Page 1163 – The Source | Washington University in St. Louis

In military personnel, no difference between blast- and nonblast-related concussions

Explosive devices are the most common cause of traumatic brain injuries in veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. A new study shows that military personnel with brain trauma related to such blasts had outcomes similar to those with brain injury from other causes, according to researchers at the School of Medicine.

Campus & Community

Obituary: Albert Baernstein, professor emeritus of mathematics, 73

Albert Baernstein, professor emeritus of mathematics in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, died Tuesday, June 10, 2014. He was 73.

Humanities & Society

Researchers find new ways to study park use

Most walking and running routes go to, through or around a public park — in higher-income neighborhoods. In a study conducted by the Brown School using the website Map My Run as a tool, researchers found most routes inputted by walkers or runners at least partially included parks. But in low-income neighborhoods, the odds of running in a park were 54 percent lower.

Humanities & Society

Jennifer Lodge appointed vice chancellor for research

Jennifer K. Lodge, PhD, associate dean for research and professor of molecular microbiology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has been appointed vice chancellor for research for the university, according to Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton; Larry J. Shapiro, MD, executive vice chancellor for medical affairs and dean of the School of Medicine; and H. Holden Thorp, PhD, university provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs.

Science & Technology

As the heat of summer settles on St. Louis, here’s a gust of cold air from Antarctica

Washington University in St. Louis postdoctoral research associate Aubreya Adams went to Antarctica in January and February 2014 to help with routine maintenance of seismic stations on the West Antarctic ice shelf. But nothing in the southern continent is ever routine. In her short stay, she experienced extreme weather, saw a rare mirage, visited bizarre ice vents on the volcanic Mount Erebes and saw first hand the effects of the warming that recently made front page news in The New York Times.

Science & Technology

Aubreya Adams’ photo album – Part 2

1 | 2 | 3 One day, I got to tag along with another team to do a test installation of posthole seismometers (seismometers directly buried in the snow with no vault). This involved taking a piston-bully (a huge beast of a machine with big tracks instead of tires that travels at whopping speeds of […]

Science & Technology

Aubreya Adams’ photo album – Part 3

1 | 2 | 3 Feb. 4, 2014: Each year during the summer, the ice near the bases melts away, but how quickly this happens varies from year to year. Scott Base, which it lies just seaward of the boundary between the transient ice shelf and the permanent ice, claims to be 98 percent iced-in. […]

Medicine & Health

Severe scoliosis linked to rare mutations

Children with newly identified rare mutations in two genes are about four times more likely to develop severe scoliosis than their peers with normal versions of the genes, scientists have found.

Miss the WUSTLnomics forums?

If you were unable to attend one of the recent WUSTLnomics forums or if you would like to watch the presentations made by Hank Webber, executive vice chancellor for Administration, and Barb Feiner, vice chancellor for Finance, again, visit http://wustl.edu/efficiency/forums.html for a video of the forum. Visit wustl.edu/efficiency for more information about the university’s efficiency efforts.

Business & Entrepreneurship

How incentive gaming may have played a role in the VA wait time controversy

A recent internal investigation of the Veterans Affairs Department has alleged that supervisors got bonuses partly by reporting low wait times for veterans waiting for care. Lamar Pierce, PhD, an expert on compensation and incentive conflict at Olin Business School, says that while employers frequently use financial incentives to motivate employees, the VA should have thought more about unintended consquences.