Science & Technology

Scientists may have found a way to throw a wrench in the transmissions of several speed demons of the parasite world. Researchers at the School of Medicine and Harvard University have identified a protein that could help them develop drugs to stop or slow cell invasion by malaria and other parasites known as apicomplexans.

Photo by Robert BostonA fossil of a diminutive human nicknamed “the Hobbit” likely represents a previously unrecognized species of early humans, according to the results of a detailed comparison of the fossil’s brain case with those of humans, apes and other human ancestors.

The University and the National Consortium for Specialized Secondary Schools of Mathematics, Science and Technology (NCSSSMST) are co-sponsoring a professional conference March 10-12 on the Hilltop Campus. The exploration-themed conference will encourage attendees to “Map Your Course With Math, Science and Technology.”

Michael R. Brent and Tamara L. Doering examine data from the *C. neoformans* microarray.A team of collaborators, including two researchers from Washington University in St. Louis, has sequenced the genomes of two strains of the fungus Cryptococcus neoformans (C. neoformans), one which is virulent, the other harmless. This work provides researchers with clues on how the fungus does its dirty work and a host of genes to study for a better understanding of fungal pathogens in general. Estimates are that about 15 percent of people with HIV will suffer at least one life-threatening infection of C. neoformans. In Africa, that could be as much as 40 percent of HIV sufferers.

Joshua Brown of WUSTLA new theory suggests that the brain may subconsciously help us avoid risky situations.While some scientists discount the existence of a sixth sense for danger, new research from Washington University in St. Louis has identified a brain region that clearly acts as an early warning system — one that monitors environmental cues, weighs possible consequences and helps us adjust our behavior to avoid dangerous situations. “Our brains are better at picking up subtle warning signs than we previously thought,” says WUSTL research psychologist Joshua Brown, co-author of a study on these findings in the Feb. 18 issue of the journal Science.

Christine Floss, Ph.D., and Frank Stadermann, Ph.D., examine data on the NanoSIMS in Compton Hall.A collaborative team of researchers including two from WUSTL have discovered what turns the lights out from space. They have discovered that organic carbon and amorphous silicates in interstellar grains embedded within interplanetary dust particles (IDPs) are the carriers of the astronomical 2175 Å extinction line, which occurs at a wavelength of 2175 Angstroms and blocks starlight from reaching the Earth.

*Arabidopsis thaliana*A team headed by Craig Pikaard, Ph.D., Washington University professor of biology in Arts & Sciences, has discovered a fourth kind of RNA polymerase found only in plants and speculated to have been a plant feature for more than 200 million years.

In his talk, Murray Gell-Mann will look back to 1905 when Albert Einstein, an unknown scientist, published several papers, each with a revolutionary idea. He will examine Einstein’s creative thinking, how current cosmological discoveries relate to his work, and today’s efforts to find a unified theory of everything. Gell-Mann received the Nobel Prize in physics in 1969 for his discovery of the quark – the basic building block of all atomic nuclei throughout the universe.

A first-of-its-kind application of a novel statistical method of analysis to African Americans has identified regions on chromosomes 6 and 21 that likely harbor genes contributing to high blood pressure in that group. The novel statistical method, called admixture mapping, narrowed the search for genes related to hypertension, bringing researchers and doctors closer to finding more effective treatments.

JostR. Gilbert Jost, M.D., the Elizabeth Mallinckrodt Professor and head of Radiology at the School of Medicine, has been named chairman of the board of directors of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). The society is an organization of more than 37,000 radiologists, radiation oncologists and related scientists.