Newsroom Stories

The Occupy protests present a classic First Amendment problem: balancing political dissent against government control of property. “In theory, the government has very limited authority to curb expressive activity in what the law calls ‘public forums,’” says Gregory P. Magarian, JD, constitutional law expert and professor at Washington University in St. Louis School of Law.

WUSTL international students recently learned the intracacies of Amercian football in a workshop organized by the Office of International Students and put on by Bears football player Jonathan Paramore. The main goal was to give students enough basic knowledge so they could enjoy games with their American peers.

Fannie Mae, the biggest source of money for United States home loans, said last week it will need another $7.8 billion in federal aid following a third-quarter loss of more than $5 billion. As long as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are receiving subsidies, say banking experts at Washington University in St. Louis, there exists potential for another economic meltdown.

Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have shown that taking a probiotic before radiation therapy can protect the intestine from damage — at least in mice. Their study suggests that taking a probiotic also may help cancer patients avoid intestinal injury, a common problem in those receiving radiation therapy for abdominal cancers.

An experimental treatment for urinary tract infections has easily passed its first test in animals, alleviating weeks-long infections in mice in as little as six hours.

The Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts will host a dedicaiton for a new, as-yet-untitled work by internationally known artist Patrick Dougherty at noon Monday, Nov. 21, on the south lawn of Givens Hall. The large woven-wood sculpture was designed and completed as part of a master class Dougherty led for students in architecture, landscape architecturea and the visual arts. The piece will remain on view through fall 2013.

The U.S. remains on track to spend twice as much for health care as for food, yet millions are without insurance or uninsured. “Health insurance premiums also continue to rise – on average another 9 percent in 2011,” says Merton Bernstein, JD, leading health insurance expert and the Walter D. Coles Professor of Law Emeritus at Washington University in St. Louis. “Medical care costs can change direction if policy makers stop whistling past a significant contributor – non-benefit costs.”

The WashU Bhangra team performs at Edison Theatre this past weekend as part of the Diwali “Festival of Lights” celebration. Ashoka, the university’s South Asian student association, presents the annual event, one of the largest student-run productions on campus.

A field of 18 teams was narrowed to just eight finalists during the annual Olin Cup “elevator pitch” competition Nov. 10. Forty teams began the competition in September, vying for $70,000 in seed money to start a new company, but 12 were eliminated in an earlier round of judging.

Undergraduate students were in St. Louis Nov. 9-12 for the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students, designed to encourage undergraduate, post baccalaureate and graduate underrepresented minority students to pursue advanced training in the biomedical and behavioral sciences. Washington University, under the leadership of the Division of Biology and Biomedical Sciences, hosted a visit the Danforth and Medical campuses for about 200 students.