Newsroom Stories

Scientists at Washington University in St. Louis long suspected that dueling findings about the impact of invasive species on biodiversity reflect the different sizes of study sites. Now field work confims that the impact of invasive species is different at small scales than at large ones. The scientists hope an understanding of this “scale dependence” will help settle arguments that have broken out in the scientific community and discourage recent popular science articles downplaying the damage invasives cause.

Undergraduate tuition at Washington University in St. Louis will be $44,100 for the 2013-14 academic year — a $1,600 (3.8 percent) increase over the 2012-13 current academic tuition of $42,500. Barbara A. Feiner, vice chancellor for finance, made the announcement. The required student activity fee will total $441. The health and wellness fee will be approximately $300.

The following Frequently Asked Questions about tuition and the financial resources of Washington University in St. Louis was enclosed in a letter Provost Edward S. Macias, PhD, sent Jan. 17, 2013, to parents and students announcing the 2013-14 tuition, room, board and fees.

Melanomas that develop in the eye often are fatal. Now, scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis report they have identified a mutated gene in melanoma tumors of the eye that appears to predict a good outcome.

Many gun rights advocates have asserted that the Second Amendment – which protects the right of the people to keep and bear arms – serves a collective interest in deterring and, if necessary, violently deposing a tyrannical federal government. “The strength of this assertion is significantly weakened by the power of the First Amendment,” says Gregory P. Magarian, JD, constitutional law expert and professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis. “We have spent almost a century developing the First Amendment as the main vehicle for dynamic political change. Debate and political expression is preferable to insurrection as a means of political change and our legal culture’s attention to the First and Second Amendments reflects a long-settled choice of debate over violent uprising.”

Panera Bread Co. has rolled out a new “hidden menu” featuring protein-rich power foods. While this kind of marketing may make big fans of the chain feel special, it also increases the likelihood that the hidden items fail to take off, says a marketing expert at Washington University in St. Louis.

Kathleen Clark, JD, government ethics expert and John S. Lehmann Research Professor of Law at Washington University in St. Louis, recently provided testimony to the District of Columbia’s Board of Ethics and Government Accountability on government ethics best practices. Clark identified three key next steps for the District.

This January, visitors to reserveaspace.wustl.edu, the room reservation website managed by the Danforth University Center & Event Management Office, found a new, expanded and improved way to reserve spaces, including pooled classrooms, in many buildings on campus. Training sessions are scheduled to orient users to the site.

A road- and bridge-construction project that will impact Washington University, and particularly the medical center, is scheduled to begin in the next few days. The project is expected to completed by summer 2014.

Nominations are being accepted for Washington University’s annual Faculty Achievement Awards, known as the Arthur Holly Compton Faculty Achievement Award and the Carl and Gerty Cori Faculty Achievement Award. The Compton Award is given to a distinguished member of the faculty from one of the six Danforth Campus schools and the Cori Award to a faculty member from the School of Medicine.The deadline to submit nominations is Friday, Feb. 15.