Newsroom Stories

David Kilper/WUSTL PhotoLars Angenent, Ph.D., assistant professor of energy, environmental & chemical engineering, with a microbial fuel cell.The combination of beer, wastewater, microbes, fuel cells, high school students and teachers sounds like a witches’ brew for an old-fashioned, illicit ’60s beach party. Instead, these are the components that comprise the heart and soul of a new high school science curriculum being developed by researchers at Washington University in St. Louis and a couple of St. Louis area high school teachers. Video available.

Metabolism researchers at the School of Medicine have found that although it does not extend maximum lifespan in mice, activating a protein in muscle tissue increases average lifespan and prevents some age-related diseases. The researchers believe a similar approach may someday help people avoid age-related problems such as atherosclerosis, diabetes, hypertension and even some cancers.

St. Louis Cold Storage CompanyThe Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis is accepting registrations for its 2008 Steedman Traveling Fellowship Competition. Granted since 1925, the biennial Steedman Fellowship is open to citizens of all countries with not more than eight years of experience following receipt of a professional degree in architecture. The competition carries a $30,000 first place award to support study and research abroad — the largest such award in the United States.

Werner Ploberger, Ph.D., was installed as the first Thomas H. Eliot Distinguished Professor in Arts & Sciences on October 30 in Holmes Lounge. Ploberger, who joined Washington University’s Department of Economics last year, is internationally renowned for his contributions to the fields of econometrics and the theory of estimation.

Pratim Biswas has a method that controls the size of the nanoparticles he makes, opening up possibilities for new nanotechnology applications and different techniques.In a world that constantly strives for bigger and bigger things, WUSTL’s Pratim Biswas, Ph.D., the Stifel and Quinette Jens Professor and chair of the Department of Energy, Environmental and Chemical Engineering, is working to make things smaller and smaller. Biswas conducts research on nanoparticles, which are the building blocks for nanotechnology. For the first time, Biswas has shown that he can independently control the size of the nanoparticles that he makes, keeping their other properties the same. He’s also shown with his technique that the nanoparticles can be made in large quantities in scalable systems, opening up the possibility for more applications and different techniques.

Psychiatry researchers at the School of Medicine have found that a clinical diagnosis of alcohol dependence in young adults is associated with having a high number of sex partners. Their study, published in the December issue of the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, also found links between a conduct disorder diagnosis and high numbers of sexual partners as well as between problem drinking and more partners.

The Washington University School of Medicine Arts Commission will open the annual student, faculty and staff art show on January 17th, 2008, from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m., in the first floor atrium of the Farrell Learning and Teaching Center (FLTC). The show will run through February 15th.

The Washington University Molecular Imaging Center has received a five-year, $10 million grant from the National Cancer Institute. The grant will fund a second cycle of research at the innovative center, where scientists from different specialties collaborate on advanced imaging projects.

The WU Votes committee, led by the Gephardt Institute for Public Service, has invited the League of Women Voters to conduct a voter registration drive Tuesday, Dec. 4. Registration tables will be set up in Mallinckrodt Student Center from 10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. and at the Campus Y from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Individuals will be able […]

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