A lifesaving leader

Richard D. Wetzel, Ph.D., first came to St. Louis to attend Concordia Seminary. But when he arrived at the seminary, he wasn’t dreaming of a small country church. He wanted to become a college professor. He comes from an extended family that includes nine college professors, and almost all of them taught at Lutheran colleges. […]

Hair today, gone tomorrow

Photo by Mary ButkusDan Kaplan gets nearly a foot of his hair cut off by Josh Nidrols during the recent Locks of Love charity event.

Federal regulatory budget and staffing continues climb, new study indicates

WarrenSpending by federal regulatory agencies continues to grow at a faster pace than other nondiscretionary spending according to “Upward Trend in Regulation Continues: An Analysis of the U.S. Budget for Fiscal Years 2005 and 2006,” this year’s edition of the annual report on regulatory spending and staffing by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University and the Weidenbaum Center on the Economy, Government, and Public Policy at Washington University in St. Louis.

Brain networks may be key to stroke-related attention deficit

Areas activated by tasks designed to stimulate voluntary attentionThe first direct analysis of the interactions between two brain networks that govern visual attention may help researchers at the School of Medicine develop treatments for stroke patients with a condition known as spatial neglect. These patients have difficulty focusing on or paying attention to stimuli in the left half of their visual field.

Mouse model paves way for lung cancer studies

Lung tumors from mutant mice show an abundance of abnormal, undifferentiated cells.Often mice are used to investigate cancer because their accelerated life spans allow discoveries to be made in a few months. But most strains of mice stay relatively free of lung tumors, even when exposed to heavy tobacco smoke, so there has been a shortage of models suitable for studying tobacco smoke-induced lung cancer. Now, cancer researchers at the School of Medicine have developed a strain of mice that readily develops lung tumors that have the same genetic mutations found in human lung tumors.

Sensitivity to alcohol affected by genes active in neurons

In these brain sections of neonatal mice exposed to ethanol, mice deficient in certain enzymes (right) exhibit much more neurodegeneration as indicated by the black material in the dying neurons.Can you blame your genes if you can’t handle your liquor? A new study conducted at the School of Medicine may pave the way to finding out. Researchers found that the brain’s response to alcohol is partially under the influence of two genes. The genes, studied in both adult and newborn mice, were found to affect sensitivity to alcohol intoxication, interest in alcohol consumption and risk of developmental brain damage from alcohol.

Sensitivity to alcohol affected by genes active in neurons

In these brain sections of neonatal mice exposed to ethanol, mice deficient in certain enzymes (right) exhibit much more neurodegeneration as indicated by the black material in the dying neurons.Can you blame your genes if you can’t handle your liquor? A new study conducted at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis may pave the way to finding out. Researchers found that the brain’s response to alcohol is partially under the influence of two genes. The genes, studied in both adult and newborn mice, were found to affect sensitivity to alcohol intoxication, interest in alcohol consumption and risk of developmental brain damage from alcohol.
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