Newsroom Stories

Photo by Mary ButkusMichele Boldrin, Ph.D., was installed as the first Joseph Gibson Hoyt Distinguished Professor of Economics in Arts & Sciences at a formal ceremony December 11, 2007, in Holmes Lounge.

Arguing that democratic principles do not support a strict separation of church and state in educational policy, Ian MacMullen, Ph.D., said in his latest book, “Faith in Schools? Autonomy, Citizenship, and Religious Education in the Liberal State,” that government has both the responsibility to pay for religious schools and the right to regulate what’s taught within them.

School of Medicine metabolism researchers have found that activating a protein in muscle tissue increases average lifespan and prevents some age-related diseases.

Increasing levels of a protein that helps the brain use cholesterol may slow the development of Alzheimer’s disease, research with mice at the School of Medicine shows.

Beginning February 8, the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum will present “On the Margins,” an exhibition exploring the impact of war and disaster through the work of a diverse range of contemporary artists. Curated by Dean Carmon Colangelo, the exhibition will showcase more than a dozen works, ranging from prints and photographs to video and large-scale installations, by ten artists from around the world.

Richard J. Goldstone, Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda and former Justice of the South African Constitutional Court, will receive the 2008 World Peace Through Law Award from the Whitney R. Harris World Law Institute. Goldstone was chairperson of South Africa’s Standing Commission of Inquiry Regarding Public Violence and Intimidation Justice (the Goldstone Commission) and chairperson of the International Independent Inquiry on Kosovo. He also served on the panel investigating the U.N. “Oil for Food” program in Iraq. Goldstone is available for interviews throughout the day.

Discounts are no way to increase business.Price promotions may not be the best way to increase sales of canned tuna — or any other frequently purchased consumer good. Managers can become overly focused on losing market share and get caught up in a mindless cycle of discounting — without regard to the long-term implications of their actions, according to marketing professors at the Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis.

Reversing the longstanding case law would give undue windfall to opportunistic third parties, says Kieff.The U.S. Supreme Court is reviewing Quanta v. LG, a case that could determine the future direction of patent law. “This case is key to ensuring that patent law develops in a way that best promotes innovation and competition,” says F. Scott Kieff, J.D., professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis. Kieff and colleagues have filed an amicus brief in the Supreme Court in support of LG, arguing that under contract law the patent holder had a right to sue a downstream purchaser. Kieff will be closely following this case and is available for comment.

The Howard Hughes Medical Institute has selected Washington University as one of 12 colleges and universities to participate in a nationwide genomics course that will involve first-year college students in genomics research with phages (bacterial viruses).

The University’s Office of Community and Governmental Relations and the Gephardt Institute for Public Service have worked with the St. Louis County Election Board to establish a new polling place on the Danforth Campus in time for the Feb. 5 presidential primary.