Science & Technology

Undergraduates in the class “Anthropology of Infectious Diseases” in Arts & Sciences presented their findings during a remote symposium held April 22. The event was the last gathering for students in a course that became far more consequential than anyone could have predicted.

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 Washington University in St. Louis have developed an extraction and cleanup method that, for the first time, will allow for measurements of RNAi pesticides in soil.

New research led by anthropologists at Washington University in St. Louis shows that encounters between gorilla groups were much more frequent, and that they had more varied social exchanges than expected. The effort is part of a long-term collaboration with the Congolese government and Wildlife Conservation Society that is changing perspectives on gorilla behavior, ecology and health.

A new study from Washington University in St. Louis is the first to demonstrate evolutionary response to hurricanes on a wide geographic scale.

Anthropologist Fiona Marshall in Arts & Sciences was elected a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences on April 23.

Mathematician Steven G. Krantz in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis is using a mathematical tool called wavelets to combat underreporting in the COVID-19 pandemic. His latest model predicts the number of near-term hospitalizations for older adults with one or a combination of underlying conditions: hypertension, cardiovascular disease and lung disease.

The COVID-19 WashU/BJC Maker Task Force has emerged as a central hub for St. Louis-area makers to help people in health-care settings stay safe as they care for patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. The multidisciplinary group is working to develop everything from isolation gowns to ventilator replacement parts.

Aerosol research at the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis is working at breakneck speed to understand the novel coronavirus and its effects at scales ranging from ecosystems to virus particles suspended in droplets.

As the world marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, Washington University in St. Louis continues to advance the university’s sustainability and climate change platform, despite pandemic protocol shifts.