Humanities & Society

On April 15, the Supreme Court will hear oral argument in Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics, a case that could answer the question, “Under what conditions, if any, are isolated human genes patentable?” Kevin Emerson Collins, JD, patent law expert and professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis, believes that layered uncertainties make this case an unusually difficult case in which to predict the outcome.

Filibuster has become a popular tool for legislators. “Republicans have held the U.S. Senate hostage despite their minority status and losses in the last election,” says Merton Bernstein, emeritus professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis. “Indeed, the threat of a filibuster enables the minority to exact concessions that the electorate had already rejected in several elections. This sabotage of the democratic process not only shuts down the legislative process, short circuits the confirmation of presidential nominees, but also threatens large foreign purchases of U.S. bonds that lower interest rates for federal, state and business borrowing.”

Washington University’s Gerald L. Early, PhD, a noted essayist and American culture critic, will get a star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame.  A eremony marking Early’s induction into the Walk of Fame in The Loop will be held at 11:30 a.m. Thursday, April 11, in front of the Moonrise Hotel, 6177 Delmar Blvd.

The nation’s oldest and largest student-run carnival gets under way soon. The community event brings together students, faculty and staff from WUSTL with surrounding neighbors and the greater St. Louis community for a weekend filled with rides, carnival fare and family-friendly plays. More than 80,000 people are expected to attend the Thurtene Carnival April 19-21.

The next generation science standards have been released and Washington University in St. Louis is playing significant roles. Michael Wysession, PhD, an associate professor in the Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences in Arts & Sciences, was among the 41-member writing team who helped write the standards. And WUSTL’s Institute for School Partnership (ISP) is poised to help schools implement them in the St. Louis region.

With springtime temperatures and warm weather approaching, the inclination to spend time outdoors is a strong one – especially for children who have been cooped up all winter. But parents should be vigilant about sunscreen. And teenage girls might want to rethink springtime tanning and tanning beds. A new study out of the Brown School, led by senior author Kimberly J. Johnson, looks at the increase of melanoma in children and adolescents and what those trends might be telling us.

Day two of the Clinton Global Initiative University at Washington University in St. Louis began with an excellent and inspiring plenary session called “A Better Future for Girls and Women: Empowering the Next Generation,” moderated by Chelsea Clinton. The session featured four leaders who are making a difference for women around the world, including microcredit pioneer and 2006 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus.

Michael Sherraden, PhD, the Benjamin E. Youngdahl Professor of Social Development at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis, moderated a panel discussion April 6 at the sixth annual meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI U). The session was titled “Poverty and Promise in America’s Rust Belt” and was held in Umrath Hall on the Danforth Campus. Kailey Burger, third-year law student, served as a panelist.

The closing session of CGI U at Washington University has just concluded and the enthusiasm and passion in the room is still very much on my mind. We ended CGI U with a rousing, entertaining and deeply inspirational session featuring Comedy’s Central’s Stephen Colbert and CGI U’s namesake, President Bill Clinton.

The Clinton Global Initiative University opens at Washington University in St. Louis with inspiring words from President Bill Clinton, Chelsea Clinton and a panel of innovative thinkers. Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton offers his thoughts on the first day.