Newsroom Stories

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine and Stanford University have found that normal exposure to light can drive the formation and growth of optic nerve tumors in mice — and maybe people — with a genetic predisposition. Such tumors can lead to vision loss.

Biologist Bruce Carlson in Arts & Sciences draws parallels between human language and electric communication in fish. His new research published in Current Biology reveals an underlying mechanism for how pauses allow neurons in the midbrain to recover from stimulation.

In commemoration of the one-year anniversary May 25 of the killing of George Floyd, the leaders of Washington University’s Center for Diversity and Inclusion planted Black Lives Matter flags on the Brookings Hall lawn.

A new study from Washington University School of Medicine suggests that, among men, low testosterone levels in the blood are linked to more severe COVID-19.

A new study from the laboratory of Rick Vierstra in Arts & Sciences helps explain how proteins called phytochromes respond to light intensity and temperature, thus enabling land plants to colonize the planet many millions of year ago.

Using ancient DNA and tools from the modern genomic age, Susanne Renner in Arts & Sciences discovered that domesticated watermelons most likely came from wild crop progenitors near Sudan.

Months after recovering from mild cases of COVID-19, people still have immune cells in their body pumping out antibodies against the virus that causes COVID-19, according to a study from researchers at Washington University School of Medicine.

A report on COVID-19 reforms convened by the Whitney R. Harris World Law Institute in the School of Law, in partnership with the McDonnell International Scholars Academy, was submitted a World Health Organization (WHO) panel in preparation for a final report at a WHO meeting on pandemic preparedness.

Washington University celebrated its160th Commencement not once, but eight times on May 20 and May 21. The Record kept a diary of the days’ sights and stories, including three alumni who competed on Francis Field and returned there to watch their children graduate; five Olin student-athletes on their way to NCAA Division III baseball championships; and one very elated chancellor thrilled to lead his first in-person Commencement.

At the 160th Commencement, one like no other in university history, NBA great and social justice advocate Kareem Abdul-Jabbar told the Class of 2021 to write their own story — but to make sure it went beyond themselves.