of skin cancer — melanoma — alters the metabolism of healthy tissues elsewhere in the body. The research led by chemist Gary Patti suggests that these other tissues could potentially be targeted to help treat cancer.

Dani Wilder, a December 2020 graduate of the biochemistry track of biology in Arts & Sciences, will receive the Ralph S. Quatrano Prize. It is awarded to the thesis showing the greatest evidence of creativity in design, research methodology or broader scientific implications.

Ella Ludwig, a senior majoring in biology in Arts & Sciences, will receive this year’s Spector Prize in recognition of academic excellence and outstanding undergraduate achievement in research.

New research from biologists in Arts & Sciences shows how animals and bacteria differ in the enzyme they use to attach heme to the cytochrome. The results help illuminate a promising target for new antibiotics.

Periodical cicadas are above ground for only a handful of days every 17 years. Human-induced rapid environmental change is altering the world they will briefly encounter, according to Brett Seymoure, a postdoctoral fellow with the Living Earth Collaborative at Washington University in St. Louis.

Joseph A. Fournier, assistant professor of chemistry in Arts & Sciences, won a CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation. Fournier’s research program focuses on characterizing the dynamics and mechanisms of fast chemical reactions.

Michael W. Friedlander, professor emeritus of physics in Arts & Sciences, died April 29, 2021, in St. Louis. He was 92.