Emerging cancer drugs may drive bone tumors

Cancer drugs should kill tumors, not encourage their spread. But new evidence suggests that an otherwise promising class of drugs may actually increase the risk of tumors spreading to bone, according to researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

Tales from the field: maintaining seismic stations at the South Pole

This winter (the Southern Hemisphere summer), postdoctoral research associate Aubreya Adams, PhD, spent a few months at the South Pole Station maintaining seismic equipment. This photoessay, based on her Facebook page, provides a glimpse of what it is like at the South Pole and what seismologists get up to when they go into the field to maintain seismic stations.

Some autism behaviors linked to altered gene

Scientists have identified a genetic mutation that may underlie common behaviors seen in some people with autism, such as difficulty communicating and resistance to change. The mutation disrupts levels of serotonin, a chemical messenger produced by a limited number of neurons (red) in the brain.

Mars? Venus? We’re all in the same solar system

A new study published earlier this month found that men and women don’t fit neatly into gender stereotypes, that perhaps men aren’t from Mars nor are women from Venus. But why do we want them to be? Lead author Bobbi Carothers, PhD, senior data analyst at Center for Public Health System Science at Washington University in St. Louis, has some theories as to why.

Tutors sought for Each One Teach One program

With more St. Louis public school pupils than ever requesting tutors, WUSTL’s Each One Teach One program is expanding to serve more of them. The Community Service Office is looking for 50 enthusiastic tutors to build relationships, strengthen literacy skills, and foster a love of learning.

Collins starts as university’s senior creative director

Tracy Collins, who earned a bachelor’s degree in English literature from WUSTL, returns to his alma mater after 20 years at the Creative Producers Group, a St. Louis-based agency. As WUSTL’s first senior creative director, Collins will help communicate the university’s brand through words and imagery.

New Stamps scholarship to benefit freshmen, fund ‘out-of-classroom’ experience

The new Stamps Leadership Scholarship will award the full cost of undergraduate attendance to an average of five incoming freshmen each year. This unique program also includes an enrichment fund of $10,000 per student to be used over four years to pay for outside-the-classroom educational experiences such as study abroad, research or unpaid internships.

Pope’s resignation due to ill health unprecedented, but not cause for concern, says Catholic studies scholar

While it is not unprecedented for a pope to resign from his position, it is unprecedented for a pope to resign for health reasons — as Pope Benedict XVI plans to do at the end of the month — says a leading historian of religion at Washington University in St. Louis. Daniel M. Bornstein, PhD, the Stella Koetter Darrow Professor in Catholic Studies at Washington University in St. Louis, says that Pope Benedict XVI’s resignation stands out as different from previous ones, but not simply because of his medical reasons. “Previous resignations either resulted from or led to grave crises in leadership. I do not see either of those as a concern in this case,” Bornstein says.