Newsroom Stories

Two scientists at Washington University have developed a low-energy defibrillation scheme that significantly reduces the energy needed to re-establish a normal rhythm in the heart’s main chambers. They hope this electrotherapy will be much less painful than the existing electrotherapy, making treatment with a defibrillator much more acceptable to patients.

Alum Robbie Garrison (left), of MMBiosensing, LLC, talks with Ken Harrington, managing director of the Skandalaris Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, following the selection of Garrison’s firm as one of seven finalists for the 2012 Olin Cup during a ceremony Nov. 8 in Simon Hall.

Everyone knows someone who overshares on social media, from constant updates about daily minutiae to an automatically generated stream of songs listened to, articles read, games played and other matters blast-broadcast through various applications. Intentional over-sharers may be a necessary nuisance in our wired world, but the days of the auto-generated social media stream may be numbered, says Neil Richards, JD, privacy law expert and professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis.

People with diabetes often develop clogged arteries that cause heart disease. New research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has found that when vitamin D levels are adequate in people with diabetes, blood vessels are less likely to clog. But in patients with insufficient vitamin D, immune cells bind to blood vessels near the heart, then trap cholesterol to block those blood vessels.

The School of Medicine has received a $50 million grant to help speed the translation of scientific discoveries into improvements in human health. The grant supports the School of Medicine’s Institute of Clinical and Translational Sciences, led by Bradley A. Evanoff, MD.

The No. 3 women’s soccer team advanced to the Sweet 16 with a pair of victories at home last weekend. WUSTL advances to the sectional semifinals for the second-straight season and will take on No. 14 Concordia College (Moorhead) at 3 p.m. Friday at Francis Field. The Bears will host the NCAA Sectional for the first time in school history. In the other Sectional semifinal Friday, No. 2 Hardin-Simmons University will take on No. 11 Wheaton College (Ill.) at 5:30 p.m.

The region’s first maternal-fetal transport service that includes both obstetrics and pediatrics expertise is being launched this month by the School of Medicine and St. Louis Children’s and Barnes-Jewish hospitals.

On November 8, 2012, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton announced the appointment of three new science envoys, including Barbara Schaal, the Mary-Dell Chilton Distinguished Professor of Biology in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis. The science envoys travel in their capacity as private citizens and advise the White House, the U.S. Department of State, and the U.S. scientific community about the insights they gain from their travels and interactions.

Researchers have identified a genetic error responsible for some cases of a rare childhood leukemia with a poor prognosis.

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