Newsroom Stories

Zachary Hernandez, a Mellon May Undergraduate Fellow in Arts & Sciences, explains his research on “Navigating Public Transportation in Bogota, Colombia” during the Association of Latin American Students’ 8th annual symposium on Latino contributions, held Feb. 20 in the Danforth University Center. Co-sponosred by the Annika Rodriguez Scholars Program, the event featured 15 submissions ranging from artwork to research projects related to Latino and Latin American culture and society by WUSTL students.

Michael Mullins, MD, associate professor of emergency medicine at the School of Medicine, recently shared his expertise with doctors, nurses and paramedics in Bolivia. He and other U.S. health-care workers trained Bolivians through Project Helping Hands, an organization that provides health care and education to people in developing countries. Shown is a roomful of paramedics who sought the training.

Brett skips class. He disappears for hours at a time. He nurses a disturbing secret: Brett is an Elvis impersonator. Welcome to “If I Were You” and Other Elvis Presley Songs, an original play by senior Leah Barsanti, and winner of the A.E. Hotchner Playwriting Competition.

Nanoparticles carrying a toxin found in bee venom can destroy human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) while leaving surrounding cells unharmed, researchers at the School of Medicine have shown. The finding is an important step toward developing a vaginal gel that may prevent the spread of HIV.  Shown are nanoparticles (purple) carrying melittin (green) that fuse with HIV (small circles with spiked outer ring), destroying the virus’s protective envelope.

John Inazu, JD, first amendment expert and professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis, was invited to provide testimony to the United States Commission on Civil Rights briefing on “Peaceful Coexistence? Reconciling Non-discrimination Principles with Civil Liberties.”

Hans Christian Andersen’s The Ugly Duckling has delighted children for generations. Aesop’s The Tortoise and the Hare dates back more than 2,500 years old. On March 16, Corbian Visual Arts and Dance (aka Lightwire Theatre) will return to Edison will cutting-edge theatrical adaptation of both classic fables as part of the ovations for young people series.

Although peripheral neuropathies afflict some 20 million Americans, their underlying causes are not completely understood. Now, scientists have shown that damage to energy factories in Schwann cells, which grow alongside neurons and enable nerve signals to travel from the spinal cord to the tips of the fingers and toes, may play a central role. Shown is a Schwann cell surrounding nerve axons, shown in green.

There is little on which the two Houses of Congress and the President can find compromise these days, with the sequester a vivid symbol of this polarization. And gridlock in government would only worsen if the proposed REINS Act moves forward, says Ronald M. Levin, JD, administrative law expert and professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis.

p, , {margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Cambria;} div.WordSection1 {page:WordSection1;} Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton sent a message to Danforth Campus students on the evening of March 5, inviting the entire community to join in reaffirming the values of the university.

With the United States and affiliated NATO troops preparing to pull out of war-torn Afghanistan by the end of 2014, attention will continue to focus on the 12-year war and the aftermath on its citizens. But a new study on mental health in Afghanistan, led by Jean-Francois Trani, PhD, assistant professor at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis, looks beyond the effects of war and identifies the root causes of mental distress and anxiety among its citizens: poverty and vulnerability.