Science & Technology

New research provides one of the most detailed and comprehensive analyses yet of the genetic diversity of endangered great apes living in the wild, revealing new clues to the evolution of apes and humans.

Brent Williams, PhD, of the School of Engineering & Applied Science at Washington University in St. Louis, has received a nearly $300,000 Early Career grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to bring his expertise in measuring particles in the atmosphere to a national study of the climate trend in the southeastern United States as well as the St. Louis area.

WUSTL biologist Alan Templeton and colleagues in Israel and Germany received $2 million to look at the shifting patterns of gene expression, called the transcriptome, in two remarkably versatile species of fire salamander, one native to Israel and the other to Germany. The work may explain why this genus of salamanders is able to adapt to a wide variety of habitats when most salamander species live in one.

Washington University in St. Louis is one of eight Association of American Universities (AAU) member campuses selected to serve as project sites for the association’s five-year initiative to improve the quality of undergraduate education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields at its member institutions, AAU officials announced today.

Each year, about 431 million adults worldwide are victims of cybercrime, costing $388 billion based on time and monetary loss. The problem is so severe that President Barack Obama recently said, “cyber threat is one of the most serious economic and national security challenges we face as a nation.” To address this growing need, the Washington University in St. Louis School of Engineering & Applied Science, partnering with WUSTL’s Olin Business School, is launching a master’s degree in cyber security management in Fall 2013 to provide area professionals and full-time students with the skills needed to prepare for and stop cyber attacks in their workplace.

Mary-Dell Chilton, PhD, who did pioneering work on plant genetics while on the biology faculty at Washington University in St. Louis in the late 1970s and early 1980s, has been named a co-recipient of the 2013 World Food Prize, an honor often described as the “Nobel Prize of Biotechnology.”

Washington University in St. Louis Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton will speak in Denver June 13 about the critical role research universities play in creating positive economic growth. “Innovation and Entrepreneurship: How Research Universities FosterEconomic Development” is free and open to the public. The talk will take place at 8 a.m. Thursday, June 13, at the […]

In the June 5 issue of Neuron, WUSTL biologist Erik Herzog and his colleagues report the discovery of a crucial part of the biological clock: the wiring that sets its accuracy to within a few minutes out of the 1440 minutes per day. This wiring uses the neurotransmitter, GABA, to connect the individual cells of the biological clock in a fast network that changes strength with time of day.

​Washington University will be the anchor tenant in a $73 million laboratory and research facility projected to open at the end of the year in the CORTEX bioscience district. Pictured is Hank Webber, executive vice chancellor for administration,​ who described the University’s role in the new building at a recent event there.

David A. Peters, PhD, McDonnell Douglas Professor of Engineering in the School of Engineering & Applied Science, has been selected to receive the 2013 Spirit of St. Louis Medal from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers for his service in the advancement of aeronautics and astronautics.