Humanities & Society

Courtesy photoDrew PinskyPhysician, radio and television personality, health advocate and writer Drew Pinsky, M.D., will present “Loveline with Dr. Drew” at 6 p.m. Feb. 15 in the Laboratory Sciences Building Auditorium, Room 300 . The talk is the keynote address for Sexual Responsiblity Week, sponsored by Washington University in St. Louis’ Student Health Advisory Committee, Student Union and the Assembly Series.

Courtesy photoFatemeh KeshavarzIn her most recent book, “Jasmine and Stars,” Keshavarz blends personal memoir with literary analysis and social commentary to break pervasive Western stereotypes of Iranians.

Medical professionals from Washington University and Barnes-Jewish College of Nursing are helping older adults in underserved areas of St. Louis identify and address wide-ranging health problems — from osteoporosis and frailty to impaired physical function and depression.

If politics were like high school, Republicans would be the football stars and Democrats would be chess club captains. Those stereotypes are the easiest way to summarize part of the conclusions made by a marketing professor at the Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis.

A majority of children in the child welfare system maintain stable health coverage, finds a first-of-its-kind study published in the current issue of the American Journal of Public Health. Ramesh Raghavan, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of social work and psychiatry at Washington University in St. Louis and lead author of the study, says that these findings are “a testament to the success of policies directed at securing stable insurance coverage for children. “Given this vulnerable population’s dependence on Medicaid, protection of existing entitlements to Medicaid is essential to preserve their stable insurance coverage.”

Innovative researcher George Whitesides will speak on revolutionary ideas in chemistry that may lead to a new understanding of the origin of life for the Ferguson Science Lecture at 11 a.m. on Wed., Feb. 6 in Graham Chapel as part of the Assembly Series.

As part of his continuing efforts to serve his native country, A. Peter Mutharika, J.S.D., professor of law, has been named Malawi’s Chief Advisor to the President on Constitutional, Legal and International Affairs. Mutharika currently is on leave in Malawi for the 2007-08 academic year. Upon his return, he will serve as the Charles Nagel Professor of International and Comparative Law.

A review of epidemiological data has found evidence that people who spend fewer years in school may experience a slight but statistically significant delay in the realization that they’re having cognitive problems that could be Alzheimer’s disease.

Leon Kass has been at the forefront of bioethics since before Louise Brown, the first test tube baby, was born in 1978. His talk for the Assembly Series, “Brave New Biology: The Challenge for Bioethics” will be presented at 4 p.m. Wednesday, February 6 in Graham Chapel on Washington University’s Danforth Campus. The program is free and open to the public

Reversing the longstanding case law would give undue windfall to opportunistic third parties, says Kieff.The U.S. Supreme Court is reviewing Quanta v. LG, a case that could determine the future direction of patent law. “This case is key to ensuring that patent law develops in a way that best promotes innovation and competition,” says F. Scott Kieff, J.D., professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis. Kieff and colleagues have filed an amicus brief in the Supreme Court in support of LG, arguing that under contract law the patent holder had a right to sue a downstream purchaser. Kieff will be closely following this case and is available for comment.