Newsroom Stories

Dark areas (marked with arrows) in the first image show a process of bone renewal and strengthening. The second image shows a reduction in this process after a cortisone injection.Scientists are closing in on the solution to a persistent medical puzzle: why do high doses of cortisone, widely prescribed for asthma, rheumatoid arthritis and other inflammatory and autoimmune conditions, weaken bones? Researchers at the School of Medicine have identified osteoclasts, cells that dismantle old bone, as the essential link between osteoporosis and cortisone.

Summer practices can put young athletes at risk for heat exhaustion.Just before the new school season starts, football practice kicks off on fields around the country. Late summer workouts for football and other fall sports carry serious risks for heat-related illness. WUSM pediatrician Robert Kregenow explains how to spot heat exhaustion and how to prevent it.

Washington University in St. Louis Director of Athletics John Schael unveiled a new symbol and design for all Bears Athletics, as announced today. The new symbol features an updated, more realistic Bear mascot and a sharp new typeface that highlights Washington University’s red and green colors.

WrightonDr. Mark S. Wrighton is chancellor and professor of chemistry at Washington University in St. Louis. As chancellor, he is the chief executive officer of the University and reports to the Board of Trustees. Wrighton was elected the 14th Chancellor in the spring of 1995 and assumed his duties on July 1, 1995.

The School of Law’s American Indian Law and Economic Development Program and the St. Louis law firm of Sonnenschein, Nath & Rosenthal have garnered an important legal victory concerning the sovereignty of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe in South Dakota. Working with local attorneys in South Dakota, they helped the tribe defend a federal lawsuit challenging the authority of the tribe’s courts to hear a discrimination case brought by tribal members against a non-Indian bank doing business on the reservation. In a fifteen-page opinion released this morning, Judge Charles B. Kornmann of the U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota ruled that the tribe’s courts had jurisdiction over the case and affirmed a 2003 verdict by a tribal jury awarding $875,982.46 in damages, interest, and costs to the aggrieved tribal members.

For many college freshmen, the first few weeks on campus are an exciting yet scary time. There are new friends to meet, classes to attend and extracurricular activities to join. And for many, it’s also their first time away from home — their first time making decisions completely on their own. When those decisions involve […]

David Kilper / WUSTL PhotoAdvice for sending your child off to college for the first time.Sending your child off to college for the first time isn’t easy. But it can be especially tough on “helicopter parents,” those who tend to hover over their children and can have a hard time letting go. But not to worry, says an expert on the freshman transition at Washington University in St. Louis and co-author of the acclaimed book “Letting Go: A Parent’s Guide to Understanding the College Years.” Even helicopter parents can make a successful break.

Study groups help students more easily grasp the material from their classes.Studying in groups helps students learn more effectively. More than 20 years of academic research has consistently demonstrated that fact. But what exactly is it about studying with other people that makes it so effective? Through painstaking research, an expert in creativity and everyday conversation at Washington University in St. Louis has identified two patterns of group dynamics that show why group study is optimal. The research is published in the June 2005 Linguistics and Education journal.

VirginHerbert W. “Skip” Virgin has been named head of the Department of Pathology and Immunology at the School of Medicine. Virgin came to the department in 1990 as an instructor and became a professor in 2002. As the new department head, he becomes Edward Mallinckrodt Professor of Pathology and Immunology.

Maki & Associates, TokyoSaligman Family Atrium, Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, Sam Fox School of Design & Visual ArtsIn 1960 a young Japanese architecture professor named Fumihiko Maki completed his first-ever commission while teaching at Washington University in St. Louis. Four decades later, Maki is among the world’s premier architects, a Pritzker Prize-winner renowned for creating monumental spaces that fuse Eastern and Western sensibilities. Current projects include both the $330 million United Nations expansion in Manhattan and Tower 4 at the former World Trade Center site. Now Maki has returned to Washington University as architect of the new Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, a dramatic, light-filled structure that will showcase the university’s internationally renowned art collection.