Newsroom Stories

A 47-million-year-old primate fossil, a purported “missing link” between primates and humans, was unveiled this week in New York. The fossil, formally called Darwinius masillae but nicknamed Ida, could, due to it being an essentially whole skeleton, shed light on the construction of the primate family tree, says an expert on primate evolution at Washington University in St. Louis.

The New America Foundation and Center for Social Development (CSD) at Washington University in St. Louis announce a new College Savings Initiative to examine and improve 529 college savings plans so more people have the opportunity to attend and complete college. “Saving money is not easy, but research shows many people can save when they have incentives and a way to do so. More low-income families may save with well-designed 529s and incentives,” said Margaret Clancy, Policy Director at CSD. “We will study 529 innovations to see which ones are effective. This will inform 529 policy so that it can benefit families of all income levels.”

When people look for something to pop into view at a particular spot—a baseball batter looking to a pitcher, for example—evidence has suggested that the visual centers of the brain can prepare themselves to respond more quickly and efficiently when the anticipated stimulus appears. Now researchers have provided experimental confirmation of how this happens: a shift in the brainwave patterns in the visual cortex.

Top: normal lungs. Bottom: asthmatic lungs.Many young children who get a severe skin rash develop asthma months or years later. Doctors call the progression from eczema, or atopic dermatitis, to breathing problems the atopic march. Now scientists at the School of Medicine have uncovered what might be the key to atopic march. They’ve shown that a substance secreted by damaged skin circulates through the body and triggers asthmatic symptoms in allergen-exposed laboratory mice.

A new drug-free treatment for asthma has been shown to be effective in an international study of patients with severe, uncontrolled asthma. The results showed statistically significant improvements in quality of life and reductions in asthma attacks and emergency room visits for patients who underwent the treatment.

Inside of the diamond cellOf the 92 naturally occurring elements, add another to the list of those that are superconductors. James S. Schilling, Ph.D., professor of physics in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, and Mathew Debessai, Ph.D., — Schilling’s doctoral student at the time — discovered that europium becomes superconducting at 1.8 K (-456 °F) and 80 GPa (790,000 atmospheres) of pressure, making it the 53rd known elemental superconductor and the 23rd at high pressure.

The Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis will launch a Master of Science in Supply Chain Management specialized program in September 2009. The 12-month, 36-credit-hour program will be multi-disciplinary with a cutting-edge curriculum and active collaboration with industry leaders and the supply chain issues they encounter.

Frank FlinnNotre Dame University’s decision to invite President Obama to deliver the university’s commencement address on Sunday has sparked strong protests from groups who disagree with Obama’s stand on abortion and stem cell research. Despite condemnation of Obama’s speech by a number of prominent American bishops, the Vatican may be more interested in moderation and conciliation in its dealings with Obama, suggests Frank K. Flinn, a close observer of religious politics and author of the Encyclopedia of Catholicism (2007).

Joe Angeles/WUSTL PhotoTrustee Maxine Clark (L) presents Wendy Kopp with an honorary degree from WUSTL.Inexperience and time give recent college graduates an advantage in solving the problems of inequity in education in the United States, said Wendy Kopp to the Class of 2009 during the 148th Commencement ceremony at Washington University in St. Louis.

Joe Angeles/WUSTL PhotoWendy Kopp addresses the Class of 2009Wendy Kopp, founder and CEO of Teach For America, delivered Washington University’s 148th Commencement address May 15 before a standing-room only audience of more than 15,000 in Brookings Quadrangle. Of the 2,642 graduating students in the Class of 2009, 25 are entering Teach For America — the national corps of outstanding college graduates who commit to teach for at least two years in some of the country’s highest-need schools and become lifelong leaders in pursuit of educational excellence and equity.