Newsroom Stories

A favorite Halloween symbol leaves behind clues to what a tropical landscape looked like thousands of years ago. With support from the Living Earth Collaborative, postdoctoral scholar Rachel Reid of Arts & Sciences digs in.

A multicenter study led by the School of Medicine and involving more than 2,400 first-time pregnant women, shows that the timing of pushing has no effect on whether women deliver vaginally or by C-section.

An inability to properly use the essential mineral manganese could be to blame for some cases of severe scoliosis, according to a new study from the School of Medicine.

Researchers at the School of Medicine and Northwestern have developed an implantable, bioabsorbable device that helps speed recovery of peripheral nerve damage in rats by stimulating injured nerves with electricity. The device degrades in a few weeks when exposed to saltwater, which mimics bodily fluid.

At its Oct. 4-5 meeting, the Board of Trustees elected Trustee Andrew E. Newman as vice chair and chair-elect and heard updates on the university’s endowment and Leading Together: The Campaign for Washington University.

President Donald Trump has touted his new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement as a way to boost the American economy. It may not, however, have any impact on one of his other campaign promises: reducing prescription costs for U.S. consumers, says a drug pricing expert at Washington University in St. Louis.

A new study in mice from the School of Medicine shows that viruses that target the nervous system can kill neurons in the gut that coordinate the process of moving waste along. Such viruses may be involved in causing people’s digestive woes.

Jason Kander’s admission this week that he has suspended his Kansas City mayoral campaign to seek help for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has helped to reduce stigma around mental health by being open, honest and courageous, says an expert on PTSD at Washington University in St. Louis.

Indigenous Peoples’ Day, which takes place Monday, Oct. 8, will be recognized on campus with a candlelight vigil outside Hillman Hall, featuring music, speakers and a blessing. The event is an opportunity to honor the original inhabitants of the Americas, rather than Christopher Columbus.

Analyzing data from more than 400,000 people, researchers at the School of Medicine have found that consuming one to two drinks four or more times per week — an amount deemed healthy by current guidelines — increases the risk of premature death by 20 percent.