On Dec. 15, a few weeks ahead of schedule, the Missouri Department of Transportation will open the western half of the I-64 project and close the eastern half from Hanley Road to Kingshighway until December, 2009.
Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis have shed light on a basic process that could improve future solar cells. Dewey Holten, Ph.D., professor of chemistry in Arts & Sciences and graduate student Hee-eun Song have directly measured the rate of hole transfer between identical porphyrin compounds in their ground states. These results are key to understanding the fundamental processes underlying charge separation in this sort of structure and have applications for improving the efficiency of solar cells.
David Kilper/WUSTL Photo Services*Falling Petals*Washington University Dance Theatre (WUDT), the annual showcase of professionally choreographed works performed by student dancers, will present Common Ground, its 2008 concert, Dec. 5 to 7 in Edison Theatre. Performances will feature more than three-dozen student dancers, selected by audition, in eight works by faculty and guest choreographers. Pieces range from contemporary dance and re-stagings of modern classics to dances drawing on Chinese and Indian traditions.
Donald Finkel, poet-in-residence emeritus of English in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, died Saturday, Nov. 15, 2008, of complications from Alzheimer’s disease at the Schuetz Manor in St. Louis County. He was 79.
Finkel joined the Washington University community in 1960 with his wife, the late poet Constance Urdang. He was the author of more than a dozen books of poetry.
An obituary will appear in the Dec. 4 issue of the Record.
Historically, scientists have regarded itching as a less intense version of the body’s response to pain, but researchers at the School of Medicine have determined that pain and itch actually are regulated by different molecular mechanisms. Researchers report they have separated itch and pain sensations in mice, a finding that could have important implications for treating both pain and chronic itching.
New research from the School of Medicine suggests cooling the brain may prevent the death of nerve cells that has been observed in infant mice exposed to anesthesia. The effects of anesthesia on human infants and young children have been debated among neuroscientists, but growing evidence suggests exposure to anesthetic drugs during brain development may contribute to behavioral and developmental delays.
A class of drugs that are used in premature infants to treat chronic lung damage can cause damage in the brain. New research at the School of Medicine suggests the drugs may cause cognitive and motor-control problems even when they are given before birth.
Even seasoned doctors have a difficult time diagnosing pneumonia in hospitalized patients breathing with the assistance of a ventilator. That’s because a patient’s underlying illness often skews laboratory test results and masks pneumonia’s symptoms. Now, researchers at the School of Medicine report they have validated the use of gene chip technology to rapidly and accurately detect pneumonia associated with ventilator use in hospitalized patients.
Celebrated food writer Michael Pollan will receive the Washington University Humanities Medal as part of “Celebrating Our Books, Recognizing Our Authors,” WUSTL’s seventh annual faculty book colloquium. The biannual award is given to a distinguished scholar, writer or artist whose career merits special recognition for excellence and courage. The inaugural recipient was Turkish novelist and […]