Newsroom Stories

Nature NewsTime up for relativity table-top test?6/9/2011Researchers at University of California, Berkeley, have clashed with a team lead by Luc Blanchet, a theorist at the Astrophysical Institute of Paris, over whether the time-warping ways of Einstein’s theory of general relativity be measured by the quantum ‘ticking’ of an atom? Clifford Will, who studies general relativity […]

Lifestyles and emotions play important roles in many medical illnesses, and when scientists study potential treatments to help people stop smoking, get more exercise, overcome depression or improve their diet, they often compare patients who get a certain treatment to others who don’t. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, led by Ken Freedland, MD, say to accurately measure a new therapy’s the effectiveness, it is critical to carefully define comparison — or control — groups in those studies.  

Kevin Moeller, PhD, professor of chemistry in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, is working to find ways to use clean energy in clean chemistry. “We can make the oxidation reactions used in the synthesis of organic molecules cleaner by hitching photovoltaics to electrochemistry,” Moeller says. It’s not a new idea, but one Moeller and his colleagues hope catches on.

The body’s ability to perform simple tasks like flex muscles or feel heat, cold and pain depends, in large part, on myelin, an insulating layer of fats and proteins that speeds the propagation of nerve cell signals. Now, scientists have identified a gene in mice that controls whether certain cells in the peripheral nervous system can make myelin. Called Gpr126, the gene encodes a cellular receptor that could play a role in diseases affecting peripheral nerves.

Luis Zayas’ commitment to U.S. Latinas and their struggle with suicide started in the 1970s when he encountered the pain and suffering that the teenage girls and their parents were experiencing during his work in emergency rooms and mental health-care clinics. “Latinas have the highest rate of suicide attempt among teens in comparison to white girls or African-American girls,” says Zayas, PhD, the Shanti K. Khinduka Distinguished Professor of Social Work at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis. Zayas brings compelling personal stories and nearly 40 years of research to his new book, Latinas Attempting Suicide: When Cultures, Families and Daughters Collide, published by Oxford University Press.

This year’s Eliot Society Search Award was given to Sima and Philip Needleman for their extraordinary dedication to Washington University. The award was given May 11 at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Clayton, Mo. “This year’s Search awardees, Philip and Sima Needleman, have an enduring association with Washington University, and have served the institution in many important ways,” Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton says. “It was a pleasure to acknowledge their significant and lasting contributions.”

Faculty, staff and students who wish to park vehicles on the Danforth Campus during the upcoming 2011-12 academic year must renew their parking permits. Permits for the 2010-11 academic year expire Thursday, June 30. Permits can be renewed online at parking.wustl.edu or at the Parking and Transportation Services office in North Campus.

Graduating senior Frances Fei and her father drop off a TV and other items for donation to the Share Our Stuff (SOS) “Lightening Your Load” event May 21 at the Academy Building. At the event, WUSTL students in the process of moving out and other community members could donate unneeded items to Goodwill rather than throw them away.

At Staff Day, many employees were honored for their years of service to Washington University in St. Louis.

In her 32 years at the School of Law, Beverly M. Owens has supported the education and research endeavors of thousands of law faculty members and students. In recognition of her hard work and dedication, Owens, assistant director for faculty support in the law school, was recognized with the Gloria W. White Distinguished Service Award in a May 23 ceremony in Edison Theatre.