Newsroom Stories

Photo by David Kilper / WUSTL PhotoResearchers have enabled a 14-year-old to play a two-dimensional video game using signals from his brain instead of his hands.Teenage boys and computer games go hand-in-hand. Now, a St. Louis-area teenage boy and a computer game have gone hands-off, thanks to a unique experiment conducted by a team of neurosurgeons, neurologists, and engineers at Washington University in St. Louis. The boy, a 14-year-old who suffers from epilepsy, is the first teenager to play a two-dimensional video game, Space Invaders, using only the signals from his brain to make movements. More…

The School of Medicine has begun using a unique device that completely seals drug vials, IV hookups and syringes, preventing escape of hazardous medical compounds during the mixing and administration of chemotherapy drugs.

Copyright The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery. Used with permission.Increased cell proliferation in the saline solution group (B) compared to the nicotine group (A)Orthopaedic surgery researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified yet another reason not to smoke. Studying rotator cuff injury in rats, the research team found exposure to nicotine delays tendon-to-bone healing, suggesting this could cause failure of rotator cuff repair following surgery in human patients. This study, the first to evaluate the effects of nicotine on rotator cuff repair, found that inflammation persisted longer in the shoulder joints of rats exposed to nicotine. The researchers also noted less cellular proliferation and decreased collagen production, indications of poor healing. More…

This illustration of the Cox-Maze procedure shows the ablation lines in the left atrium.Heart surgeons at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have helped usher in a new era in the surgical treatment of atrial fibrillation. Using radiofrequency devices — rather than a scalpel — they’ve greatly shortened the surgery and made it significantly easier to perform. WUSM surgeon Ralph J. Damiano Jr. and colleagues have played a vital role in developing the devices, which deliver high-energy waves to heart tissue and very quickly create scars or ablations. More…

Ophthalmologist Lawrence Tychsen examines a patient.A pediatric ophthalmologist at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and St. Louis Children’s Hospital conducts specialized testing and vision correction (refractive) surgery, on children with cerebral palsy, Down syndrome and neurobehavioral disorders such as autism. To date, this is one of the only U.S. medical centers performing refractive surgery on these children and has the highest volume, operating on about 60 special-needs children a year. More…

WUSTL and Metro hope to determine the usage level of public transportation in the University community.

The Office of Human Resources has released the Fall 2006 edition of It’s Your Benefit, highlighting benefits information for all WUSTL employees.

Rhythms for Rebuilding is an a cappella benefit concert for Gulf Coast rebuilding, sponsored by Project SOS, the Office of Community Service and the WUSTL a cappella community. The concert will be held at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 12 in Graham Chapel. All proceeds will benefit Common Ground, a New Orleans organization working to rebuild minority and disadvantaged neighborhoods.

The Board of Trustees of Washington University in St. Louis met Oct. 6 to discuss strategic planning, according to Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton. Three topics were considered: 1.) societal challenges that the University should address in the future, 2.) University constituencies and how well they are being served, and 3.) undergraduate enrollment issues.

Pulitzer Prize-winning fiction writer Steven Millhauser, the visiting Fannie Hurst Professor of Creative Literature in Washington University’s Writing Program in Arts & Sciences, will read from his work at 8 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 12. In addition, Millhauser will speak on the craft of fiction at 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 19.