Newsroom Stories

Studying mice and tissue samples from the arteries of patients with atherosclerosis, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis suggest this plaque accumulation is driven, at least in part, by processes similar to the plaque formation implicated in brain diseases such Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

Undergraduate tuition at Washington University in St. Louis will be $48,950 for the 2016-17 academic year — a $1,650 increase over the 2015-16 current academic tuition of $47,300, announced Amy B. Kweskin, vice chancellor for finance and chief financial officer. As with last year, when the percentage increase was the university’s lowest in 47 years, the percentage increase remains at 3.5 percent.

Genes inherited from mothers (matrigenes) and fathers (patrigenes) usually work harmoniously in the offspring. However, kin selection theory predicts these genes may be in conflict in interactions among relatives in which they are unequally represented (half-siblings). In honey bees, patrigenes are predicted to favor daughters that lay eggs themselves rather than remaining sterile and rearing their half-sisters’ offspring. An experimental test bears out this prediction.

​In response to the Ferguson Commission’s call to improve college access, Washington University in St. Louis has launched the College Readiness and Pipeline Initiative. Leah Merrifield, in her newly appointed role as associate vice chancellor for community engagement and St. Louis college readiness initiatives, will lead the university’s efforts.

Researchers involved in the treatment of children infected with Ebola have developed a set of guidelines aimed at improving how Ebola-infected children are treated.

L. Lewis Wall, MD, DPhil, has been named the inaugural Selina Okin Kim Conner Professor in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis. He was installed Oct. 21. Wall is also professor of anthropology in Arts & Sciences and professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

Even before they can read, children as young as three years of age are beginning to understand how a written word is different than a simple drawing — a nuance that could provide an important early indicator for children who may need extra help with reading lessons, suggests new research from Washington University in St. Louis.

Charles L. Roper, MD, a groundbreaking cardiothoracic surgeon and a professor emeritus of surgery at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, died of respiratory failure Dec. 17, 2015, in Kirkwood, Mo. He was 90.

Clayco’s chairman and CEO, Robert G. Clark, along with the company’s partners, have committed $4.1 million to Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis to advance research into a rare blood vessel disease that results in death five to 10 years following diagnosis.

​New discoveries, a new campus, Star Wars economics and another presidential debate – these were among the most-read stories of 2015 at Washington University in St. Louis.​