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Frank K. FlinnIn November, California citizens passed Proposition 8 upholding the idea that marriage is defined as and limited to the union of one man with one woman. The vote has given encouragement to many in other states who want to pass similar legislation. The United States is about to enter a period of legal upheaval on the question of marriage in the civil law, suggests Frank K. Flinn, Ph.D., adjunct professor of religious studies in Arts & Sciences. His proposal? Give marriage to the churches and let the state define civil unions.

Photo by Jerry Naunheim Jr.Faculty achievement award winners Henry L. “Roddy” Roediger III, Ph.D. (left), and Robert D. Schreiber, Ph.D., await the awards ceremony Dec. 5 at the Moore Auditorium of the Farrell Learning and Teaching Center on the Medical Campus.

For breast cancer survivors, the idea of taking estrogen pills is almost a taboo. In fact, their doctors give them drugs to get rid of the hormone because it can fuel the growth of breast cancer. So these women would probably be surprised by the approach taken by breast cancer physician Matthew Ellis, associate professor of medicine at the School of Medicine — he has demonstrated that estrogen therapy can help control metastatic breast cancer.

Today, scales are plain, but in the 19th century, they were garbed in polished wood and semi-precious stones.Stepping onto a scale after a calorie-filled holiday season isn’t an activity many 21st-century Americans relish. But in the late 19th century, scales were all the rage at festive gatherings — the 1800s’ answer to Guitar Hero. “A family would think it fun to weigh themselves before and after a big holiday dinner to see how much they had gained,” said Deborah I. Levine, Ph.D. “Knowing your weight was a novelty, a kind of parlor trick, before scales became widely available through mass production.”

The Longer Life Foundation (LLF), a cooperative effort between the School of Medicine and the Reinsurance Group of America (RGA), recently celebrated 10 years of independent research into improving methods for predicting long-term mortality from various diseases and promoting quality and quantity of life. So far, LLF has funded more than 48 research grants, awarding […]

TrinkausNew research published by Erik Trinkaus, Ph.D., professor of anthropology in Arts & Sciences, establishes a late persistence of Neadertals in southwestern Europe some 40,000 years ago. The research sheds light on what were probably the last Neandertals on earth.

Researchers may have identified one of the body’s earliest responses to a group of parasites that causes illness in developing nations. In a paper published online in Public Library of Science Pathogens, scientists report that they tracked immune cells as they patrolled the second-shallowest layer of the skin in an animal model. Injections of a genetically modified form of the parasite Leishmania major caused the immune cells to turn from their patrols and move to intercept the parasites.

ManaryMark Manary has been named the Helene B. Roberson Professor of Pediatrics at the School of Medicine. “Mark Manary is an outstanding choice for the Helene B. Roberson Professor of Pediatrics,” said Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton. “Dr. Manary has developed innovative approaches to improving the lives of children in Africa. He is a credit to his field and most deserving of this generous honor supported by an endowment gift from Helene B. Roberson.”

Snow Way Drive on the Danforth Campus will become one way heading west from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Dec. 11. Drivers will not be able to enter Snow Way Drive from Big Bend Boulevard.