Newsroom Stories

New research from the School of Medicine’s Albert Kim, MD, PhD (left), and Hiroko Yano, PhD, helps explain how mutations in the gene that causes Huntington’s disease kill brain cells. The findings could open new opportunities for treating the fatal disorder.

Some clover species have two forms, one of which releases cyanide to discourage nibbling by snails and insects and the other of which does not. A scientist at Washington University in St. Louis found that this “polymorphism” has evolved independently in six different species of clover, each time by the wholesale deletion of a gene. The clover species are in a sense predisposed to develop this trait, suggesting that evolution is not entirely free form but instead bumps up against constraints.

Internationally acclaimed landscape architect Rod Barnett has been appointed chair of the Master of Landscape Architecture program in the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts. He will join the program Aug. 1.

The Department of Energy has awarded the Photosynthetic Antenna Research Center (PARC) $14.4 million for continuing research on natural and bio-inspired systems for harvesting the sun’s energy. The center, which is hosted by Washington University in St. Louis, was one of 32 projects selected for funding from among more than 200 proposals and one of only 22 to receive second-round funding.

The Brown School’s Michael Sherraden and the School of Law’s Marion G. Crain, co-authors of the new book “Working and Living in the Shadow of Economic Fragility,” were in Washington, D.C., May 28 at the New America Foundation for a webcast presentation that Crain called “a chance for scholars to talk to the world.” U.S. economic policies have failed to restore full employment and in some ways have made labor market conditions worse for many Americans, they said.

A widespread pattern of human-caused environmental degradation and related flood-mitigation efforts began changing the natural flow of China’s Yellow River nearly 3,000 years ago, setting the stage for massive floods that toppled the Western Han Dynasty, suggests new research from Washington University in St. Louis.

What: Representatives from five universities will gather to discuss ways to prepare international students for the local labor market When: 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 24 Where: Room 103, Siegle Hall, Washington University at St. Louis More info: Betsy Cohen, Project Director, St. Louis Mosaic Project at 314-615-8107 or ecohen@worldtradecenter-stl.com As part of […]

School of Medicine researchers have identified the first genetic variations linked to race that begin to explain a higher risk of death among some African American and Caucasian patients taking the anti-clotting drug clopidogrel (Plavix) after a heart attack.

Explosive devices are the most common cause of traumatic brain injuries in veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. A new study shows that military personnel with brain trauma related to such blasts had outcomes similar to those with brain injury from other causes, according to researchers at the School of Medicine.

Most walking and running routes go to, through or around a public park — in higher-income neighborhoods. In a study conducted by the Brown School using the website Map My Run as a tool, researchers found most routes inputted by walkers or runners at least partially included parks. But in low-income neighborhoods, the odds of running in a park were 54 percent lower.