Newsroom Stories

BreakThrough Digest Medical News Simple blood test may diagnose deadly Niemann-Pick type C disease 11/03/2010 A fatal genetic disorder that frequently takes years to diagnose may soon be detectable with a simple blood test. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) report this week a […]

Entrepreneurs armed with phone apps, robots and internet-based tools for teaching and organizing are among the semi-finalists in this year’s Olin Cup business plan competition.  Tattoos that fade away after a few months, composting systems and a family-oriented weight loss program are among the innovative ideas vying for investors and prize money. 

Washington University will offer a symposium to discuss and promote mentorship among traditionally underrepresented women of color throughout Washington University’s campuses from 11:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday, Nov. 19. The symposium is free to WUSTL employees. Registration and supervisor approval is required by Friday, Nov. 5.  

In the wake of the 2010 election, Washington University in St. Louis congressional expert Steve Smith looks ahead to the next Congress and how the new majority in the House of Representatives and Republican gains in the Senate will affect President Barack Obama’s legislative agenda.

The John C. Danforth Center on Religion & Politics at Washington University in St. Louis will host a panel discussion on the role religion played in the 2010 midterm elections. The discussion, which features three prominent scholars of religion, will take place at 4 p.m. Monday, Nov. 8, in the Charles F. Knight Executive Education Center, Room 200.

Despite its divisiveness, health reform legislation did not play a major role in the midterm elections. “We are still a 50-50 country more or less on health reform,” says Timothy D. McBride, PhD, professor and associate dean for public health at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis. “About half the country really dislikes the reform law, and those voters were likely to vote Republican in this election. But in all likelihood they would have done so anyway. Similarly, the other half that still favor the legislation would likely have voted for the Democrats anyway.” 

Los Angeles Times Senate veers to the right with GOP wins 11/03/2010 The U.S. Senate will undergo a distinct rightward shift as a result of Tuesday’s election, which ushered in conservative, “tea party”-backed candidates and prompted incumbents from both parties to look warily to the next election. “These guys are going to be moving to […]

A fatal genetic disorder that frequently takes years to diagnose may soon be detectable with a simple blood test, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the National Institutes of Health report this week in Science Translational Medicine.

Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton holds a paper chain as a tricycle parade “cuts the ribbon” for the new WUSTL Family Learning Center during the center’s grand opening ceremony Oct. 27. The Family Learning Center, which opened in early September, serves children of faculty, staff and students.

Acclaimed poet and fiction writer Eileen Myles, named by BUST magazine as “the rock star of modern poetry” and author most recently of Inferno (A Poet’s Novel), will present a pair of events as part of the fall Writing Program Reading Series. Myles is the Visiting Fannie Hurst Professor of Creative Literature in the Department of English in Arts & Sciences.