Cells’ mechanical memory could hold clues to cancer metastasis
In the body, cells move around to form organs during development; to heal wounds; and when they metastasize from cancerous tumors. A mechanical engineer at Washington University in St. Louis found that cells remember the properties they had in their first environment for several days after they move to another in a process called mechanical memory.
$10 million gift supports personalized medicine
The School of Medicine has received a $10 million commitment from longtime benefactors George and Debra Couch to support research that advances personalized medicine. In recognition of their generosity, the research building at 4515 McKinley Ave. has been named the Debra and George W. Couch III Biomedical Research Building.
WashU Expert: House GOP tax proposal ‘death of neutrality’ for international tax system
The U.S. House of Representatives Republican tax proposal, released Nov. 2, would institute a number of wholesale changes to the American tax code, including the end of neutrality in the international tax system, says an expert on international tax law at Washington University in St. Louis.
Leggett: Teaching students to ‘live amongst difference’
Washington University Student Affairs and Residential Life leaders will lead a panel that explores ways to support students impacted by crises from natural disasters to racist propaganda. The panel, lead by Kawanna Leggett, executive director of residential life, is part of the annual Residential College Symposium.
In autism, too many brain connections may be at root of condition
A defective gene linked to autism influences how neurons connect and communicate with each other in the brain, according to a study from the School of Medicine. Rodents that lack the gene form too many connections between brain neurons and have difficulty learning.
WashU Expert: Is a bipartisan approach to fixing Obamacare feasible?
The bipartisan bill proposed by U.S. Sens. Lamar Alexander and Patty Murray, aimed at shoring up the troubled health insurance markets, has some approaches that would help fix the marketplaces, but more changes are needed, says a health economist at Washington University in St. Louis.
A bit of a ‘quantum magic trick’
Is there a faster way to determine a frequency? It turns out there is, in a new discovery published this week in Physical Review Letters by a collaboration between a Washington University in St. Louis and the University of Rochester.
Debate to highlight America’s changing role in the world
In today’s political climate, American foreign policy is frequently a prime topic of discussion and, often, disagreement. This conversation will come to Washington University on Monday, Nov. 6 when some of the nation’s top minds will square off at a debate on the evolving role of the United States on the international stage.
Eating more like our ancestors would improve human health
Malnutrition problems can be traced to poor-quality diets lacking in diversity, a recent phenomenon in evolutionary history, according to a new paper from the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis.
Penny-wise, pound-foolish decisions explained by neurons’ firing
A new study at the School of Medicine suggests that being penny wise and pound foolish is not so much a failure of judgment as it is a function of how our brains tally the value of objects that vary widely in worth.
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