Humanities & Society

The recent ruling by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court allowing same-sex marriages relied on the state constitution’s guarantees of both individual liberty and equality to conclude that no rational basis supports the exclusion of same-sex couples from civil marriage and its benefits, according to Susan Appleton, a family law expert at Washington University in St. Louis. “Although the court took a bold step, the outcome follows unremarkably from a number of contemporary legal developments,” says Appleton, the Lemma Barkeloo & Phoebe Couzins Professor of Law.

Despite the rejection of a provision to allow prescription drug imports from Canada in the Medicare bill passed by Congress, policymakers are still considering other bills that would allow the drug imports from North of the border. But Jackson Nickerson, a professor of organization and strategy at the Olin School of Business at Washington University in St. Louis, says that allowing the import of drugs from Canada would likely raise prices for both Canadians and U.S. consumers. Nickerson is currently engaged in a major research initiative with the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) and the pharmaceutical industry to improve the manufacturing process for drugs.

Image courtesy of Cindy LustigParts of the brain involved in a “resting network” show large differences between young adults, older adults, and people with Alzheimer’s disease.Researchers tracking the ebb and flow of cognitive function in the human brain have discovered surprising differences in the ability of younger and older adults to shut down a brain network normally active during periods of passive daydreaming. The differences, which are especially pronounced in people with dementia, may provide a clear and powerful new method for diagnosing individuals in the very early stages of Alzheimer’s disease.

Dec./Jan. Business, Law & Economics Tip Sheet

December/January Culture & Living Tip Sheet

GibsonWhen the U.S. Supreme Court issues its much-awaited decision on the constitutionality of the controversial McCain-Feingold campaign reform legislation, its arguments may hinge on testimony regarding the validity of a political advertising database used to push for the legislation. Supporters of the legislation claim the database provides clear and compelling evidence that McCain-Feingold reforms do not infringe upon free speech, but this is far from the truth, according to James L. Gibson, a Washington University political scientist who served as expert witness when the case was heard in a lower court. His analysis found the database to be “riddled with internal errors and inconsistencies.”

Image by Trent L. Schindler, Nat’l Science Foundation, Arlington, VAComputer-based reconstruction of an arsinoithere, an extinct fossil mammal from Ethiopia that lived 27 million years ago.Tab Rasmussen, Ph.D., a professor of anthropology in Arts & Sciences at Washington University, and two of his graduate students, were part of an international team of researchers that discovered new fossils in the highlands of Ethiopia that are filling gaps in scientists’ understanding of the evolution of African mammals. The results are reported in the Dec. 4, 2003, issue of the journal Nature.

Rebecca Dresser, an expert on biomedical research law and bioethics and the Daniel Noyes Kirby Professor of Law at Washington University in St. Louis, discusses the legal and ethical implications of stem cell research with Mike Sampson of KWMU’s “St. Louis on the Air” Nov. 25. Dresser is also a member of the President’s Council on Bioethics. Listen to the program from the KWMU Web site.

Image courtesy of Cindy LustigParts of the brain involved in a “resting network” show large differences between young adults, older adults, and people with Alzheimer’s disease.Researchers tracking the ebb and flow of cognitive function in the human brain have discovered surprising differences in the ability of younger and older adults to shut down a brain network normally active during periods of passive daydreaming. The differences, which are especially pronounced in people with dementia, may provide a clear and powerful new method for diagnosing individuals in the very early stages of Alzheimer’s disease.

SmithSenate Republicans and Democrats are preparing for a 30-hour marathon debate on judicial nominations starting about 6 p.m. Nov. 12 and running as long as early morning on Friday, Nov. 14. Republican senators say they want the country to know that Democrats are stalling judicial nominations made by President Bush. Democrats have filibustered on four recent Bush appeals court nominations and may use similar tactics on future nominees. Congressional expert Steven Smith says this is business as usual in Congress and that Republicans have used the same tactics in the past.