Medicine & Health

Moving new technology from the laboratory to patients’ bedsides takes more than just a clever idea. It often requires the combined expertise of university researchers who develop the technology and industry scientists who understand what it takes to get innovations to the marketplace. That’s exactly what two Washington University scientists had in mind when they created a consortium of experts from academia and industry.

A free play that uses a life-sized gelatin cadaver to explore the art and science of anatomy will take place Oct. 24 and 25 at the School of Medicine. “Corpus Delicti: Just Desserts,” which recently had a sold-out run at the University of Chicago, takes place in Holland during the Age of Enlightenment and is loosely based on Rembrandt’s 1632 painting, “The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Tulp.”

The fourth week of October features three diverse and exciting speakers in the Assembly Series: Tony award-winner B.D. Wong will speak on breaking down cultural barriers in “All the World’s a Stage: From Exclusion to Inclusion” at 4 p.m., Monday, October 23 in Graham Chapel. Iranian born graphic novelist, Marjane Satrapi will discuss her work at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, October 25 in Graham Chapel. Cornell mathematician Steven Strogatz will speak on “Sync: The Emerging Science of Spontaneous Order” at 4 p.m., Thursday, October 26 in Rebstock Hall, Room 215.

PolonskyKenneth S. Polonsky, M.D., has been elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, one of the highest honors medical scientists in the United States can receive. Polonsky was honored for his professional achievement in the health sciences, specifically in the area of diabetes.

Listed below are this month’s featured news stories. • Teenage drug, alcohol use (week of Oct. 4) • Nicotine and healing (week of Oct. 11) • Weight loss may indicate dementia (week of Oct. 18) • Living organ donors (week of Oct. 25)

A pediatric ophthalmologist at the School of Medicine and St. Louis Children’s Hospital conducts specialized testing and vision correction (refractive) surgery, on children with cerebral palsy, Down syndrome and neurobehavioral disorders such as autism. To date, this is one of the only U.S. medical centers performing refractive surgery on these children and has the highest volume, operating on about 60 special-needs children a year.

University of Minnesota professors Robert L. and Rosalie A. Kane will present “Long-Term Care Shouldn’t Be This Way: Two Perspectives” from 4 to 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 24, in the 2nd-floor Lounge of Brown Hall at the George Warren Brown School of Social Work on WUSTL’s campus.

Photo by David Kilper / WUSTL PhotoNew biomaterials greatly reduce the risk of blood clotting.Biomedical engineers at Washington University in St. Louis have developed new biomaterials to recruit endothelial cells to the inner surfaces of vascular grafts. Endothelial cells normally line blood vessels and actively protect against blood clotting. Blood clotting on artificial materials is currently so severe that the use of vascular grafts is limited to large diameter vessels. A team led by Donald Elbert, Ph. D., Washington University assistant professor of biomedical engineering, synthesized the new materials. More…

The pharmaceutical industry could be wasting more than $50 billion a year in manufacturing costs alone, costs that could translate in to lower prices or greater research and development – according to findings of the largest empirical study ever performed of pharmaceutical manufacturing and the Food and Drug Administration monitoring policies. More…

While the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has lifted the ban on fresh spinach and the produce is back on many grocery store shelves and restaurant plates, some consumers may not be so eager to return to eating the leafy greens that left at least three people dead and 199 others sickened across 26 states after an E coli O157:H7 outbreak. A dietitian at Washington University in St. Louis offers advice on finding new sources of the nutrients offered by spinach for those who are avoiding the leaf vegetable because they are still concerned about its safety. More…