Newsroom Stories

A new Undergraduate Honors Program will be offered beginning this fall semester at University College, the adult, evening and continuing education division in Arts & Sciences. The honors program offers high-achieving students the opportunity to join a learning community dedicated to an exceptionally rigorous but flexible program of study that enables students to work closely with a faculty mentor on an independent project and earn the distinction of Latin honors.

A new bachelor of science in health care will be offered this fall semester at University College, the adult, evening and continuing education division in Arts & Sciences. The degree program, which begins with the start of the semester Aug. 31, provides an academic foundation for students pursuing managerial, clinical or research careers in health care.

A new degree, the bachelor of science in sustainability, that provides an interdisciplinary approach to understanding and resolving today’s most pressing and complex environmental, economic and social challenges, has been developed at University College, the adult, evening and continuing education division in Arts & Sciences. The program, which will be offered beginning with the start of the semester Aug. 31, treats sustainable living from multiple perspectives — scientific, political, economic, social, historical, philosophical, anthropological and literary. 

A largely unexplored world of viruses make their home in the lower intestine, and new research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis suggests that each of us harbors a unique collection of these “friendly” viruses. The research is published in the journal Nature.

Have budding young artists in the house? A sustainability art contest for Washington University children attending kindergarten through high school will be held to raise awareness among university families of the importance of sustainable living. Entry forms and a contest kit are posted at powerofONE.wustl.edu.

George Macones, MD, once lost a patient two days after she gave birth. He now cares for women who have had previous complicated pregnancies, have lost a fetus during pregnancy or are carrying twins or triplets. He also sees patients with pre-existing medical conditions such as high blood pressure or lupus.

Fifteen current or former WUSTL students have been awarded Fulbright Scholarships for the 2010-11 academic year. Nine are recently graduated seniors and six are graduate students. They will spend a full academic year in a host country.

Brian Marston (left), library web services developer; Jaleh Fazelian, Islamic studies librarian; and Brian Vetruba, Germanic studies librarian, examine an Amazon Kindle reading device during the Taste of Technology fair July 8 at Olin Library.

A study undertaken to help scientists concerned with abnormal brain development in premature babies has serendipitously revealed evolution’s imprint on the human brain.

Scientists have sequenced the genome of the colonial alga, Volvox carteri, the journal Science announced. While the photosynthesizing colonial algae is fascinating in itself, knowing its genome may also help scientists engineer algae able to produce economic biofuels.