Newsroom Stories

Banana-slinging catapult? Check! Smoke ring cannons? Check! Bright orange lab coat and goofy protective goggles? Check! Say hello to Doktor Kaboom!, “ze smartest man to ever enter any room.” Later this month, the humble Doktor will bring his sidesplitting, family-friendly tour of the modern scientific method to Washington University’s Edison Theatre for a special one-time-only performance. 

The Gephardt Institute for Public Service at Washington University in St. Louis has announced the recipients of the Innovation Grants for Community-Based Teaching and Learning. The grants are intended to provide faculty members with financial support for curriculum development and implementation. The Gephardt Institute also offers technical expertise in key areas of community-based teaching and learning, such as reflection assignments, evaluation methods and tools for working effectively with community partners.

Bryan Stevenson, JD, prominent death penalty defense attorney and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative, kicks off the second half of the School of Law’s 13th annual Public Interest Law & Policy Speakers Series Thursday, Feb. 3, with the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Lecture on “Poverty, Incarceration, and Injustice in America.” The yearlong series “Access to Justice: The Social Responsibility of Lawyers” brings to WUSTL prominent experts in such areas as civil rights, racial justice, the death penalty, social justice, clinical legal education and free speech.

A study by Washington University researchers has raised safety concerns about an investigational approach to treating cancer. The strategy takes aim at a key signaling pathway, called Notch, involved in the formation of new blood vessels that feed tumor growth.

Universe Today
 7 years of opportunity on Mars and a science bonanza
 01/25/2011 Jan. 24, 2011 marks the 7th anniversary of the safe landing of the Opportunity Mars Exploration Rover (MER). Opportunity will soon celebrate another remarkable milestone — 2500 Sols, or Martian days, roving the red planet. Together with her twin sister Spirit, the […]

USA Today
 HCG weight-loss products are fraudulent, FDA says
 01/23/2011 A popular type of weight-loss product, heavily promoted on the Internet, is fraudulent and illegal, Food and Drug Administration officials say. HCG weight-loss products claim to contain human chorionic gonadotropin, a hormone made by the placenta during pregnancy. Samuel Klein of Washington University School of […]

Sports updates for the week of Jan. 24, 2011.

Henry S. Webber, executive vice chancellor for administration at Washington University in St. Louis, will participate on a panel to discuss strategies for economic development in the St. Louis region in the second installation of St. Louis Great Debates at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 25, at the Missouri History Museum.

Do you know a Washington University staff member who goes above and beyond to help students, faculty or others in the WUSTL community? Help the university recognize that staff member’s efforts by nominating him or her for the Gloria W. White Distinguished Service Award.

Washington University students, faculty and staff can show their commitment to sustainability by taking the WUSTL Sustainability Pledge at SustainabilityPledge.wustl.edu. The pledge asks those who sign it to live more sustainably at their workplace, school and home by reducing personal energy consumption, producing less waste, conserving resources and recycling.