Newsroom Stories

Studying spinal fluid from people at risk for Alzheimer’s disease, School of Medicine researchers have found that a gene variation that had not been considered risky actually can increase the chances of developing Alzheimer’s disease when it occurs in tandem with another gene variant known to elevate risk. Shown is an image of a brain with a buildup of amyloid deposits (highest amounts in yellow and red) that collect to form senile plaques in patients with Alzheimer’s.

Evolutionary biologist W.D. Hamilton predicted that organisms ought to evolve the ability to discriminate degrees of kinship so as to refine their ability to direct help to individuals with whom they shared the most genes. But two WUSTL biologists point out that there seem to be many cases where “a veil of ignorance” prevents organisms from gaining this kind of information, forcing them to consider a situation from the perspective of all members of their group instead of solely from their own perspective or that of their close kin.

The School of Medicine’s Evan D. Kharasch, MD, PhD (left) and J. Evan Sadler, MD, PhD, have been elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, one of the highest honors medical scientists in the United States can receive.

The 17th birthday celebration of the Elizabeth Danforth Butterfly Garden, held Oct. 6, drew 60 guests to enjoy the garden and honor longtime volunteer leader Jean Davis. The garden was dedicated in 1996 in honor of Elizabeth Gray Danforth, the late wife of Washington University Chancellor Emeritus William Danforth.

Premature babies often spend their first months of life in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) — environments that, in recent years, have seen transformations, with hospitals adding private rooms to NICUs in place of open wards. But research at the School of Medicine adds new information to the discussion over what is the optimal setting for infants in the NICU. Shown is the study’s first author, Bobbi Pineda, PhD, in the NICU at St. Louis Children’s Hospital.

Timothy J. Eberlein, MD, the William K. Bixby Professor of Surgery and chairman of the Department of Surgery at the School of Medicine, was inducted last month as an honorary fellow into the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, one of the world’s oldest organizations dedicated to advances in surgery.

Scientists at the School of Medicine have identified a biological marker that may help predict overall survival of people with deadly brain tumors. The marker is made by noncancerous cells known as monocytes (pictured in brown).

At 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 24, Leach will read from her work as part of The Writing Program’s fall Reading Series. The talk, which is free and open to the public, will take place in Hurst Lounge, Room 201, Duncker Hall. A reception and book signing will immediately follow.

A gene that controls how quickly smokers process nicotine also predicts whether people who try to kick the habit are likely to respond to nicotine replacement therapy, according to new research from an investigator at the School of Medicine.

Growing up under Taliban rule in Afghanistan, Shabana Basij-Rasikh’s family literally risked their lives to provide an education for their daughters. She learned early on the danger females face in seeking an education but she also experienced its rich rewards. Today she is paying her good fortune forward to empower some of the estimated 66 million girls who are denied a primary education. Her message is simple: “Educate a girl. Change the world.” She delivers that message at 4 p.m. Friday, October 25 in Graham Chapel for the Assembly Series/Olin Fellowship Conference Lecture.