Newsroom Stories

A new School of Medicine study has found that as premature babies grow, their mental health may be related less to medical challenges they face after birth than to the environment the babies enter once they leave the newborn intensive care unit.

A global study comparing 2,062 birds finds that, in highly variable environments, birds tend to have either larger or smaller brains relative to their body size. New research from Carlos Botero, assistant professor of biology in Arts & Sciences, finds birds with smaller brains tend to use ecological strategies that are not available to big-brained counterparts.

Chancellor Andrew D. Martin has announced the organizational realignment of the Division of Student Affairs to report to his office, effective immediately. Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Lori S. White, who had previously served under the provost, will now report directly to Martin.

Nadine Strossen, author of the Common Reading Program selection “Hate: Why We Should Resist It with Free Speech, Not Censorship,” will deliver the keynote address at “Reflections: Unity, Social Justice, and Peace,” an annual event celebrating the start of the academic year at Washington University. The event begins at 4 p.m. Monday, Aug. 26, in Graham Chapel. 

Investigators at Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have been awarded a $15 million grant to better understand the genetic changes that drive acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a deadly blood cancer, and predict patients’ responses to therapy. The findings also may enable investigators to develop more effective therapies tailored to patients, based on the genetic characteristics of their cancer cells.

New Arts & Sciences research from Washington University in St. Louis shows that invasive mosquitoes at the northern limit of their current range are surviving conditions that are colder than those in their native territory. This new evidence of rapid local adaptation could have implications for efforts to control the spread of this invasive species.

The Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts will launch its fall Public Lecture Series Sept. 19 with Swiss architect Patrick Gmür. Other events will include a Q&A with Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei and the symposium “Decoys & Depictions: Images of the Digital.”

Researchers at the School of Medicine have discovered that an initial urinary tract infection (UTI) triggers changes to immune and other cells in the bladder that can prime the bladder to overreact to bacteria, worsening subsequent UTIs.

Investigative journalist Carey Gillam will deliver the first talk of the fall 2019 Agri-Food Workshop lecture series, “Monsanto Trials and Monsanto Papers,” casting a critical eye on industry influence and pesticide science, Aug. 30.

Holden Thorp, the Rita Levi-Montalcini Distinguished University Professor at Washington University, has been named editor-in-chief of the Science family of journals. He will assume his new role Oct. 28 and will remain on the Washington University faculty. He will be on leave while serving as editor-in-chief.