Health insurance after job loss
McBrideLosing a job usually comes with the double whammy of losing any employer-sponsored health insurance. Timothy McBride, Ph.D., leading health economist and associate dean for public health at WUSTL’s George Warren Brown School of Social Work, is available to discuss current coverage options and the future of health insurance for low-income people. “Health reform, if it is considered in Congress, may provide relief for low-income persons,” he says. “In the short run, there are unfortunately few options for the unemployed unless they are relatively healthy and can buy cheap policies, or have significant savings. It is one of the sad aspects of our broken health-care system.”
Novel technique changes lymph node biopsy, reduces radiation exposure in breast cancer patients
David Kilper/WUSTL PhotoWUSTL biomedical engineers Younan Xia (left) and Lihong Wang examine the photoacoustic tomography machine (PAT) in Wang’s Whitaker Building laboratory.Information obtained from a new application of photoacoustic tomography (PAT) is worth its weight in gold to breast cancer patients. For the first time, Lihong Wang, Ph.D., Gene K. Beare Distinguished Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, with a joint appointment in Radiology, and Younan Xia, Ph.D., James M. McKelvey Professor in Biomedical Engineering, with a joint appointment in chemistry in Arts & Sciences, both at Washington University in St. Louis, have used gold nanocages to map sentinel lymph nodes (SLN) in a rat noninvasively using PAT.
Free exercise and nutrition program in Brazil could serve as model in United States
Marcia Munk, Universidade Federal de São PauloWhat if free exercise classes were offered in public spaces such as parks, beaches and recreation centers? When a city government in Brazil tried such a program, it greatly increased physical activity among community members. A group of health researchers who studied the program believes it could also work in U.S. cities with warm climates.
Plant polymerases IV and V are special forms of Polymerase II
It’s a little like finding out that Superman is actually Clark Kent. A team of biologists at Washington University in St. Louis has discovered that two vital cellular components, nuclear RNA Polymerases IV and V (Pol IV and V), found only in plants, are actually specialized forms of RNA Polymerase II, an essential enzyme of all eukaryotic organisms, including humans.
Chemist receives funding to unravel tricks of neuronal wiring
Joshua Maurer, Ph.D., assistant professor of chemistry in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, has received a four-year, $1,216,000 grant from the National Institute of Mental Health for research titled, “Unraveling Development: New Materials for Understanding Neuronal Wiring.” Maurer’s long term objective is to develop methodology that allows the study of a variety of neuronal wiring processes. He is starting by unscrambling a phenomenon known as midline crossing using zebrafish. During development, neurons from the right eye cross the midline of the brain to make a connection in the left hemisphere.
Eating at buffets plus not exercising equals obesity in rural America
In small towns in the Midwestern United States, people who eat out often at buffets and cafeterias and who perceive their community to be unpleasant for physical activity are more likely to be obese. The findings are published in the December issue of Preventive Medicine.
Six Washington University professors named AAAS fellows
Six faculty members from Washington University in St. Louis have been named fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world’s largest general scientific society. The highest honor awarded by AAAS, the rank of fellow is bestowed upon members by their peers in recognition of scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications.
Eating at buffets plus not exercising equals obesity in rural America
In small towns in the Midwestern United States, people who eat out often at buffets and cafeterias and who perceive their community to be unpleasant for physical activity are more likely to be obese. The findings are published in the December issue of Preventive Medicine.
MRI scans can predict effects of MS flare-ups on optic nerve
One of the most pernicious aspects of multiple sclerosis (MS) — its sheer unpredictability — may finally be starting to yield to advanced medical imaging techniques. Researchers from the School of Medicine report online in the journal Neurology that an approach known as magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) allowed them to estimate three months in advance the chronic effects of inflammation of the optic nerve.
Online weight-loss study seeks to educate parents of overweight 2- to 6-year-olds
Obesity researchers at the School of Medicine are recruiting families for an on-line program aimed at young children that targets healthy eating and physical activity. The 10-month study will evaluate the effectiveness of Food for Thought, an investigational, Internet-based program for parents of overweight 2- to 6-year-olds.
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