Newsroom Stories

Feb. 6 2:31 p.m. — A student observed concrete falling from a 50 foot overhang located on Jolley Hall and striking the hood of a vehicle parked on Throop Drive, causing damage to the vehicle. No injuries were reported. Maintenance and Environmental Health and Safety were informed of this incident. Transportation responded to the scene and blocked off the area. 7:52 p.m. — Property was stolen from an unsecured, open dressing room in the lower level of Mallinckrodt Student Center during rehearsal. Total loss is estimated at $290.

KWUR (90.3 FM), Washington University’s student-run radio station, will launch KWUR WEEK, a series of on-campus events, with a free concert by four of the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra’s newest—and youngest—players. The program will include string quartets by Franz Joseph Haydn and Johannes Brahms.

EberleinTimothy Eberlein received the 2006 Dr. Rodman L. Sheen and Thomas G. Sheen Award, given each year for outstanding contributions to the medical profession. Eberlein is Bixby Professor and chairman of the Department of Surgery, the Spencer T. and Ann W. Olin Distinguished Professor and director of the Siteman Cancer Center at the School of Medicine and surgeon-in-chief at Barnes-Jewish Hospital.

A.G. Edwards Inc., the St. Louis-based national investment firm, will establish the A.G. Edwards Visiting Professorship in Entrepreneurship.

Photo by Kevin LowderAlejandra Ponce de Leon (left) and Senayt Rahwa act out a scene in the Black Anthology production of “Refrain: A Cautionary Tale” Feb 2-3 at Edison Theatre.

Researchers linked anticancer agents to a PET tracer to deliver treatment directly to tumors in mice (red and yellow shows highest amounts of tracer).Cancer cells keep growing because they don’t react to internal signals urging them to die. Now researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found an efficient way to get a messenger into cancer cells that forces them to respond to death signals. And they did it using one of the most sinister pathogens around — HIV.

Americans are bombarded with antismoking messages, yet at least 65 million of us continue to light up. Genetic factors play an important role in this continuing addiction to cigarettes, suggest scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. They show that certain genetic variations can influence smoking behaviors and contribute to a person’s risk for nicotine dependence.

Three early stage companies received commitments for funding and mentoring support at the annual Olin Cup Awards Ceremony Feb. 1. The top prize of $50,000 went to medical device company Neurolife. Two other companies received $20,000 in funding: Senetric, a company that developed software to reduce the cost of Radio-frequency identification (RFID) sensor networks; and Smart DNA Solutions, a company that offers affordable genetic testing. The $5,000 student award went to Peter Braxton of Neurolife.

Newborns with respiratory distress should be evaluated for primary ciliary dyskinesia, a rare genetic disease that has features similar to cystic fibrosis, says Thomas Ferkol from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. He reports finding that about 80 percent of patients with primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) have a history of newborn respiratory distress.

The acclaimed fiction writer is the author of five short story collections, most recently “Twilight of the Super Heroes: Stories” (2006).