Aging really is ‘in your head’

Researchers have identified the mechanism by which a specific sirtuin protein called Sirt1 (shown in green) operates in the brain to bring about a significant delay in aging and an increase in longevity.

IT monitoring effective in deterring restaurant fraud

For many firms, losing significant revenue and profit to employee theft has been a cost of doing business. But a new study from Washington University in St. Louis finds that information technology monitoring is strikingly effective in reducing theft and fraud, especially in the restaurant industry.

Freedman to lecture on continuing education for older adults

Marc Freedman, founder and CEO of Encore.org, will deliver a lecture about the role higher education can play in supporting adults looking for a career change in their second half of life. The talk will take place at 4 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 26, at the Mildred E. Bastian Theatre at St. Louis Community College Forest Park Campus. Sponsors are the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis; the Harvey A. Friedman Center for Aging at WUSTL’s Institute for Public Health; St. Louis Community College Continuing Education; and the OASIS Institute.

Work, Families and Public Policy series begins Sept. 9

Faculty and graduate students from St. Louis-area universities with an interest in labor, households, health care, law and social welfare are invited to take part in the continuing series of Monday brown-bag luncheon seminars held biweekly on the Danforth Campus beginning Monday, Sept. 9, and running through Dec. 2. All lectures take place at noon in Seigle Hall, Room 348. The series begins with a lecture by Derek Neal, PhD, professor in economics at the University of Chicago titled “Designing Accountability Systems and Incentives Schemes for Educators.”

Campus holding four blood drives this year

The next of four university-wide blood drives this academic year will be held Wednesday, Nov. 6, at eight locations throughout Washington University in St. Louis. To donate blood, sign up online here.

Reich named Wells Fargo Advisors Visiting Professor in Entrepreneurship by Skandalaris Center

Rob Reich, PhD, associate professor of political science at Stanford University, has been named the 2013-14 Wells Fargo Advisors Visiting Professor in Entrepreneurship by the Skandalaris Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at Washington University in St. Louis. An expert on political theory, he will make four visits to WUSTL over the course of the 2013-14 academic year.