Newsroom Stories

With a grant from the USDA, a researcher at the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis works toward a customizable kill switch — a genetic circuit that could tell bacteria to self-destruct.

A search committee comprising faculty and administrators will begin its work to identify candidates to succeed Henry S. Webber, who will transition to the newly created role of executive vice chancellor for civic affairs and strategic planning.

School of Medicine scientists have created a PET imaging agent that detects signs of inflammation. Such a tracer could aid diagnosis and study of diseases ranging from cardiovascular disease to cancer to COVID-19.

Even before they cast their votes, partisans of different stripes are poised to question the legitimacy of the election outcome, but for different reasons. According to political scientist Steven Smith at Washington University in St. Louis, findings of The American Social Survey, sponsored by the university’s Weidenbaum Center, indicate that the intensity of candidate and media attention about voting fraud threats — real or not — is influencing views of the legitimacy of the election outcome in November.

Washington University’s Deanna Barch was among 59 women psychologists working in academia who took an empirical approach to understanding gender inequities in their field. They find some promising data, but also much work to be done.

New Olin Business School research suggests that if consumers view a vaccine more like a curative to the epidemic, rather than as a preventative for the self, they will be more receptive toward it.

More than 1,200 students enrolled in “The Pandemic: Science and Society,” an online two-credit course featuring experts from across disciplines and across the country. The entire university may benefit from the lessons learned.

Nationally renowned artists, architects, designers and scholars will discuss their work as part of the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts’ fall Public Lecture Series and the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum’s “In Conversation” series. Events begin Sept. 12 with art historian Natilee Harren, followed by MacArthur “Genius” Fellow Walter J. Hood, landscape designer for the International African American Museum Sept. 26. Combined, the series will feature 18 virtual presentations.

With high hopes and bulk supplies of hand sanitizer, the Class of 2024 arrived at Washington University in St. Louis Sept. 4-6. “This is what we’ve all been waiting for,” said Nick Cloney, an Arts & Sciences student from Boston. “It may not be what we expected. But even in this altered world, we can still have those integral first-year experiences.” 

Five buildings on the Danforth Campus at Washington University in St. Louis just achieved LEED Platinum certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. It’s the council’s highest green building certification and a clear indication of the university’s deep commitment to campus sustainability.