Newsroom Stories

Teens who were depressed as children are far more likely than their peers to be obese, smoke cigarettes and lead sedentary lives, even if they no longer suffer from depression. The research, by scientists at the School of Medicine and the University of Pittsburgh, suggests that depression, even in children, can increase the risk of heart problems later in life.

Nearly one in four people living in the City of St. Louis lives in poverty and faces hunger, and local food pantries across the region have experienced a 30 percent increase in requests over the last year. For the third year, Washington University is partnering with Operation Food Search to coordinate the PB&Joy University-Wide Food Drive, which runs April 4-16.

In the political realm, climate change remains a point of debate. But for those charged with managing its effects — the storms and floods followed, whiplash style, by drought and water scarcity — the evidence is in. From March 22-25, the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts and The Royal Netherlands Embassy in Washington, D.C., will present MISI-ZIIBI: Living with the Great Rivers, an international symposium investigating climate adaptation strategies in the Mississippi and Missouri basins.

If American war films are characterized by large-scale combat and appeals to valor, French war cinema is arguably more intimate and psychologically driven. From March 19-21, the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum will present three iconic films as part of its France at War Film Series.

At polling places across America in November 2012, Latinos and African Americans under age 30 were disproportionately asked for identification, even in states that do not have voter ID laws, according to a post-election analysis by researchers at Washington University in St. Louis and the University of Chicago.

​The eighth annual African Film Festival at Washington University in St. Louis will feature award-winning African films and filmmakers March 22-24. Organizers say the festival exposes the St. Louis community to “African stories as told by Africans,” helping to dispel stereotypes about Africa. All film showings, which are free and open to the public, take place in Brown Hall, Room 100, on the university’s Danforth Campus.​

A documentary-style series highlighting patients, faculty physicians and other staff at St. Louis Children’s Hospital will debut Saturday, March 16, on KSDK. “The Frontline for Hope” will air Saturday nights for the next six weeks. Shown is one of the camera crew taping outside the hospital.

Sleep is disrupted in people who likely have early Alzheimer’s disease but do not yet have the memory loss or other cognitive problems characteristic of full-blown disease, researchers at the School of Medicine report. Shown is first author of the study, Yo-El Ju, MD,  an assistant professor of neurology.

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.