Newsroom Stories

As anyone who has ever struggled to keep his or her eyes open after a big meal knows, eating can induce sleepiness. New research in fruit flies suggests that, conversely, being hungry may provide a way to stay awake without feeling groggy or mentally challenged.

First year MBA students at Olin get a head start on the school year with a two week boot camp that involves serious academic work, team building exercises, career counseling and socializing. Jackson Nickerson, PhD, the Frahm Family Professor of Organization & Strategy, greeted the class with this challenge: “I dare you to take full responsibility to transform your thinking and change your life forever.”  Nickerson teaches a course in critical thinking custom-designed for Olin students.

Each year, first-year medical students are matched with a second-year medical student, usually based on similar interests, undergraduate school, hometown or personality, who acts as a mentor, or “big sib,” to help them get adjusted.

Washington University campuses became tobacco-free this past July, which means smoking and tobacco use now is prohibited on all university-owned and -managed properties. The university will continue to work with community members to support tobacco-cessation efforts.

From mordant humor and exuberant defiance to love and war and existential anguish, the Performing Arts Department in Arts & Sciences will scale the heights and plumb the depths of our shared mortal coil with its 2010-11 season.

MSN Health & Fitness Concussion rates soar among younger kids 08/30/2010 High school-age athletes are more likely than younger kids to have sports-related concussions, but the rate of such injuries in both groups is on the rise, a new U.S. study suggests. Awareness of concussions is increasing, according to Dr. Mark Halstead, who co-wrote the […]

Victoria J. Fraser, MD, has been named interim head of the Department of Medicine at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

With the opening of the new dining facility at Washington University in St. Louis Aug. 26, students can feast on food from around the globe, grown in the Midwest. The state-of-the-art facility offers a plethora of food options to the increasingly diverse university community.

FOR DECADES, neuroscientists were like mental drill sergeants, always directing volunteers to do some-thing: read this word, listen for that sound, add these numbers, tap your finger, and so forth. As volunteers worked, scanners tracked changes in their brain’s blood flow and oxygen use, which increase when neurons in a brain region become more active. […]

A delightfully pleasant 80-degree day set the tone for a smooth, efficient freshman move-in day Aug. 26. A record-number 1,633 freshmen moved into the residence halls on the South 40, assisted by students like sophomore Melany Lopez. Classes for the 2010 fall semester begin Tuesday, Aug. 31.