Newsroom Stories

CBS NEWS Mars Rover finds signs of buried water on red planet 10/29/2010 The sandy spot where the Mars Rover Spirit got bogged down last year harbors stratified layers of dirt with different compositions close to the surface, a new study in the Journal of Geophysical Research reveals. These layers were likely caused by seepage […]

Stephen Fawley, a senior in biology in Arts & Sciences, explains his research project “Using Estradiol-Inducible Promoters To Determine the Role of Auxin in Plant Defense During Pseudomonas Syringae Infection” to senior biology majors Hao Yang and Perry Morocco during the fall Undergraduate Research Symposium Oct. 23 in Olin Library.

Mott T. Greene, PhD, the John B. Magee Professor of Science and Values at the University of Puget Sound, will present, “Alfred Wegener and the Origins of Modern Earth Science in the Theory of Continental Drift” at 4 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 3, in McMillan Hall, Room 149.

The School of Medicine is kicking off its annual Adopt-A-Family program for families in need who live in the Forest Park Southeast and Botanical Heights neighborhoods.

Jack H. Ladenson, PhD, has been chosen as the inaugural recipient of the Chancellor’s Award for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Washington University in St. Louis. Ladenson, the Oree M. Carroll and Lillian B. Ladenson Professor of Clinical Chemistry in Pathology and Immunology and professor of clinical chemistry in medicine, will be presented with the award at the annual Faculty Achievement Awards program in December.

reuters.com Metal pollution tied to Parkinson’s disease 10/27/2010 People living near a steel factory or another source of high manganese emissions are at higher risk of developing Parkinson’s disease, suggests a new study by WUSTL School of Medicine researcher Dr. Brad A. Racette. “Environmental risk factors for Parkinson’s disease have been relatively under-studied, especially in […]

Joe Deal, who died last summer following a long battle with cancer, was among the most influential American landscape photographers of the latter 20th century, known for austere, almost abstract images that balance depictions of the natural and man-made worlds. Deal also had a profound impact at Washington University, where he served as dean of the School of Art from 1989-1999. This fall, the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum will celebrate Deal’s life and art with the exhibition Joe Deal: West and West.

Washington University’s Alumni Association will commemorate the institution’s founding at the annual Founders Day celebration Saturday, Nov. 6, at the St. Louis Union Station Marriott. David McCullough, acclaimed historian and award-winning author, will deliver the keynote address. The event also honors faculty and alumni who have made a significant contribution to the university, including Distinguished Faculty Awards to four faculty members.

Halloween candy is a treat for many children, but for those forced to work on cocoa farms in west Africa it’s a mean and tortuous trick. Two WUSTL professors call attention to the hidden horrors of cocoa production — the base ingredient in chocolate — in an op-ed piece published by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Kenneth M. Ludmerer, MD, has been named the Mabel Dorn Reeder Distinguished Professor in the History of Medicine at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.