Page 1251 – The Source | Washington University in St. Louis

Funding aids new test for ‘river blindness’

The neglected tropical disease known as river blindness is caused by the parasitic worm O. volvulus, pictured, and is spread by the bites of black flies that breed in fast-flowing rivers. Washington University scientists have received funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to develop an improved diagnostic test for the disease, which is most common in sub-Saharan Africa.

Arts & Culture

Haley O’Brien wants to grow tomatoes on The Hill

American produce is shipped an average of 1,500 miles before reaching its point of sale. In St. Louis, the 14-acre Magic Chef complex sits empty and unused. Graduate student Haley O’Brien wants to address both problems by growing hydroponic tomatoes on The Hill, an historic Italian-American enclave that boasts some of the finest pasta sauces in the Midwest.

Business & Entrepreneurship

Renowned Internet copyright lawyer, political activist Lawrence Lessig to deliver two lectures Oct. 10

Legal scholar, author and political activist Lawrence Lessig, JD, is such a popular speaker that it’s challenging to get him for one lecture, so Washington University is doubly fortunate to present an Assembly Series talk by Lessig twice in one day – Thursday, Oct. 10 — on two different subjects.

Arts & Culture

AnDa Union gallops into Edison Oct. 20

Mongolia is a hard land, a place of extremes, of mountains and deserts, of lost empires and tough survivors. On Oct. 20, the “blood brothers” of AnDa Union will bring the stirring, demanding and infectious Music of Inner Mongolia to St. Louis as part of the Edison Ovations Series.

Politics

Afghanistan: After the War

As America’s longest war comes to an end, faculty and alumni experts share perspectives on the future of Afghanistan. Topics range from human rights to economic development, from the status of U.S. involvement to the lives of returning soldiers.

Campus & Community

Two Strong: Beyond the Finish Line

When bombs exploded during the Boston Marathon, two Washington University alumni felt the impact. One’s race was halted; the other’s had just begun.

Live at Wash. U.

Soon after the birth of rock ’n’ roll, Washington University became a tour stop for many famous musical artists, including Ray Charles, the Grateful Dead and U2.

Campus & Community

Junior Year in France: Remembering the First Study-Abroad Program in 1962

In 1962, along with 10 other Washington University students, I boarded an aging student ship in New York bound for Strasbourg, France, to participate in the university’s first Junior Year Abroad in France.

Campus & Community

On the Map: Galapagos Islands

Members of the Wash. U. community follow their research goals to the far corners of the world.

Campus & Community

Three Questions for Debra Haire-Joshu

Today’s newborns are joining families as the third generation to have access to so much food and so many unhealthy choices. “Obesity is an intergenerational phenomenon and is about to become ‘trigenerational,’” says obesity-prevention expert Debra Haire-Joshu, PhD, the Joyce Wood Professor and associate dean for research at the Brown School.