Newsroom Stories

FlinnWhile expectant mothers, religious fanatics and the marketers of scary movies are latching on to the notion that the calendar date June 6, 2006 (6-06-06) is somehow tainted by association with biblical references to 666 as the “mark of the beast,” there’s really nothing to fear, suggests Frank Flinn, an expert on cults and religious symbols at Washington University in St. Louis.

These brain images point out the areas most consistently active during a variety of cognitive tasks.Scientists have used data from scans of 183 subjects to identify brain areas that consistently become active in a variety of cognitive tasks, such as reading, learning a rhythm or analyzing a picture. If the brain in action can be compared to a symphony, with specialized sections required to pitch in at the right time to produce the desired melody, then the regions highlighted by the new study may be likened to conductors, researchers at the School of Medicine assert.

Photo by Robert BostonGov. Matt Blunt addressed a group of several hundred local science, business and academic leaders at WUSTL’s 21st Century Science: Foundation for Innovation symposium May 31 at the Eric P. Newman Education Center on the School of Medicine campus. Hear the Governor’s speech in its entirety, as well as Chancellor Mark Wrighton’s closing remarks.

Investigators at the School of Medicine have found that eating a low-calorie yet nutritionally balanced diet lowers concentrations of a thyroid hormone called triiodothyronine (T3), which controls the body’s energy balance and cellular metabolism.

After preliminary success using artificial bone to replace degenerative spinal disks in the neck and lower back, neurosurgeons at the School of Medicine and Barnes-Jewish Hospital are preparing a study to formally compare the performance of the synthetic material against that of real bone.

Despite lack of a key component of the immune system, a line of genetically engineered mice can control chronic herpes virus infections, researchers at the School of Medicine have found. Scientists suspect the missing component has a previously unrecognized backup that fills the void left by its absence. If so, that backup may become a new focus for efforts to design antiviral vaccines.

Washington University in St. Louis awarded honorary degrees to five prominent people, including a 2004 Nobel Prize winner in chemistry and a pioneering scholar of African and African-American literature, during the university’s 145th Commencement ceremony May 19. During the ceremony in Brookings Quadrangle, the university also bestowed academic degrees on more than 2,500 students.

Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis recognized the achievements of five alumni and a special friend at a ceremony May 19 in the Arts & Sciences Laboratory Science Building. Edward S. Macias, Ph.D., executive vice chancellor, dean of Arts & Sciences and the Barbara and David Thomas Distinguished Professor in Arts & Sciences, presented Distinguished Alumni Awards to five individuals who have attained distinction in their academic or professional careers and have demonstrated service to their communities and to the university. Macias also presented the Dean’s Medal to John A. Berg, associate vice chancellor for undergraduate admissions, for his support and dedication to Arts & Sciences.

Fred U. Rosenberger, D.Sc., senior professor of computer science and engineering, died Sunday , May 14, 2006 , of pancreatic cancer at Bethesda Dilworth nursing home. He was 66.

The Right Honorable Sir John Major delivers the Commencement address at Washington University in St. Louis.Just because graduates have received their degrees does not mean that the learning process has stopped, Sir John Major told the graduating class of 2006 during the 145th Commencement at Washington University in St. Louis. The former prime minister of Great Britain and Northern Ireland spoke to an audience of more than 13,000, including some 2,500 graduates, during the May 19 ceremony held in Brookings Quadrangle. “Learning continues well beyond academia. In the university of life, it never stops,” said Major, in his 25-minute Commencement address.