Why do so many of us cry at the movies? Why do we flinch when Rocky Balboa takes a punch? What’s really happening in our brains as we immerse ourselves in the lives being acted out on screen? These are the questions that Washington University in St. Louis neuroscientist Jeffrey M. Zacks, PhD, explores in his new book, “Flicker: Your Brain on Movies.”
Higher education reduces recidivism rates by as much as half. Yet today, only a small fraction of U.S. prisoners have access to such programs. In the fall of 2014, University College launched the Washington University Prison Education Project, a three-year pilot program supported by a grant from the Bard Prison Initiative.
Guided by the immune system, researchers have identified types of gut bacteria in both healthy and undernourished children in Malawi that are linked to nutritional health and that have diagnostic and therapeutic implications for childhood undernutrition.
Ashley Gilkey, the diversity in retention coordinator at Cornerstone: The Center for Advanced Learning at Washington University in St. Louis, recently was selected for the 63rd class of the Coro Women in Leadership Program with Focus St. Louis.
For the Sake of All, the mulitdisciplinary project aimed at improving the health and well-being of African Americans in St. Louis, has partnered with the St. Louis County Library system to help further promote its recommendations.
A university-wide shoe drive, Battle of the Boot, is underway that pits Washington University in St. Louis against other regional universities to raise money for water wells in impoverished countries. Hosted by the Solea Water Project (formerly Shoeman Water Projects) in conjunction with the Office of Sustainability, Battle of the Boot is a shoe drive that also includes Fontbonne University, University of Missouri-St. Louis and Saint Louis University.
Two new laws in St. Louis will expand housing options for Section 8 renters in the city. Christine Ingrassia of the Board of Aldermen sponsored the measures, which were influenced by recent research from Molly Metzger, PhD, assistant professor at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis.
Andrey Shaw, MD, the Emil R. Unanue Professor of Immunobiology in the Department of Pathology and Immunology and director of the Division of Immunobiology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has received a one-year, $84,583 grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Confluence Life Sciences Inc. for research titled “Development of TAK1 Inhibitors to Treat Pancreatic Cancer.”
Studying zebrafish embryos, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have shown that the epigenome plays a significant part in guiding development in the first 24 hours after fertilization. The research may deepen understanding of congenital defects and miscarriage.
Applications for the Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) in Leukemia Career Enhancement and Developmental Research Awards are being accepted through May 1.
