Science & Technology

New research from Washington University in St. Louis reveals the core structure of the light-harvesting antenna of cyanobacteria — including features that both collect energy and block excess light absorption. Orange carotenoid protein plays a key protective role, according to Haijun Liu, research scientist in chemistry in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis.

Jeffrey Zacks, associate chair and professor of psychological and brain sciences in Arts & Sciences, and of radiology at the School of Medicine, received the Mid-career Award from the Psychonomic Society.

How will this year’s celebrations be remembered? The answer will be “differently than normal” for some individuals, but collective memory for the pandemic itself is likely to fade quickly for most people.

An interdisciplinary team led by faculty at the McKelvey School of Engineering has developed a model to help navigate the delicate line between maintaining the economy and limiting the spread and mortality rate of COVID-19.

Ribosomes are the machines in the cell that use instructions from mRNA to synthesize functional proteins. When something goes awry, cells monitor for ribosome collisions to determine the severity of the problem, according to new research from Washington University in St. Louis biologists in Arts & Sciences.

Chao Zhou, a Washington University in St. Louis engineer who develops novel optical imaging technologies for biomedical applications, has been awarded a Stein Innovation Award from Research to Prevent Blindness to pursue development of novel imaging methods for diagnostic uses.

The Chinese space agency announced Dec. 16 the return of a lunar probe bringing back the first fresh samples of rock and debris from the moon in more than 40 years. Bradley L. Jolliff, the Scott Rudolph Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, reflects on the scientific value of the samples.

Bill McKinnon, professor of earth and planetary sciences in Arts & Sciences, is one of 62 geoscientists who have been elected to the American Geophysical Union’s 2020 class of fellows.

Philip V. Bayly has been named the inaugural Lee Hunter Distinguished Professor in the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis. Bayly is an innovative researcher at the forefront of understanding the mechanics of brain injury and brain development.

Dust-related electrochemistry can reshape Martian surface materials with physical and chemical changes observable after only hundreds of years. Similar electrical effects may be instrumental on Venus and Europa, according to new work from Alian Wang in Arts & Sciences.