Page 1159 – The Source | Washington University in St. Louis

Fighting parasitic infection inadvertently unleashes dormant virus

Signals from the immune system that help repel a common parasite inadvertently can cause a dormant viral infection to become active again, a new study from the School of Medicine shows. Pictured is a helminth parasite.

Medicine & Health

New Shell and Farrell cafes open July 1

The Shell Café in the McDonnell Sciences Building and the Farrell Café in the Farrell Learning and Teaching Center on the School of Medicine campus will be closed June 27 and 30. The cafes will reopen July 1 under new management.

Medicine & Health

Glaucoma drug helps restore vision loss linked to obesity

Vision researchers from 38 clinical sites, including the School of Medicine, have found that the eyesight of patients with an unusual vision disorder linked to obesity improves twice as much if they take a glaucoma drug and lose a modest amount of weight than if they only lose weight. Neuro-ophthalmologist Gregory Van Stavern, MD, led the study in St. Louis.

Medicine & Health

Researchers hone in on way to predict aggressiveness of oral cancer

Studying mouth cancer in mice, researchers led by Ravindra Uppaluri, MD, PhD, have found a way to predict the aggressiveness of similar tumors in people, an early step toward a diagnostic test that could guide treatment.

Humanities & Society

Insect diet helped early humans build bigger brains, study suggests

Figuring out how to survive on a lean-season diet of hard-to-reach ants, slugs and other bugs may have spurred the development of bigger brains and higher-level cognitive functions in the ancestors of humans and other primates, suggests research from Washington University in St. Louis.

Humanities & Society

Those with episodic amnesia are not ‘stuck in time,’ says philosopher Carl Craver

It has generally been assumed that people with episodic amnesia experience time much differently than those with more typical memory function. However, recent research by Washington University philosopher Carl F. Craver, PhD, disputes this type of claim. “There are sets of claims that sound empirical, like ‘These people are stuck in time.’ But if you ask, ‘Have you actually tested what they know about time?’ the answer is no.”

Humanities & Society

Poet Mary Jo Bang receives Berlin Prize Fellowship

Award-winning poet Mary Jo Bang is one of 25 recipients of a 2014-15 Berlin Prize Fellowship. Awarded by the American Academy in Berlin, the prize includes a residential fellowship at the academy’s Hans Arnhold Center in Berlin-Wannsee. Bang will be part of the spring 2015 class and she will work on a book of poems.

Medicine & Health

Autistic traits seen in parents of kids with autism

Studying children with autism and their parents, researchers have found that when a child has autism, his or her parents are more likely to have autistic traits than parents who don’t have a child with an autism spectrum disorder, as measured by a survey used to identify such characteristics. Pictured is one of the study’s authors, John Constantino, MD.

Medicine & Health

Washington People: Jessica Wagenseil

One in three American adults has high blood pressure. Jessica Wagenseil, DSc, associate professor of mechanical engineering, is investigating how mechanical properties of the cardiovascular system contribute to this widespread disease.

Campus & Community

Navigating Sumers Recreation Center construction

As construction continues on the new Sumers Recreation Center, WUSTL students, employees and visitors are asked to note changes to area walkways and roadways. The new center will debut in August 2016.