Science & Technology

Washington University’s Climate Change Program (WUCCP), along with the University of Missouri–St. Louis, is co-hosting a series of virtual events to address climate and energy topics affecting the state of Missouri. The first is Aug. 18.

“This new study shows that the extinction crisis is even worse than realized,” said Jonathan Losos, the William H. Danforth Distinguished University Professor and professor of biology in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis and director of the Living Earth Collaborative.

Until recently, researchers have not inspected the interplay between three common chemicals found in drinking water. Research from the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis has found they all affect each other and a closer look is needed.

Himadri Pakrasi, founding director of the International Center for Energy, Environment and Sustainability (InCEES) at the university, will conclude his tenure as director, effective July 1. David Fike, who has been associate director, will serve as interim InCEES director.

A study by biologist Amanda Koltz in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis suggests that as female wolf spiders become larger and produce more offspring, competition among them increases — triggering higher rates of cannibalism and reducing the number of young spiders that survive to adulthood.

Researchers at the McKelvey School of Engineering spent two weeks in India cooking with local residents. They found that soot wasn’t the only worrisome byproduct of traditional cookstoves; organic carbons are causing problems, too.

Washington University in St. Louis now offers a major in environmental analysis though the Environmental Studies program in Arts & Sciences. The major is a response to the global demand for environmental and sustainability experts who can think critically, communicate clearly and solve problems in collaboration with their communities. 

Washington University in St. Louis and the University of Missouri-St. Louis are partnering for an upcoming virtual teach-in to discuss solutions to abate climate change. All are welcome to take part.

Faced with a gritty landscape of metal fences, concrete walls and asphalt pavement, lizards that moved into cities in Puerto Rico rapidly and repeatedly evolved better tolerance for heat than their forest counterparts, according to new research from Washington University in St. Louis and the University of California, Los Angeles.

Diversity plays a key role in maintaining the stability of plant and animal life in an area. But it’s difficult to scale up smaller experiments to understand how changes will impact larger ecosystems. A new study of North American birds from biologists in Arts & Sciences reveals the importance of both total numbers and variation in species identities.