Science & Technology

SciFest 08, a new annual event at the St. Louis Science Center, brings together world-renowned scientists and experts – including those from Washington University – to help participants see science in a new way. There are hundreds of science experiences, including presentations and hands-on exhibits.

When the red, red robin comes bob, bob bobbin’ along, think West Nile Virus (WNV).This one’s for the birds. A study by biologists at Washington University in St. Louis shows that the more diverse a bird population is in an area, the less chance humans have of exposure to West Nile Virus (WNV). Now, let’s hear it for the birds. “The bottom line is that where there are more bird species in your backyard, you have much lower risk of contracting West Nile fever,” said Brian Allan, doctoral candidate in biology in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis.

Whether watching the All-Star Game, a World Series game or just a regular-season Tuesday afternoon game, it’s nearly guaranteed that fans will see daring slides, both feet-first and head-first, and even slides on bang-bang plays at first. Who gets there faster, the head-first slider or the feet-first? The head-first player, says David A. Peters, Ph.D., the McDonnell Douglas Professor of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis, and big-time baseball fan. He says it’s a matter of the player’s center of gravity.

A team of researchers headed by biologists at Washington University in St. Louis has sequenced the genome of a unique bacterium that manages two disparate operations — photosynthesis and nitrogen fixation — in one little cell during two distinct cycles daily.

Unicellular nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteriaA team of researchers headed by biologists at Washington University in St. Louis has sequenced the genome of a unique bacterium that manages two disparate operations — photosynthesis and nitrogen fixation — in one little cell during two distinct cycles daily.

A team of researchers headed by biologists at Washington University has sequenced the genome of a unique bacterium that manages two disparate operations — photosynthesis and nitrogen fixation — in one little cell during two distinct cycles daily.

Veteran New Yorker journalist Elizabeth Kolbert will explore the debate over global warming based on her groundbreaking book “Field Notes from a Catastrophe: Man, Nature, and Climate Change” for the Assembly Series on Wed., Sept. 17, at 4 p.m. in Graham Chapel.

Veteran New Yorker journalist Elizabeth Kolbert visits the WUSTL campus at 4 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 17, in Graham Chapel in the next installment of the Assembly Series. Her book, “Field Notes From a Catastrophe: Man, Nature, and Climate Change” (2006) has been applauded as an unbiased overview of an urgent environmental crisis. Growing out of […]

Veteran New Yorker journalist Elizabeth Kolbert will explore the debate over global warming based on her groundbreaking book “Field Notes from a Catastrophe: Man, Nature, and Climate Change” for the Assembly Series on Wed., Sept. 17 at 4 p.m. in Graham Chapel.

Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis are proposing to borrow a process used in breweries and wastewater treatment facilities to make corn ethanol more energy efficient. They are exploring the use of oxygen-less vats of microorganisms that naturally feed on organic waste produced from the ethanol fermentation process.