Newsroom Stories

Jimmy Carter delivers an address as a guest of the School of Law in 1975 while he was still governor of Georgia. After a term as president, Carter returned to the University to speak as part of the Assembly Series Feb. 28, 1991, when he gave an address in the Field House titled “Social Responsibility: […]

Drugs used to treat the tumors common in people with a disorder called neurofibromatosis 1 rarely work, and scientists now know why. The chemotherapy drugs target a group of related proteins thought to be responsible for these tumors. But researchers at the School of Medicine found that the disease affects only the one member of the protein family that does not respond well to these particular treatments.

A recently developed mouse model of brain tumors common in the genetic disorder neurofibromatosis 1 (NF1) successfully mimics the human condition and provides unique insight into tumor development, diagnosis and treatment, according to researchers at the School of Medicine.

Elderly women with cervical cancer face double jeopardy. Not only does their advanced age decrease chances of survival, it also decreases the likelihood that they’ll be given the most aggressive treatments for their disease, according to a study by researchers at the School of Medicine.

Mice missing a specific protein from their brains react to stress differently. The genetically engineered mice develop an imbalance in a hormone involved in stress responses, and during stressful situations, they behave as if they are depressed. Genetic variations in the same protein may be a significant cause of human depression, according to researchers at the School of Medicine.

MathewsFaith, formal education and life experiences have shaped the character of Katherine Jahnige Mathews, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the School of Medicine. A faculty member at the Siteman Cancer Center and a physician at ConnectCare, Mathews’ efforts have earned her the Association of American Medical Colleges’ Herbert W. Nickens, M.D., Faculty Fellowship for 2004.

Chimpanzees don’t need haircuts.Mammals have fur over most of their bodies, but at some point during evolution, we humans lost that fur covering. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis argue that hair on the head is somehow different from fur because fur stops growing when it reaches a certain length, but our head hair continues to grow.

Matthew DobbsAlmost 60 years after it was conceived, Washington University orthopaedic surgeon Matthew Dobbs, MD, has revived a nonsurgical technique to correct clubfoot, a congenital foot deformity. By combining the venerable procedure with the latest genetic science and translational research, Dobbs aims to drastically improve treatment and perhaps eventually reduce the incidence of the malady.

Jupiter: a core of tar.After eleven months of politics, now it’s time for some real “core values” – not those of the candidates but those of the great gas giant planet, Jupiter. Katharina Lodders, Ph.D., Washington University in St. Louis research associate professor in Earth and Planetary Sciences in Arts & Sciences, studying data from the Galileo probe of Jupiter, proposes a new mechanism by which the planet formed 4.5 billion years ago.

WUSTL in the News will resume publication on Monday, December 27, 2004. Have a happy holiday!