Newsroom Stories

Three Washington University in St. Louis scientists are among the 84 members and 21 foreign associates elected to the National Academy of Sciences this year. Election to the academy is considered one of the highest honors that can be accorded a U.S. scientist or engineer.

Scientists’ picture of how a gene strongly linked to Alzheimer’s disease harms the brain may have to be revised, researchers at the School of Medicine have found. Washington University’s David M. Holtzman, MD, says leading researchers recently agreed that targeting this gene is a promising approach for gaining a better understanding of and improving treatments for the disease.

Washington University in St. Louis will award six honorary degrees during the university’s 152nd Commencement May 17. The ceremony begins at 8:30 a.m. in Brookings Quadrangle. The recipients are Commencement speaker Cory A. Booker, Marilyn Fox, Martin L. Mathews, Juhani Pallasmaa, Peter Rosen, MD, and Howard Wood.

WUSTL faculty, staff and students rode from the Danforth Campus to Forest Park for the first “bike-in” movie April 25, as part of the 2013 Earth Week celebration.

In spite of a sluggish job market for today’s graduates, there are a few specific things both parents and graduates can do to move forward during this time of waiting.

School of Medicine researchers have discovered why breast cancer patients with dense breasts are more likely than others to develop aggressive tumors that spread. The finding opens the door to drug treatments that prevent metastasis. Shown are collagen fibers at the boundary of a tumor. Fibers that tend to be perpendicular to the tumor’s surface indicate a poor prognosis.

Tony Award-winning Broadway star Norbert Leo Butz will headline a benefit concert for The Angel Band Project at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 9, in the 560 Music Center. The Angel Band Project, which supports survivors of sexual violence, was founded in memory of Butz’s sister, Teresa, who was murdered in 2009.

Student-designed hand-launched gliders will soar across WUSTL’s Field House from 5-7 p.m. today in the Boeing Engineering Challenge to determine which has the farthest flight, the straightest path, the longest hang time, and highest quality of flight. Planes with the most creative appearance and most creative engineering also are recognized. High school students create the planes out of balsa wood with consultation from engineers with The Boeing Company. In the process, they learn important concepts in physics and aerospace engineering.

School of Medicine faculty member Elliot L. Elson, PhD, has been elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. The organization was formed in 1780 to cultivate the arts and sciences and to recognize individuals who have made prominent contributions to their disciplines and to society.

At its spring meeting May 3, the Board of Trustees of Washington University in St. Louis elected two new members to the board, re-elected six members and elected officers, among other actions, according to Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton.