Science & Technology

Researchers at the McKelvey School of Engineering have turned an age-old assumption about cell force on its head. Their work, published in PLOS Computational Biology, has implications for how cancer spreads and wounds heal.

Pawpaws are the state fruit tree of Missouri. But the trees tend to choke out woody bushes and flowering plants nearby, exerting a haphazard kind of pressure on would-be neighbors, according to research from WashU.

Biologists in Arts & Sciences found that 57% of their samples of weedy rice collected in Missouri, Arkansas and Louisiana were resistant to herbicides.

Glioblastoma is an aggressive, incurable brain cancer that is the most common malignant brain tumor in adults. New research from Washington University in St. Louis shows that glioblastoma has an internal clock and syncs its daily rhythms to match — and take advantage of — the rhythms of its host.

Environmental engineers at Washington University are working to document the microbial populations that live in household plumbing.

Bird wing shape — a proxy for long-distance flying ability, or dispersal — is a trait that influences biodiversity patterns on islands around the world, according to research from WashU biologists.

Duygu Özpolat, an assistant professor of biology in Arts & Sciences, co-authored a study in Nature Communications about the early steps of regeneration in the annelid worm Platynereis.

WashU biologists, led by Xuehua Zhong in Arts & Sciences, investigated the inner workings of DNA methylation in plants. Their findings could help engineer crops that are more resilient to environmental changes, like heat or drought stress.

In a new publication, researchers at the McKelvey School of Engineering make the case for electro-agriculture to help drastically cut carbon emissions.

Biologist Elizabeth Carlen, a postdoctoral fellow with the Living Earth Collaborative at WashU, received a 2024 Spark Award from the Association for Women in Science. The Spark Award highlights students or early-career leaders in STEM who are visible and vocal advocates for diversity and inclusive scientific practices.