Humanities & Society

HusseinFor the past 18 months, the Iraqi Special Tribunal (IST) for Crimes Against Humanity has emitted conflicting signals regarding the means and process by which it will ultimately bring Saddam Hussein to trial. “While it is not possible to predict the ultimate outcome of the current proceedings against Hussein, there is no doubt that skepticism remains as to the Iraqi Special Tribunal’s credibility and legitimacy,” says Leila N. Sadat, expert on international law and international war crimes tribunals and the Henry H. Oberschelp Professor of Law at Washington University in St. Louis. “The IST’s decision to take up the Dujail case first, and the establishment of the IST itself, raise very interesting questions of international criminal law and procedure.”

Chief Justice Rehnquist administers the oath of office to President Bill Clinton.The death of Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist marks the second major change to the membership of the Supreme Court and the end of a tremendously successful and dedicated career in public service. “As an associate justice and later Chief Justice of the United States, William Rehnquist was one of the leading figures in American law for over three decades,” says Neil M. Richards, former law clerk for Chief Justice Rehnquist and associate professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis. “He will be remembered as one of the great Chief Justices in American history, and deservedly so. He was a warm, gentle, funny, conscientious, and brilliant man and judge.”

Researchers have found that the areas of the brain that young people use when daydreaming are the same areas that fail in people with Alzheimer’s.

Erik Trinkaus analyzed anatomical evidence of early modern humans, which suggests a reduction in the strength of the smaller toes.

Image courtesy of Benjamin Shannon, John Cirrito, and Robert Brendza Washington University in St. LouisBrain regions active during default mental tates in young adults reveal remarkable correlation with those regions showing Alzheimer’s disease pathology.Researchers who used five different medical imaging techniques to study the brain activity of 764 people, including those with Alzheimer’s disease, those on the brink of dementia, and healthy individuals, have found that the areas of the brain that young, healthy people use when daydreaming are the same areas that fail in people who have Alzheimer’s disease. Findings suggest Alzheimer’s may be due to abnormalities in regions of the brain that are active when people are musing, daydreaming, or thinking to themselves.

LaRussaThe Washington University Assembly Series will have an unorthodox start to its fall schedule with a talk by Cardinals’ manager, Tony La Russa at 11 a.m. Sept. 7 in Graham Chapel. The rest of the series features speakers on a wide range of topics including politics, economics, writing, history, religion, medicine, literature, evolution, space exploration, social justice and the Holocaust.

Camp HOPE lives up to its name. The three-day camp, part of a larger outreach called Project ARK, gives HIV-positive children a chance to swim, ride horses and simply have fun. Kim Donica, director of Project ARK and research administrator for pediatric infectious disease, discusses the project in the following interview with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Below is a link to the Washington University news release about the U.S. News & World Report undergraduate rankings for 2004-05: http://news-info.wustl.edu/news/page/normal/3627.html To view a full listing of U.S. News magazine, book and Web-only rankings for 2004-05, please visit the U.S. News & World Report site: http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/rankings/rankindex_brief.php

Erik Trinkaus / Czech Academy of SciencesA 26,000 year-old early modern human showing the reduced strength of the bones of the lesser toes.Those high-tech, air-filled, light-as-a-feather sneakers on your feet are a far cry from the leather slabs our ancestors wore for protection and support. But believe it or not, our modern day Nikes and Reeboks are direct descendents of the first supportive footwear that new research suggests came into use in western Eurasia between 26,000 and 30,000 years ago.

Internationally renowned economist Ping Wang will be named inaugural holder of the Seigle Family Professorship in Arts & Sciences later this year. The new professorship was established by University Trustee member.