Newsroom Stories

The Missouri Court of Appeals Eastern District will hold a special session at 9:30 a.m. Oct. 25 in the School of Law’s Bryan Cave Moot Courtroom in Anheuser-Busch Hall. The public is invited to hear cases involving the breach of a contract in the construction of a parking lot, a wrongful death case and the […]

Social activist and Black Entertainment Television commentator Jeff Johnson will present the annual Black Arts & Sciences Festival lecture at 11 a.m. Wednesday, October 31 in Graham Chapel. His talk, sponsored by the University’s Assembly Series and the Association of Black Students, will suggest strategies for developing effective organizations for future leaders: “BECOME Activists: Building Effective Campus Organizations and Maintaining Excellence.”

HammermanIn a new study with an eye on curing diabetes, senior investigator Marc Hammerman and a group of WUSM scientists successfully transplanted embryonic pig pancreatic cells destined to produce insulin into diabetic macaque monkeys – all without the need for risky immune suppression drugs that prevent rejection. The transplanted cells, known as primordia, are in the earliest stages of developing into pancreatic tissues. Within several weeks of the transplants, the cells became engrafted, or established, within the three rhesus macaque monkeys that received them. The cells also released pig insulin in response to rising blood glucose levels, as would be expected in healthy animals and humans.

Come hear the latest research accomplishments of some of the School of Medicine’s most talented female faculty and fellows. Spotlighting Women in Medicine and Science (SWIMS) will highlight the work of doctors and scientists in diverse fields, including obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, oncology, cardiology and cell biology. Speakers also will discuss some of the unique challenges they have faced in their careers in academic medicine.

Scientists believe they have found an explanation for a puzzling and serious complication of West Nile virus infection. Researchers showed that the virus can enter a nerve cell, replicate and move on to infect other nearby nerve cells. Viruses traveling this infectious pathway can break into the central nervous system, triggering a condition known as acute flaccid paralysis that leaves one or more limbs limp and unresponsive.

Poet and author Susan Wheeler, the visiting Fannie Hurst Professor of Creative Literature in Washington University’s Writing Program in Arts & Sciences, will read from her work Thursday, Oct. 25, and speak on the craft of poetry Tuesday, Oct. 30. Wheeler is the author of four poetry collections – Bag ‘o’ Diamonds (1993), Smokes (1998), Source Codes (2001) and Ledger (2005) – as well as a novel, Record Palace (2005).

Due to a change in production scheduling, the Assembly Series program featuring actor Kal Penn Oct. 25 has been cancelled. There are no immediate plans to reschedule. For further updates visit assemblyseries.wustl.edu or call 935-5285.

Photo by David KilperFor Hebrew literature scholar Nancy Berg, providing the keynote speech last month at an international conference on “Sami Michael and Jewish Iraqi Literature” was validation of a scholarly path she chose nearly two decades ago when she began her academic career at Washington University.

Thursday, Oct. 18 • Dept. of Music Lecture Series — “Demonstration of Shinnai Narrative Song” Friday, Oct. 19 • East Asian Studies Conference — Midwest Conference on Asian Affairs Saturday, Oct. 20 • Physics Science Saturdays Lecture Series — “The Laws of Classical Physics Govern What Cardiologists See and Hear” Wednesday, Oct. 24 • Global & Transnational Feminisms Lecture Series — “The Disappearing of Hannah Kudjoe: Women, Nation and the Tyranny of History”

There still is time to help the United Way of Greater St. Louis assist those that need it most. WUSTL continues to accept donations to the annual United Way of Greater St. Louis campaign, which began Sept. 4. The University’s goal for this year’s drive is $555,000, and those who have not yet donated are encouraged to do so as soon as possible.