Ancient DNA study tracks formation of populations across Central Asia
Ethically sourced and informed by archaeology, an ambitious new study reports genome-wide DNA information from 523 ancient humans collected at archaeological sites across the Near East and Central and South Asia. Washington University in St. Louis brought key partners together to generate the world’s largest study of ancient DNA, published this week in the journal Science.
Chua, Danforth to discuss political tribalism Sept. 12
Best-selling author Amy Chua and former U.S. Sen. John Danforth will come together for a public conversation, “Overcoming Political Tribalism and Recovering Our American Democracy,” at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 12, in Graham Chapel at Washington University in St. Louis.
Fentanyl, Inc.
How Rogue Chemists Are Creating the Deadliest Wave of the Opioid Epidemic
A deeply human story, Fentanyl, Inc. is the first deep-dive investigation of a hazardous and illicit industry that has created a worldwide epidemic, ravaging communities and overwhelming and confounding government agencies that are challenged to combat it. “A whole new crop of chemicals is radically changing the recreational drug landscape,” writes Ben Westhoff. “These are known as Novel Psychoactive Substances (NPS) and they include replacements for known drugs like heroin, cocaine, ecstasy, and marijuana. They are synthetic, made in a laboratory, and are much more potent than traditional drugs”—and all-too-often tragically lethal.
Time to retire the ‘pristine myth’ of climate change
Anthropologist T.R. Kidder in Arts & Sciences contributed to one of the first “big data” studies in archaeology to tackle broader questions of how humans have reshaped landscapes, ecosystems and potentially climate over millennia. The analysis published Aug. 30 in the journal Science challenges conventional ideas that man’s impact has been “mostly recent.”
Advancing research, international partnerships
International social work students recently completed work in a first-of-its-kind intensive summer seminar focused on advanced research methods. The event was presented thanks to an ongoing partnership between Washington University in St. Louis and its McDonnell International Scholars Academy partner Xi’an Jiaotong University.
St. Louis area school discipline gap larger than thought
In St. Louis area schools, students who are black, male and have a disability are far more likely to be suspended than those least at risk — 20, 30 or even 60 times more likely, finds a new study from the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis and Forward Through Ferguson.
WashU Expert: Opioid cases represent tipping point in addiction fight
Recent and upcoming legal battles involving drug makers represent a major tipping point in America’s fight against the opioid crisis, says an addiction expert at Washington University in St. Louis.
Investigative journalist casts critical eye on industry influence, pesticide science
Investigative journalist Carey Gillam will deliver the first talk of the fall 2019 Agri-Food Workshop lecture series, “Monsanto Trials and Monsanto Papers,” casting a critical eye on industry influence and pesticide science, Aug. 30.
Michelangelo, God’s Architect
The Story of His Final Years and Greatest Masterpiece
The untold story of Michelangelo’s final decades—and his transformation into one of the greatest architects of the Italian Renaissance As he entered his seventies, the great Italian Renaissance artist Michelangelo despaired that his productive years were past. Anguished by the death of friends and discouraged by the loss of commissions to younger artists, this supreme […]
National narcissism rears its head in study of WWII
In a survey of adults from the countries that comprised the World War II alliances known as the Allies and the Axis, respondents overestimate the importance of their country to the war effort. A new Arts & Sciences study shows how.
Older Stories