Newsroom Stories

When it comes to communication in the brain, more is usually better. But now scientists, including Maurizio Corbetta, MD, have linked increased communication in a network of brain regions to more severe mental impairment in patients with early-stage multiple sclerosis (MS).

On Wednesday, Jan. 18, Edward E. Curtis IV, an expert on US-Muslim relations, opens the spring 2012 lecture series sponsored by the John C. Danforth Center on Religion & Politics. The lecture series, which is free and open to the public, also features Parker Palmer, Melani McAlister, Jonathan Walton and Andrew Preston.

NASA has just funded Henri Krawczynski and his colleague Matthias Beilicke,  to launch a balloon-borne telescope sensitive to the polarization of light that will float at an altitude of 130,000 feet for a day. During that time, the balloon will stare fixedly at two black holes in our galaxy, an accreting neutron star, the Crab nebula, an extragalactic black hole and other targets yet to be chosen. One of the first instruments of its type, it should be able to make the first direct measurements of the spin rate of black holes, among other advancements.

A biology lab at Washington University in St. Louis has successfully cracked the structure of an enzyme made by Plasmodium falciparum, the parasitical protozoan that causes the most lethal form of malaria. Plasmodium cannot live without the enzyme, which is uses to make cell membrane. Because people don’t make this enzyme, it is an ideal target for an anti-malarial drug.  Such a drug might kill Plasmodium but have minimal side effects for people.

A new study shows that annual prostate cancer screening does not reduce deaths from the disease, even among men in their 50s and 60s and those with underlying health conditions. The study was published online Jan. 6 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill will participate in a roundtable discussion with Washington University in St. Louis administrators and energy researchers, and the region’s energy leaders on the nation’s urgent energy needs. The roundtable energy discussion will be held at noon Monday, Jan. 9, at Washington University’s Brauer Hall, Room 3015, followed by a tour of WUSTL’s Ultrafast Laser Facility. 

A Jan. 4 Huffington Post headline proclaims: “Rick Santorum called Mormonism ‘dangerous cult’ in minds of ‘some Christians’ in 2007.” Is Mormonism really a cult? Frank K. Flinn, PhD, a professor emeritus of religious studies in Arts & Sciences, argues that Republican detractors hope to do political damage by labeling Mitt Romney’s religion as a cult. However, this labeling creates a constitutional blur that threatens religious liberty, he says.  

Most people would rather not have their video viewing habits easily available to the public — no need for co-workers to know about your love of reality TV. The Video Privacy Protection Act of 1988 (VPPA) protects these records, but the House of Representatives — at the urging of Netflix and Facebook — recently voted to amend the VPPA, allowing companies to share movie watching habits much more easily. “What’s at stake is intellectual privacy — the idea that records of our reading habits, movie watching habits and private conversations deserve special protection from other kinds of personal information,” says Neil Richards, JD, professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis.

Edison Theatre at Washington University in St. Louis has received a prestigious Challenge America Fast-Track grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). A repeat recipient in the Challenge America category, Edison will use the $10,000 award to support Algo Nuevo (Something New), a series of free activities to be held in March exploring the history and aesthetics of Hispanic dance and traditional costuming.

Experts will address the idea of mercy during a Saturday Master of Liberal Arts Seminar Series throughout February. Topics range from mercy in sexuality debates to mercy in the practice of medicine. Now in its 31st year, the popular MLA series annually addresses a common theme from a variety of backgrounds. Free and open to the public, the series is sponsored by University College.