Newsroom Stories

Washington University in St. Louis has hosted more debates than any other institution in history. Since 1992, the university has been asked by the Commission on Presidential Debates to host debates in five consecutive elections.

Andy Warhol, *Marilyn 1/10,* 1967.The Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum will present three classic Hollywood films as part of its Iconic Blonde Film Festival Dec. 4 to 6. Held in conjunction with the exhibition Beauty and the Blonde: An Exploration of American Art and Popular Culture, the festival will feature screenings of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (Dec, 4), Vertigo (Dec. 5) and Bonnie and Clyde (Dec. 6).

David Kilper/WUSTL Photo(Left to right) Cindy Richard-Fogal, Ph.D., research scientist in biology in Arts & Sciences, Elaine Frawley, graduate research assistant, and Robert Kranz, Ph.D., professor of biology in Arts & Sciences, examine an *E. coli* culture.Robert G. Kranz, Ph.D., professor of biology in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, has been awarded two grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to study pathways in bioenergy conversion. The first, for $1,203,250, is a long-term NIH R01 renewal that began Aug. 1 titled “Cytochrome c Biogenesis.” The renewal award means that NIH has funded Kranz continuously for 22 years.

Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton and Washington University student leaders announce an event of major importance to St. Louis region.

A multinational team of researchers has shown for the first time that the immune system can stop the growth of a cancerous tumor without actually killing it. Scientists have been working for years to use the immune system to eradicate cancers, a technique known as immunotherapy. The new findings prove an alternate to this approach exists: When the cancer can’t be killed with immune attacks, it may be possible to find ways to use the immune system to contain it.

Joe Angeles/WUSTL Photo ServicesThe Washington University volleyball team won the 2007 NCAA Div. III Championship with a 3-2 win over the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater in Bloomington, Ill., on Saturday, Nov. 17. The title is the WUSTL volleyball team’s Div. III-leading ninth in school history, and the first since the 2003 season.

Calling it “one of the great traditions of Washington University,” Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton announced during a news conference Oct. 19 that the University will host the 2008 vice presidential debate, scheduled for 8 p.m. CDT on Oct. 2.

David Kilper/WUSTL Photo Services*Tensile Involvement* by Alwin NikolaisWashington University Dance Theatre, the annual showcase of professionally choreographed works performed by student dancers, will present rEvolutions, its 2007 concert, Nov. 30 to Dec. 2 in Edison Theatre. rEvolutions will feature more than 50 dancers, selected by audition, performing seven works by faculty and guest choreographers. These include original pieces by visiting dancers Diadié Bathily and Paula Weber, as well as a new setting of Alwin Nikolais’ classic Tensile Involvement (1953).

This is the fourth consecutive time the University has been selected to host a debate; “It is an honor and a privilege to once again be chosen,” Chancellor Wrighton said.

Scientists at the School of Medicine and at Utah State University believe they have found an explanation for a puzzling and serious complication of West Nile virus infection.