Newsroom Stories

Women born after 1944 began drinking alcohol at younger ages than their elders, and that appears to have put them at greater risk for alcoholism, according to researchers at the School of Medicine. On average, women born before 1944 began drinking at age 20. Those born after that started drinking alcohol at age 17, and they had a 50 to 80 percent greater risk for alcohol dependence, the researchers found.

Image courtesy of Doug WiensDouglas Wiens (left), and a colleague ready equipment to emplace seismographs in Antarctica during a 2001 expedition.A seismologist at Washington University in St. Louis along with colleagues at Pennsylvania State University and Newcastle University in the United Kingdom have found seismic signals from a giant river of ice in Antarctica that make California’s earthquake problem seem trivial. Douglas A. Wiens, Ph.D., professor of earth and planetary sciences in Arts & Sciences, and colleagues combined seismological and global positioning system (GPS) analyses to reveal two bursts of seismic waves from an ice stream in Antarctica every day, each one equivalent to a magnitude seven earthquake.

StantonRichard Stanton has been named associate vice chancellor and associate dean for administration and finance at the School of Medicine. Stanton’s appointment, effective July 1, 2008, was announced by Larry J. Shapiro, M.D., executive vice chancellor for medical affairs and dean of the School of Medicine.

SEED for Oklahoma Kids (SEED OK) is a seven-year initiative designed to test and promote matched savings accounts at birth for all children. The purpose of the SEED OK study is to test the policy concept of universal children’s savings accounts by assessing the impact of giving every child an account at birth. The initiative, which is part of a larger national program known as SEED (Saving for Education, Entrepreneurship, and Downpayment), will set the stage for a broad, national policy for asset building among children, youth, and families. The theory of asset building suggests that accumulating assets or savings within households changes the thinking and outlook within those households, which in turn may lead to more positive outcomes for families, such as an increase in children who obtain college degrees.

These quotes may be used for attribution in news stories about the SEED OK study.

These quotes may be used for attribution in news stories about the SEED OK study.

More than 1,000 Oklahoma babies are receiving a $1,000 jumpstart 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, announced June 3 by Governor Brad Henry and State Treasurer Scott Meacham, is a collaboration between the Oklahoma State Treasurer and the Center for Social Development (CSD) at the George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis.

A goal of the Center for Social Development (CSD) at the George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis is to inform and influence a universal, progressive Child Development Account (CDA) policy in the United States. To reach this goal, CSD and partner organizations conceived and designed the project known as SEED for Oklahoma Kids or “SEED OK”.

Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis are the first to identify two proteins responsible for mechanosensitive ion channel activities in plant roots. Scientists have long known that plant cells respond to physical forces. Until now, however, the proteins controlling the ion channel response remained a mystery.

The Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis and the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta (IIMC) announce a new partnership designed to advance research, teaching and cultural understanding. The agreement facilitates the creation of joint publications, conferences and research projects. It also establishes new and innovative exchange programs for faculty and students.