Newsroom Stories

Using a miniature electronic device implanted in the brain, scientists have tapped into the internal reward system of mice, prodding neurons to release dopamine, a chemical associated with pleasure. This LED light can activate brain cells and may lead to the mapping of circuits involved in sleep, depression and addiction.

Washington University’s Gerald L. Early, PhD, a noted essayist and American culture critic, will get a star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame.  A eremony marking Early’s induction into the Walk of Fame in The Loop will be held at 11:30 a.m. Thursday, April 11, in front of the Moonrise Hotel, 6177 Delmar Blvd.

The nation’s oldest and largest student-run carnival gets under way soon. The community event brings together students, faculty and staff from WUSTL with surrounding neighbors and the greater St. Louis community for a weekend filled with rides, carnival fare and family-friendly plays. More than 80,000 people are expected to attend the Thurtene Carnival April 19-21.

The City of St. Louis is poised to lead the way in innovative solutions to the national urban issue of vacant land, thanks to a unique partnership between the city and Washington University. Four of the city’s vacant lots will be the new home for five demonstration projects that test new ways to think of vacant space, thanks to the winning teams in the inaugural Sustainable Land Lab Competition.

Either physical therapy or arthroscopic surgery can relieve pain and improve mobility in patients with a torn meniscus and arthritis in the knee, according to researchers from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and six other centers. But the results are not simple because many of the patients assigned to physical therapy eventually had surgery.

The next generation science standards have been released and Washington University in St. Louis is playing significant roles. Michael Wysession, PhD, an associate professor in the Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences in Arts & Sciences, was among the 41-member writing team who helped write the standards. And WUSTL’s Institute for School Partnership (ISP) is poised to help schools implement them in the St. Louis region.

Multicultural Celebration Weekend, April 11-13, welcomes admitted students for a campus visit focused on diverse student life and learning opportunities. Freshman Lela Prichett shows off one of the shirts marking the weekend.

Acclaimed architect Daniel Libeskind discusses the role of drawing in his practice. The conversation centers on a pair of artist’s books he created in the early 1980, which are now in the collection of WUSTL’s Kranzberg Art & Architecture Library.

Born in 1819, Clara Wieck was a musical prodigy and one of Europe’s most successful concert pianists. Though long over-shadowed by her husband, Robert Schumann, recent years have brought renewed attention to Wieck-Schumann’s own compositions. On April 12, the Eliot Trio will perform one of her best-known works, along with compositions by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Johannes Brahms.

With springtime temperatures and warm weather approaching, the inclination to spend time outdoors is a strong one – especially for children who have been cooped up all winter. But parents should be vigilant about sunscreen. And teenage girls might want to rethink springtime tanning and tanning beds. A new study out of the Brown School, led by senior author Kimberly J. Johnson, looks at the increase of melanoma in children and adolescents and what those trends might be telling us.