Newsroom Stories

Bernstein”The settlement of the grocery strike in St. Louis sends conflicting messages to the parties involved in similar strikes in California, West Virginia, Ohio and Kentucky,” says Neil Bernstein, an expert in labor law and legal issues relating to striking workers and a professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis. “In St. Louis, the Union did achieve an important victory in convincing the employers to eliminate the annual deductibles that they tried to impose for the first time. On the other hand, the contract requires them to make larger co-payments for doctor visits and prescription drugs.”

Researchers have devised a new hearing test that measures the auditory brainstem response 20 times faster than current methodology.The marvels of mathematics may open the door to a new, improved hearing test for newborns. A mathematician and a recent electrical engineering doctoral graduate from Washington University in St. Louis have devised a hearing test that measures the auditory brainstem response 20 times faster than current methodology. The technique allows for testing on small digital machines that takes just two minutes instead of the hour current methods take, and volunteers instead of medical personnel can administer it. This bodes well for mandatory hearing testing of newborns within three years.

Meriwether Lewis and William ClarkLewis and Clark, meet Robert Criss. Virtual explorer Robert Criss, Ph.D., professor of earth and planetary sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, has teamed up with Lewis and Clark to provide the oldest determinations of the magnetic declination of America’s interior.

Glucocorticoid receptors on steroids.Doctors have used steroids for decades to control autoimmune and inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus and inflammatory bowel disease, but their potentially serious side effects — including bone loss, obesity, diabetes and growth impairment — have made it difficult to keep patients on the drugs for prolonged periods of time. Endocrinologist Louis Muglia, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of molecular biology and pharmacology and of pediatrics at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, and colleagues have recently identified a key component of steroids’ effects on the immune system, a possible first step toward developing new drugs that can offer the same benefits as steroids without the many potentially serious side effects.

Courtesy photoSome blind patients, as well as some blind animals, still show pupil constriction in response to light.We use our eyes to see, but a good deal of recent research has demonstrated that the eyes are responsible for other functions, too. Russell N. Van Gelder, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of ophthalmology and visual sciences and of molecular biology and pharmacology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has teamed with researchers at several other institutions to learn more about the eye’s second, non-visual system that is important to the body’s internal clock, as well as to other functions such as hormone release. Studying mice, the research team found that even in blind animals, it is important for the eye’s non-visual system to continue working. They believe damage to this system in the eye may contribute to several health problems in humans, even in people with normal vision.

“The Future of Freedom” will be the topic of “Conversation” when scholars gather Nov. 13 at Washington University for the second of a four-part series of discussions on key issues that will affect the future of the university, the community and the world. Arts & Sciences is sponsoring the four “Conversations,” which are free and open to the public, as part of the university’s 150th anniversary celebration. “The Future of Freedom Conversation” will be held from 10 to 11:30 a.m. in Graham Chapel.

Photo courtesy of Library of CongressRemembering Nov. 22, 1963.On Nov. 22, 2003, the nation will mark the 40th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Texas. The 1963 event was so surprising and traumatic, that many people who were alive that day claim they can remember exactly where they were and what they were doing when they heard the news. However, an expert in collective memory at Washington University in St. Louis claims those memories may not be as accurate as people think.

RugerTheodore Ruger, an expert in constitutional law and an associate professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis, discusses freedom of religion with Mike Sampson of KWMU’s “St. Louis on the Air” on Nov. 3. This show is part of a three part series on the First Ammendment in the 21st century. Listen to the program from the KWMU Web site.

Jerome A. Cohen, a leading American specialist on law in the People’s Republic of China, will present a lecture on “Criminal Justice & U.S.-China Relations” at 3 p.m. Nov. 10 in the Bryan Cave Moot Courtroom of Anheuser-Busch Hall.The lecture, which is free and open to the public, is sponsored by the Whitney R. Harris Institute for Global Legal Studies at the School of Law. A question and answer session and reception will follow the lecture.

KhindukaAs part of Washington University’s Sesquicentennial, the George Warren Brown School of Social Work (GWB) is honoring six agencies through the Community Connections Project from 4-5:30 p.m. Nov. 12 in Brown Hall’s Brown Lounge. This event is free and open to the public. In addition to comments by Shanti K. Khinduka, Ph.D., dean and the George Warren Brown Distinguished University Professor, Stacey Nelson-Kumar, president of the GWB Alumni Board, and representatives from the honored agencies, items exhibiting the historical link between the agencies and GWB will be on display during the event.