Newsroom Stories

Arts & Sciences seniors Gregory S. Gandenberger and Kelley E. Greenman were recognized in April with prestigious national scholarships. As one of 22 students nationwide to be named a Beinecke Scholar, Gandenberger, a philosophy major with a minor in physics, will receive $34,000 in support of graduate study. Greenman, an environmental studies major, is one […]

All mental processes, including thinking, learning and memory, depend on the electrical properties of individual nerve cells in the brain and on the connections between them. In turn, the electrical responses of each nerve cell, or neuron, reflect the unique set of pores — called ion channels — that perforate its surface and allow the passage of charged particles, or ions. So researchers at the School of Medicine were a little surprised when they saw no harmful effects in mice after eliminating an important type of potassium ion channel from neurons in the brain.

If a young Albert Einstein could have picked a summer activity he may have opted to participate in the ExxonMobil Bernard Harris Summer Science Camp at Washington University in St. Louis, June 16-27. An exciting two-week adventure filled with field trips and science experiments, the summer camp proves that math and science can entice a crew of middle school students and lead them to rewarding opportunities.

GoateInvestigators at the School of Medicine have identified a genetic variation associated with an earlier age of onset in Alzheimer’s disease. Unlike genetic mutations previously linked to rare, inherited forms of early-onset Alzheimer’s disease — which can strike people as young as their 30s or 40s — these variants influence an earlier presentation of symptoms in people affected by the more common, late-onset form of the disease.

Presidential candidates George W. Bush and John Kerry speak to town hall participants during the Oct. 8, 2004 debate.Washington University in St. Louis will host the 2008 vice presidential debate, scheduled for 8 p.m. CDT on Oct. 2, 2008, according to an announcement made today by Paul G. Kirk Jr. and Frank J. Fahrenkopf Jr., co-chairmen of the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD). Full story >>

Image courtesy of NASAThe Phoenix Mars Lander on the northern Mars plains, searching for evidence of ice and water.Among the many Phoenix Mars Mission workers are Raymond E. Arvidson, Ph.D., the WUSTL chair of earth and planetary sciences, a computer specialist and four WUSTL students. Their goal is to infer from images and other data the geological history of the landing site and to imply some theories about current and past climate on Mars. Will they find ice?

Students celebrate at Commencement.The graduation pictures have been e-mailed to friends, posted on Facebook and framed alongside family photos perched on bookcases and fireplace mantels. But behind the toothy grin of many college grads lies a worrisome question that flies in the face of this celebrated educational milestone: Where’s my job? Finding one requires the right actions, says a careers expert at Washington University in St. Louis.

More than 1,000 Oklahoma babies have received a $1,000 jump-start on saving for college, thanks to SEED for Oklahoma Kids (SEED OK), a seven-year study designed to determine the economic and educational impact of “seeding” a college savings account for children at birth. SEED OK is a collaboration between the Oklahoma State Treasurer and the Center for Social Development at the George Warren Brown School of Social Work.

Jeffrey Bradley, associate professor of radiation oncology, has been named the first director of the Kling Center for Proton Therapy, a facility for treating cancer patients with a new, highly precise form of radiation therapy. The center is scheduled to open in summer 2009 at the Siteman Cancer Center at the School of Medicine and Barnes-Jewish Hospital.

Elsie Parker and The Poor People of Paris will launch Washington University’s summer Jazz at Holmes series with a free performance at 8 p.m. Thursday, June 12. The series features relaxed, coffeehouse-style concerts with professional jazz musicians from around St. Louis and abroad most Thursday evenings throughout the summer.