Perspectives

The process by which sand becomes sheets of glass is often far from transparent, writes Aki Ishida.

The Conversation U.S. asked Patrick Aguilar, a Washington University in St. Louis pulmonologist and management professor, to explain why the number of physicians joining unions is growing – a trend that appears likely to continue.

The United States death rate decreased by 3.8% in 2024 as COVID fell out of the top 10 leading causes of death for the first time in four years, new provisional federal data shows., writes Megha Gupta, MD, resident physician in neurology.

Pediatric anesthesiologist Tom Cox, MD, a professor emeritus at WashU Medicine, has published “Becoming an Intentional Physician,” with a foreword from Arts & Sciences’ Tim Bono. The work offers guidance to aspiring and early-career doctors to cultivate a purposeful career. Read about this and other recent works on the Source Bookshelf.

If scientists want to retain government and public confidence in their quest for knowledge and progress, then the scientific community must promptly come together and craft workable solutions. There is little time to waste, writes Richard Stanton.

Sean Armstrong, dean of WashU’s School of Continuing & Professional Studies, talks on a podcast episode about the school’s goals as well as the challenges and importance of continuing education programs for nontraditional students.

Susan Cook, director of the Office of Biological Safety, talks about how she helps make sure that researchers conduct their work safely, and how WashU’s mission inspires her work, in Human Resources’ staff spotlight.

WashU early childhood researchers Joan Luby, MD, and Deanna Barch, PhD, write an opinion piece challenging the conclusions of a study, called Baby’s First Years, that found monthly cash payments to impoverished families didn’t notably improve children’s lives. They took umbrage with the findings and resulting media coverage.

Mitra Naseh, who directs the Forced Migration Initiative at the Brown School, takes part in a podcast episode recapping the International Association for the Study of Forced Migration conference in Indonesia. She and doctoral student Jihye Lee discussed their research on resettled refugees in the U.S.

While I maintain that 1970s Japanese masculinity that shaped the Nakagin Capsule Tower—which excluded women and family and denied of domesticity—is obsolete, the exhibition left me optimistic that alternate lives in the capsules are possible, writes Aki Ishida.