Newsroom Stories

“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.

John Lockwood programs the data enabling device to stop the SoBig worm.A computer scientist at Washington University in St. Louis has developed technology to stop malicious software – malware – such as viruses and worms long before it even has a chance to reach computers in the home and office. John Lockwood, Ph.D., an assistant professor of computer science at Washington University, and the graduate students that work in his research laboratory have developed a hardware platform called the Field-programmable Port Extender (FPX) that scans for malware transmitted over a network and filters out unwanted data.

Campaign 2004 will be a rough and tumble, says Steven S. Smith, Ph.D.While most 2004 campaign coverage remains fixated on the wild and crazy race for the Democratic presidential nomination, the 2004 election also promises to be especially challenging for Democrats seeking seats in the House and Senate. The Democrats are in for a fight in 2004, and the liberal and more moderate factions of the party may likely be their own worst enemy if they engage in a political and philosophical battle for the hearts and minds of voters. “The Democrats are in a bad way in 2004,” said Steven Smith, Ph.D., an authority on congressional politics and the Kate M. Gregg Professor of Social Sciences in Arts & Sciences.

Red blood cells damaged by inflammation caused by food poisoning.A protein that helps keep immune system cells from mistakenly swallowing and destroying healthy cells has been linked to an inherited disorder with symptoms similar to severe food poisoning, according to researchers at the Washington University School of Medicine and the University of Newcastle in the United Kingdom. John Atkinson, M.D., the Samuel Grant Professor of Medicine at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, says the results make it possible to genetically screen patients for one form of atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a rare but potentially life-threatening condition linked to excessive cell damage, blood clots and kidney failure. Normal HUS, often in the headlines because of food-related outbreaks, is caused by consumption of a toxic form of the bacteria E. coli.

Jeff Ojemann/University of WashingtonImproved imaging of brain’s language areas may replace more invasive pre-surgery mapping techniques, such as the electrocortical stimulation method shown here.Advances in neurosurgery have opened the operating room door for an amazing array of highly invasive forms of brain surgery, but doctors and patients still face an incredibly important decision – whether to operate when life-saving surgery could irrevocably damage a patient’s ability to speak, read or even comprehend a simple conversation. Now, researchers at Washington University in St. Louis are developing a painless, non-invasive imaging technique that surgeons here are using to better evaluate brain surgery risks and to more precisely guide operations so that damage to sensitive language areas is avoided. The breakthrough could improve odds of success in an increasingly common surgery in which damaged sections of a patient’s temporal brain lobe are removed in an effort to alleviate epileptic seizures. November is National Epilepsy Awareness Month.

The Center for Interdisciplinary Studies, the Whitney R. Harris Institute for Global Legal Studies and the Department of Political Science at Washington University in St. Louis will present the conference, “Globalization, the State, and Society,” Nov. 13-14 in the Bryan Cave Moot Courtroom of Anheuser Busch Hall. This event, which is free and open to the public, is planned as part of the University’s Sesquicentennial celebration.