Medicine & Health

The body’s ability to perform simple tasks like flex muscles or feel heat, cold and pain depends, in large part, on myelin, an insulating layer of fats and proteins that speeds the propagation of nerve cell signals. Now, scientists have identified a gene in mice that controls whether certain cells in the peripheral nervous system can make myelin. Called Gpr126, the gene encodes a cellular receptor that could play a role in diseases affecting peripheral nerves.

Ozioma (localhealthdata.org) is a new online tool from the Health Communication Research Laboratory (HCRL) at Washington University in St. Louis designed to increase the amount of locally relevant health information in communities through media. Ozioma, which launches June 8, allows users to search for health data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (for example, National Cancer Institute and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and more than 60 other reliable sources — all in one place.

David Mutch, MD, says the importance and joy of the School of Medicine’s tripartite mission is why he is at Washington University today. “In my mind, Dave Mutch is a glowing example of everything good about being an academic physician,” says George Macones, MD, the Mitchell and Elaine Yanow Professor and head of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

The Young Scientist Program (YSP) will mark its 20th anniversary with a day-long symposium at 8:30 a.m. Monday, June 6, at Washington University School of Medicine.

An advanced imaging technique has revealed that some U.S. military personnel with mild blast-related traumatic brain injuries have abnormalities in the brain that have not been seen with other types of imaging. The abnormalities were found in the brain’s white matter, the wiring system that nerve cells in the brain use to communicate with each other.

Tiny tropical fish are helping scientists understand human development and disease, from birth defects and cancer to muscle and nerve disorders. Contributing to this effort, Washington University is now home to one of the largest zebrafish facilities in the world. And with robotic feeding and cleaning systems, it is the world’s most modern.

Two new studies showcase the dynamic relationship between components of the diet and the intestinal microbiome. The research provides a foundation for improving human health by designing diets and foods that enhance microbes’ ability to capture specific food ingredients or that enrich the presence of beneficial microbes.

The Friedman Conference on Aging will be held from 8:30-11 a.m. Tuesday, May 24, 2011, in the Connor Auditorium in the Farrell Learning and Teaching Center. It is sponsored by the Harvey A. Friedman Center for Aging. No registration is required.

For years, the field of optical imaging in biological tissue had languished, with few advances and no significant growth. The concept was promising — using light to image organs, cells, and blood vessels, noninvasively and without any radiation — but it seemed impossible to obtain high-resolution images at any significant depth. Then came Lihong V. […]

What does it take to regenerate a limb? Biologists have long thought that organ regeneration in animals like zebrafish and salamanders involved stem cells that can generate any tissue in the body. But new research from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has shown that the individual cells in a regenerating limb retain their original identities and only give rise to more of their own kind.