Newsroom Stories

An improved approach to gene therapy may one day treat some of the nearly 200 inherited forms of blindness.

A little health information is not enough to help obese children get into better shape, according to a recent analysis. Moreover, children who do not receive an offer for intervention or who receive information only tend to experience weight gains. Children given guidance that is more direct get into better shape, according to the review. “Providing information is a necessary component, but it’s not sufficient,” said Denise Wilfley, Ph.D., lead author of the study and professor of psychiatry at the School of Medicine.

While many Americans view Columbus Day as the recognition of cultural heritage, a number of American Indians, indigenous people, and U.S. citizens hold a vastly different view. “It is estimated that 85 percent of the American Indian population was wiped out in the 150 years following the arrival of Columbus,” says Dana Klar, director of the Kathryn M. Buder Center for American Indian Studies at Washington University in St. Louis. Today, the state of Minnesota does not celebrate Columbus Day and in South Dakota, a state with a large number of American Indians and reservations, Columbus Day is known as Native American Day. “It is time for this nation as a whole to follow suit,” Klar says.

The following incidents were reported to University Police Sept. 26-Oct. 2. Readers with information that could assist in investigating these incidents are urged to call 935-5555. This information is provided as a public service to promote safety awareness and is available on the University Police Web site at police.wustl.edu. Sept. 28 3:43 p.m. — A person stated she left her coin purse on a table next to a computer at the Mallinckrodt Center. When she returned, the purse was missing. Sept. 30 10:33 a.m. — Bicycles reported disturbed outside of the Athletic Complex. An officer found several broken cables, two unsecured bikes and several bikes knocked down. 2:05 p.m. — A person reported his backpack had been stolen from the weight room on the lower level of the Athletic Complex. 9:20 p.m. — A wallet placed on a gym floor in the Athletic Complex was stolen while the complainant played basketball. Oct. 1 4:27 p.m. — A subject made repeated contacts with a student while she was at Olin Library, making her feel uncomfortable. He also sent her a friend request on Facebook, which she ignored. University police also responded to four larcenies, four accidental injuries, four sick cases, two reports of lost articles, two checks for well being, one investigation, one information-only report and one report each of property damage, domestic violence, fraud, trespassing and threat.

Don’t know what to do with the coats your kids outgrew last year? Or that ski jacket that you don’t use anymore?

Beginning Oct. 7, the Washington University Police Department encourages the University community to drop off new and gently used coats for the Kurt Warner First Things First Foundation’s Warners’ Warm-up coat drive at the police department office, located in the South 40.

Thursday, May 20 The School of Medicine is hosting a reception for graduates and their families and guests from 5-7 p.m. May 20 in the Atrium/Hearth of the Farrell Learning and Teaching Center (FLTC). The FLTC is located on the School of Medicine campus at 520 S. Euclid. Surface parking is available on McKinley Avenue […]

Marxism in China, taboo images in Tibet and war, sex work and memory in 20th century Japan will be among topics discussed as Washington University welcomes the 56th Annual Midwest Conference on Asian Affairs (MCAA) to St. Louis, Oct, 19-21. Program includes pre-conference workshop for K-12 teachers on Oct. 13

David Kilper/WUSTL PhotoOlsen is studying the genetics of two types of clover to determine why one type is cyanogenic (toxic) and the other is not.That clover necklace you make for your child could well be a ring of poison. That’s because some clovers have evolved genes that help the plant produce cyanide — to protect itself against little herbivores, such as snails, slugs and voles, that eat clover. Other clover plants that do not make cyanide are found in climates with colder temperatures. So, in picking your poison, er, clover, ecology and geography play important roles. A plant evolutionary biologist at Washington University in St. Louis is trying to get to the bottom of this botanical cloak and dagger tale.

David Kilper/WUSTL Photo(L-R) Larry Taber, postdoctoral researcher Gang Xu and Philip Bayly examine brain and heart cells to learn something of the mechanics involved in brain folding.Engineers at Washington University in St. Louis are finding common ground between the shaping of the brain and the heart during embryonic development. Larry A.Taber, Ph.D., the Dennis and Barbara Kessler Professor of Biomedical Engineering, and Phillip Bayly, Ph.D., Hughes Professor of Mechanical Engineering, are examining mechanical and developmental processes that occur in the folding of the brain’s surface, or cortex, which gives the higher mammalian brain more surface area (and hence more intellectual capacity) than a brain of comparable volume with a smooth surface.