Diversity Initiative Retreat

Photo by David KilperMorehouse College President Walter Massey (left) greets Dean Robert E. Thach at the Oct. 15 Diversity Initiative Retreat at the Knight Center.

Inappropriate use of antibiotics may be harmful

Antibiotics are not the answer to curing the common cold.The sniffles. A runny nose. A cough. That’s right — the cold season is upon us. But before you head off to your doctor demanding antibiotics to lessen your symptoms, be aware that those drugs don’t always work and can have serious side effects, say two physicians at Washington University in St. Louis.

Range of motion limited in professional baseball pitchers

Pitchers often lose range of motion in their pitching elbows.Now that the Chicago White Sox have swept the Houston Astros in the World Series, most baseball players are taking some time to rest. Time off is especially important for pitchers because throwing a baseball overhand is both an unnatural motion and a burden on the shoulder and elbow. Now a research team led by Washington University sports medicine specialists has found that professional pitchers have significantly decreased range of motion in their throwing elbows. But that limited range of motion doesn’t seem to be influenced by the age of the pitcher, how many innings he has pitched or whether he has a history of injuries.

Early childhood surgery saves those with gene for thyroid cancer

A dotted line indicates the former position of the thyroid in this child.When a child inherits an abnormal gene that leads to thyroid cancer, surgical removal of the thyroid gland before the cancer spreads is the only sure cure. Now a new study shows it is best to take out the thyroid before a child turns eight to guarantee a life free of thyroid cancer. The researchers tracked the effectiveness of preemptive thyroid removal in 50 at-risk children ranging in age from three to 19 years. All patients were followed for at least five years at Washington University School of Medicine and at Duke University School of. The surgeons found that none of the 22 children who were under eight at the time of surgery showed signs of thyroid cancer five or more years later. However, they did find indications of thyroid cancer in six of the 28 children who were older than eight when they had surgery to remove the thyroid gland.

Democrats’ closing of Senate session offers taste of tactics for battling Supreme Court nomination

SmithBy invoking a little known procedural rule to force a closed session of the Senate on Tuesday, Democratic Minority Leader Harry Reid put Republicans on notice that Democrats are prepared to use similar tactics, such as the filibuster, in pending Supreme Court nomination battles, suggests WUSTL congressional expert Steven Smith. Reid’s move “was a shot across the bow,” says Smith.
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