Newsroom Stories

The student group Stand United for Veterans at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis hosted the annual Toys for Tots campaign on campus this year. The group held a final drive for toys and a cookie reception Dec. 15 to thank the United States Marine Corps Reservists who work tirelessly every holiday season to help underprivileged youth have toys during the holidays.

The award-winning Brauer Hall basks in sunshine. In December, Brauer Hall and contractors Clayco Inc. and Murphy Co. received the 2010 Design-Build Institute of America/Mid-America Region (DBIA-MAR) Design-Build Award for Best Project.

The Campus Store began renovations in December to expand the store, add a new entrance, update interior space and create a more open floor plan. The Campus Store will remain open during construction and continue to offer general books, academic course material, clothing, gifts and convenience items. The renovations are scheduled to be complete in August 2011.

A single dose of inactivated 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccine in people with asthma is safe, according to results from a national clinical trial with a site at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

Plan your exit before you enter a new business market may sound like strange advice, but it comes from an expert in entrepreneurship with experience to prove it. Olin professor Clifford Holekamp shares his expertise in the December issue of Octane, the award winning magazine of the Entrepreneurs’ Organization.

Scientific American
 Hydrogen production comes naturally to ocean microbe
 12/14/2010 A seemingly unremarkable ocean microbe turns out to be a multi-tasker — not only can it photosynthesize, but it can also produce large amounts of hydrogen, opening up a potential way to make the gas cheaply for fuel. The single-celled cyanobacterium Cyanothece 51142 can make […]

The cyanobacteria are famous for releasing the oxygen that made the Earth a hospitable planet, but some strains also have a hidden talent for producing hydrogen gas, a potential biofuel. With the help of a few metabolic tricks, a lab at Washington University has coaxed one such strain to produce champion levels of the gas.

Innovative, high-priority research initiatives by Washington University scientists at the Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center are now under way thanks to a $7.5 million grant from Emerson and AT&T. Emerson’s Charitable Trust and the AT&T Foundation are contributing $5 million and $2.5 million, respectively. This commitment will generate an additional $15 million for these initiatives through matching support from Washington University School of Medicine, BJC HealthCare and the Siteman Cancer Center.

People with a known, high risk for Alzheimer’s disease develop abnormal brain function even before the appearance of telltale, amyloid plaques that are characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease, according to a new study from researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The findings suggest that a gene variant affects brain function long before the brain begins accumulating the amyloid that will eventually lead to dementia. 

Robert Wiltenburg, PhD (right), dean of University College, speaks with Alicia Mack at University College Preview Night Dec. 9 in Holmes Lounge. University College — Washington University’s adult, evening and continuing education division in Arts & Sciences — hosted a preview night to provide community members with information about University College classes, programs, admissions requirements and financial aid.