Beautiful minds: The untold story of how Sam and Betty enriched generations of Washington University students​​​​​

​Known to generations of Washington University students and faculty members as “Sam and Betty,” Sam Lachterman and Betty Wynn, a homeless brother-and-sister who spent decades attending programs on campus, bequeathed $54,000 to Washington University. Half of their gift will fund the Nov. 1-2 performances of an Assembly Series event chosen just for them, “Three Acts, Two Dancers, One Radio Host” at Edison Theatre. The other half will live on in bequests to the School of Law, the Kemper Museum and Arts & Sciences.

Himalayan Viagra fuels caterpillar fungus gold rush

​Overwhelmed by speculators trying to cash-in on a prized medicinal fungus known as Himalayan Viagra, two isolated Tibetan communities have managed to do at the local level what world leaders often fail to do on a global scale — implement a successful system for the sustainable harvest of a precious natural resource, suggests new research from Washington University in St. Louis.​

Saxophonist, biology major Schefkind first student to headline Jazz at Holmes

Adam Schefkind, a biology major in Arts & Sciences with minors in public and jazz studies, says his two passions – medicine and music – both demand precision and creativity. Schefkind and his band will perform at Jazz at Holmes at 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 30. He is the first student to headline the venerable jazz series, according to his mentor William Lenihan, professor of the practice in music and director of jazz performance.

Washington University law students get firsthand experience in influential Delaware court system

To truly understand corporate law in America, the study must go through Delaware, long the favored state of incorporations for U.S. business. Washington University in St. Louis law students annually get a firsthand look at how these important courts operate through the eyes of Delaware Supreme Court and chancery judges who come to St. Louis to deliver lectures and seminars. The students also can work in the Delaware courts through corporate judicial externships and clerkships.

The Holocaust through the eyes of Soviet-Jewish photographers

Three years before American troops liberated the Buchenwald and Dachau concentration camps, experiencing the true horror of Nazi brutality, a handful of Soviet-Jewish photographers bore witness to Nazi atrocities in their homeland. Seven decades later, historian and scholar David Shneer shares their story for the Washington University Assembly Series and annual Holocaust Memorial Lecture, “Through Soviet Jewish Eyes: Photography, War, and the Holocaust.” The free and open event will be held at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 4 in Wilson Hall Room 214.

Genome sequenced of enterovirus D68 circulating in St. Louis

Researchers led by Gregory A. Storch, MD, at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, have sequenced the genome of enterovirus D68 sampled from patients treated at St. Louis Children’s Hospital. Nationwide, the virus has spread rapidly in recent months and caused severe respiratory illness in young children, with some patients requiring hospitalization.

Addressing global challenges: The role of research universities

Representatives and leadership from Washington University and the 28 McDonnell International Scholars Academy institutions came together with policymakers, researchers, students and corporate partners for the recent Fifth International Symposium on “The Role of Research Universities in Addressing Global Challenges.” The symposium, sponsored by the McDonnell Academy, focused on how interdisciplinary research and education collaboration can lead to innovative solutions for the world’s most pressing problems