Humanities & Society

Richards has observed the inheritance of epigenetic factors in plants.Eric Richards, Ph.D., professor of biology at Washington University in St. Louis, writing in the May issue of Nature Reviews Genetics, analyzes recent and past research in epigenetics and the history of evolution and proposes that epigenetics should be considered a form of soft inheritance, citing examples in both the plant and mammalian kingdoms.

A woman trying to conceive a child may receive as many as 1,000 fertility-enhancing injections per year, but a recent discovery at the School of Medicine may help reduce the required number of fertility shots to about one per week.

The School of Law’s American Indian Law and Economic Development Program and the St. Louis law firm of Sonnenschein, Nath & Rosenthal have garnered an important legal victory concerning the sovereignty of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe in South Dakota. Working with local attorneys in South Dakota, they helped the tribe defend a federal lawsuit challenging the authority of the tribe’s courts to hear a discrimination case brought by tribal members against a non-Indian bank doing business on the reservation. In a fifteen-page opinion released this morning, Judge Charles B. Kornmann of the U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota ruled that the tribe’s courts had jurisdiction over the case and affirmed a 2003 verdict by a tribal jury awarding $875,982.46 in damages, interest, and costs to the aggrieved tribal members.

David Kilper / WUSTL PhotoAdvice for sending your child off to college for the first time.Sending your child off to college for the first time isn’t easy. But it can be especially tough on “helicopter parents,” those who tend to hover over their children and can have a hard time letting go. But not to worry, says an expert on the freshman transition at Washington University in St. Louis and co-author of the acclaimed book “Letting Go: A Parent’s Guide to Understanding the College Years.” Even helicopter parents can make a successful break.

Study groups help students more easily grasp the material from their classes.Studying in groups helps students learn more effectively. More than 20 years of academic research has consistently demonstrated that fact. But what exactly is it about studying with other people that makes it so effective? Through painstaking research, an expert in creativity and everyday conversation at Washington University in St. Louis has identified two patterns of group dynamics that show why group study is optimal. The research is published in the June 2005 Linguistics and Education journal.

WellingThe Washington University Diabetes Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital focuses on providing patients with the latest technology, treatments and clinical research. Some patients at the center are receiving a new diabetes drug that may give a welcome side effect — weight loss. Research lab supervisor Cris Welling began taking Byetta about 10 months ago and has lost 40 pounds.

Gas tax relief?With voters clamoring for relief from skyrocketing prices at the gas pump, politicians are floating a wide range of quick-fix solutions, many of which could cause more problems than they solve, suggests Paul Rothstein, a specialist in the economics of public spending at Washington University in St. Louis. More…

The Food and Drug Administration recently approved a shingles vaccine for adults age 60 and older. Anyone who has ever had chicken pox is susceptible to the shingles virus, which can cause blisters and extreme pain. More than 1 million Americans are afflicted with shingles each year.

Some experts think the cost of caring for Alzheimer’s patients could soon be more than our economy can bear.Providing care for people with Alzheimer’s disease costs the U.S. more than $100 billion per year, but less than $1 billion is spent by the government for research. Politicians argue that caring for people who already have the disease should be the top fiscal priority, while researchers believe more money should be spent to find better treatments, vaccinations or a cure. Great strides have been made with Alzheimer’s research in recent years, and more effective treatment and prevention could save billions in patient care.

Science is now poised to answer an important and longstanding question about the origins of Alzheimer’s disease: Do Alzheimer’s patients have high levels of a brain protein because they make too much of it or because they can’t clear it from their brains quickly enough?