Page 1096 – The Source | Washington University in St. Louis

Locusts provide insight into brain response to stimuli, senses

By training a type of grasshopper to recognize odors, a team of biomedical engineers at Washington University in St. Louis is learning more about the brain and how it processes information from its senses.

Medicine & Health

Discovery may open door for treating fragile X carriers

Fragile X syndrome, an inherited cause of autism and intellectual disability, can have consequences even for carriers of the disorder who don’t have full-blown symptoms. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified a potential target for treatment for fragile X carriers.

Campus & Community

‘Citizen: An American Lyric’ chosen as First Year Reading Program selection

National Book Award finalist “Citizen: An American Lyric,” by Claudia Rankine, has been chosen as the 2015 First Year Reading Program selection for incoming students of Washington University in St. Louis.

Campus & Community

Gun violence initiative launches with standing-room-only event

Washington University in St. Louis kicked off a yearlong initiative, “Gun Violence: A Public Health Crisis,” with a panel discussion April 21 at the Eric P. Newman Education Center.

Humanities & Society

WashU Expert: Jenner letting go of ‘pressures to conform’ as he considers gender transition

Bruce Jenner, former Olympic gold medalist and patriarch of reality television’s Kardashian clan, is bringing national attention to issues of gender transition ahead of his April 24 interview with ABC News’ Diane Sawyer. One reason is that Jenner may finally have found a way to let go of pressures to conform, said Vanessa Fabbre of the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis, an expert on later-in-life gender transitions.

Medicine & Health

Major pathway identified in nerve cell death offers hope for therapies

New research highlights how nerves – whether harmed by disease or traumatic injury – start to die, a discovery that unveils novel targets for developing drugs to slow or halt devastating neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and amyolateral sclerosis as well as peripheral nerve damage.

Medicine & Health

Extra sleep fixes memory problems in flies with Alzheimer’s-like condition

Many studies have linked more sleep to better memory, but new research in fruit flies at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis demonstrates that extra sleep helps the brain overcome catastrophic neurological defects that otherwise would block memory formation.

Business & Entrepreneurship

First U.S.-India joint EMBA program begins

International executives are ready to hit the ground running as the inaugural class of the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay) and Washington University in St. Louis joint Executive MBA program. An intensive residency focusing on leadership and management began April 22 in Mumbai for the inaugural first cohort.

Aging

Fat signals control energy levels in the brain

An enzyme secreted by the body’s fat tissue controls energy levels in the brain, according to new research led by Shin-ichiro Imai, MD, PhD, of the School of Medicine. The findings, in mice, underscore a role for the body’s fat tissue in controlling the brain’s response to food scarcity, and suggest there is an optimal amount of body fat for maximizing health and longevity.

Schefkind receives Stalker Award

Adam Schefkind has been selected to receive the 2015 Harrison D. Stalker Award from the Department of Biology in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis.