Newsroom Stories

Gerhild Scholz Williams explores the vast legal, scientific and theological literature known as demonology, which helped established “the image of the witch as a night-flying, sexually voracious creature.”

Methadone — long used to treat pain and addiction — can be lethal if it lingers too long in the body. New research led by the School of Medicine’s Evan D. Kharasch, MD, PhD, has identified genetic subtypes in people that govern methadone clearance, findings that could help prevent some of the 5,000 methadone-related deaths that occur each year in the United States.

In this video, curator Jonathan Ferrara and Sam Fox School dean Carmon Colangelo discuss “Guns in the Hands of Artists.” The exhibition seeks to build a new framework for examining the role of guns in American culture.

The National Digital Stewardship Alliance has awarded “Documenting Ferguson,” an initiative of Washington University Libraries,​ a 2015 Innovation Award​.

​A new report from a universitywide socioeconomic advisory group provides Washington University in St. Louis a roadmap to better serve its growing number of low-income and first-generation students. Recommendations include helping students better transition to college life, providing the resources students need to engage  in academic and campus life and creating a university culture that welcomes and values every student.

Craig A. Buchman, MD, a nationally recognized leader in otolaryngology and head and neck surgery, has been named head of the Department of Otolaryngology at the School of Medicine. He replaces Richard A. Chole, MD, PhD, who, after leading the department for 17 years, is stepping down to focus on research and patient care.

Images from in and around the Washington University campuses. To view captions, click the “i” in the upper left corner.

Studying mice with a variety of viral infections, scientists at the School of Medicine have demonstrated a way to dial up the body’s innate immune defenses while simultaneously attacking a protein that many viruses rely on to replicate. The findings reveal previously unknown weapons in the body’s antiviral immune arsenal and provide guidelines for designing drugs that could be effective against a broad range of viruses.

Falling back is easier on us than springing forward, says Erik Herzog, a biologist at Washington University in St. Louis who has devoted his career to studying body clocks and circadian rhythms. But it is never a good idea to force our body clocks to follow abrupt changes in mechanical clocks. We should get rid of daylight savings time, Herzog says.

Richard L. Wahl, MD, the Elizabeth E. Mallinckrodt Professor and head of radiology at the School of Medicine, has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine, formerly known as the Institute of Medicine. Election to this academy is considered one of the highest honors in the field of health and medicine in the United States.