Photo by David KilperVisiting choreographer James Jordan, ballet master for the Kansas City Ballet, works with dance students in the Annelise Mertz Dance Studio to set a piece for the upcoming Washington University Dance Theatre concert.
Scientists have shown for the first time that neuroprosthetic brain implants may be able to help stroke patients with partial paralysis. Researchers found that implants known as brain-computer interfaces (BCI) may be able to detect activity on one side of the brain that is linked to hand and arm movements on the same side of the body. They hope to use these signals to guide motorized assistance mechanisms that restore mobility in partially paralyzed limbs.
The profitability of corn ethanol processing, the costs and benefits of ethanol as a fuel source, the impact of the ethanol boom on rural America and the future of the biofuel industry will be among topics explored at a free public forum on the economics of ethanol to be held on campus from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Nov. 14.
A test that reveals brain changes believed to be at the heart of Alzheimer’s disease has bolstered the theory that education can delay the onset of the dementia and cognitive decline that are characteristic of the disorder. Scientists at the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center at the School of Medicine found that some study participants who appeared to have the brain plaques long associated with Alzheimer’s disease still received high scores on tests of their cognitive ability. Participants who did well on the tests were likely to have spent more years in school.
Mark Twain, a skeptic of the idea of free will, argues in his essay “What Is Man?” that humans do not command their minds or the opinions they form. Twain’s views get a boost this week from researchers at the School of Medicine and University of Chieti, Italy. In Nature Neuroscience, scientists report that a simple decision-making task does not involve the frontal lobes, where many of the higher aspects of human cognition, including self-awareness, are thought to originate.
The Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women’s Health Program is seeking applications from junior faculty with a medical degree, doctorate or M.D./Ph.D. who are pursuing a research career in areas relevant to women’s health. These include autoimmune diseases, cardiovascular diseases, depression, complications of pregnancy, diabetes and obesity, osteoporosis, infectious diseases and cancer. The program supports […]
“The increasing number of veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) raises the risk of domestic violence and its consequences on families and children in communities across the United States,” says Monica Matthieu, Ph.D., an expert on veteran mental health and an assistant professor of social work at Washington University in St. Louis. Treatments for domestic violence are very different than those for PTSD. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has mental health services and treatments for PTSD, yet these services need to be combined with the specialized domestic violence intervention programs offered by community agencies for those veterans engaging in battering behavior against intimate partners and families.”