Humanities & Society

In these brain sections of neonatal mice exposed to ethanol, mice deficient in certain enzymes (right) exhibit much more neurodegeneration as indicated by the black material in the dying neurons.Can you blame your genes if you can’t handle your liquor? A new study conducted at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis may pave the way to finding out. Researchers found that the brain’s response to alcohol is partially under the influence of two genes. The genes, studied in both adult and newborn mice, were found to affect sensitivity to alcohol intoxication, interest in alcohol consumption and risk of developmental brain damage from alcohol.

Medical experts suggest leaving fireworks to professionals.Fireworks can be beautiful against the night sky on July 4th, but a Washington University emergency medicine specialist at St. Louis Children’s Hospital says, for safety’s sake, parents and children should leave the fireworks to professionals. All fireworks are dangerous, especially to children. Typically, about two-thirds of all fireworks injuries occur in the days around the July 4th holiday.

Among the areas activated by tasks designed to stimulate voluntary attention were the intraparietal sulcus and frontal eye fields, both believed to be part of a network of neurons called the dorsal attention system.The first direct analysis of the interactions between two brain networks that govern visual attention may help researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis develop treatments for stroke patients with a condition known as spatial neglect. These patients have difficulty focusing on or paying attention to stimuli in the left half of their visual field. They may forget to shave the left side of their face, fail to eat food on the left side of a plate or seem to be unaware that their left arm belongs to them. However, researchers have found that if they explicitly tell these people to pay attention to their left side, for a brief time they can do so.

A simple way to conserve is to use compact fluorescent lightbulbs wherever possible.On June 5, mayors of some of the largest cities around the world took the historic step of signing the Urban Environmental Accords in San Francisco in recognition of United Nations World Environment Day 2005. The international treaty sets out 21 specific actions for sustainable urban living. The accords address seven environmental areas common to all the world’s large cities; including water, energy and waste. While the focus was on the mayors’ pledge to take specific actions toward making their cities greener, an environmental health and safety expert at Washington University in St. Louis says there are many things individuals can do in their own homes and offices to promote sustainable living.

File Photo – David KilperThe class of 2005 has good reason to be happy — overall hiring of college graduates is on the rise.Well, you’ve graduated from college. Congratulations! Now what? Unless you’re off to graduate school, it’s time to get a job. And according to a career expert at Washington University in St. Louis, you’ll probably have a much easier time finding one than students did in the past few years.

Older folks can be swayed by the power of suggestion.Especially if you’re older, get everything in writing, from estimates to receipts. Psychologists at Washington University in St. Louis report that the memory function of people in their mid-60s and up is easily swayed by the power of suggestion, making them more vulnerable to memory-related scams. Their study appears in the May 2005 issue of the Journal of Experimental Psychology (JEP): General, which is published by the American Psychological Association.

A team of engineers from Washington University in St. Louis and the University of Colorado at Boulder has removed bioaerosols – airborne biological particulate matter — from the air of a hospital therapy pool using a new generation of hybrid filters. The bioaerosols identified in the unnamed Midwestern hospital pool had sickened nine lifeguards who had become ill with hypersensitivity pneumonitis, a lung condition that mimics pneumonia symptoms. This forced the pool to shut down. It is now reopened.

Where have you gone, Joe Neandertal?The human fossil evidence from the Mladec Caves in Moravia, Czech Republic, excavated more than 100 years ago, has been proven for the first time, through modern radiocarbon dating, to be the oldest cranial, dental and postcranial assemblage of early modern humans in Europe. A team of researchers from the Natural History Museum in Vienna, from the University of Vienna in Austria and from Washington University in St. Louis recently conducted the first successful direct dating of the material.

U.S. Army photoThe battles don’t end with the war for some soldiers.More than a decade after the first Gulf War in 1991, a detailed comparison of the health of veterans who were deployed to the Persian Gulf region and veterans who served elsewhere has found that the health of the two groups is very similar. However, the study also found that Gulf War veterans are more likely to have chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia syndrome.

As Americans celebrate independence this July 4, they may wish to consider the plight of another democracy – one that is young and struggling and whose continued success could have a dramatic impact on the world economy, the price of gasoline and other critical U.S. interests. James V. Wertsch, director of International and Area Studies at Washington University in St. Louis suggests that America needs to pay attention to developments in the former Soviet Republic of Georgia for its own sake, and for the sake of the rest of the world.