Scientists show how nerve wiring self-destructs
Many medical conditions destroy nerve axons, the long wires that transmit signals to other parts of the body. Now, researchers have found a way the body can remove injured axons, identifying a potential target for new drugs that could prevent the inappropriate loss of axons and maintain nerve function.
Faulty memory finds a new culprit
Memory problems related to day-to-day activities — one of the largest complaints of people with Alzheimer’s diease — may be due to older adults’ inability to segment their daily lives into discrete experiences, suggests new psychology research from Washington University in St. Louis. How we perceive events in our current lives influences how we remember them in the future, the study finds.
Early responses coming in on Next Generation Science Standards
The Next Generation Science Standards have been out for a month now. How are they being received? Michael Wysession, who helped lead the effort to define the national standards, says there haven’t been any major surprises, in part because there is strong economic motivation to bring American students up to the level of the scientifically literate students they will be compete with in the international job marker.
Three faculty elected to National Academy of Sciences
Three Washington University in St. Louis scientists are among the 84
members and 21 foreign associates elected to the National Academy of
Sciences this year. Election to the academy is considered one of the
highest honors that can be accorded a U.S. scientist or engineer.
Elson elected fellow of arts and sciences academy
School of Medicine faculty member Elliot L. Elson, PhD, has been elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. The organization was formed in 1780 to cultivate the arts and sciences and to recognize individuals who have made prominent contributions to their disciplines and to society.
Author of book about the famed Cori Laboratory to open Cori Lecture May 8
John Exton, MD, PhD, the author of “Crucible of Science” — a book about the history of a unique laboratory at Washington University and of Carl and Gerty Cori, the biochemists who established it — will make opening remarks at the Carl and Gerty Cori Lecture on May 8.
Unusual comparison nets new sleep loss marker
Paul Shaw, PhD, a researcher at the School of Medicine, has used what he learns in fruit flies to look for markers of sleep loss in humans. But now he has reversed the process in a new paper, taking what he finds in humans back to the flies and identifying a human gene that is more active after sleep deprivation.
Scientists assemble genetic playbook for acute leukemia
A consortium of researchers led by the School of Medicine has identified virtually all of the major mutations that drive acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a fast-growing blood cancer in adults that often is difficult to treat. The dark lines in the image pictured show all of the major mutations for AML that occurred in one patient with the disease.
Students’ low-cost medical device wins inaugural Discovery Competition
A low-cost medical device targeted at improving
world health has taken home the top prize in Washington University
School of Engineering & Applied Science’s inaugural Discovery
Competition. Sparo Labs took the largest prize of $25,000. The company’s plan stems from an
award-winning project to develop a low-cost, pocket-sized spirometer,
which measures lung function.
Engineering professor working to help bridges withstand natural disaster
Chenyang Lu, PhD, professor of computer science & engineering in the School of
Engineering & Applied Science, and colleagues, have developed a unique system they call a
Wireless Cyber-Physical Simulator, which can help bridges and other structures survive natural disasters.
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