Proposed Missouri library rule violates First Amendment

A proposed rule that would restrict minors’ access to public library books without parental consent “would make Missourians less free and less informed,” said Greg Magarian, a professor of law and a First Amendment expert.

Sustainability key focus in Neuroscience Research Building construction

Neuroscience Research Building rooftop terrace
The Neuroscience Research Building under construction on the Medical Campus will contain energy-efficient, low-energy research freezers in laboratories; electric charging stations in the parking garage; and numerous other sustainability-focused elements. The building is on track to achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification.

2023 will be the year of the battery

EV charging from wind energy
Major advances in battery technologies will bring us a big step closer this year to large-scale renewable energy goals, international energy independence and a big reduction in greenhouse gases, according to Arts & Sciences’ Michael Wysession.

Millar honored by graduate medical education group

Bethany Millar
Bethany Millar, a manager of education services at Washington University School of Medicine, received the Debra L. Dooley GME Program Coordinator Excellence Award from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. She is the medical school’s first program administrator to win this award in more than a decade.

Lu wins IEEE leadership award

Headshot of Chenyang Lu, expert in cyberphysical systems
Chenyang Lu, at the McKelvey School of Engineering, has received the Outstanding Technical Achievement and Leadership Award from the IEEE Technical Community on Real-Time Systems. Lu is internationally renowned for work in cyber-physical and real-time systems.

Nanoplastics produce unexpected reactions when exposed to light

plastics on beach
A team of researchers led by Young-Shin Jun at the McKelvey School of Engineering analyzed how light breaks down polystyrene, the plastic from which packing peanuts and disposable utensils are made. They found that small plastic particles interact with neighboring substances more easily than previously thought, including with things like heavy metals and organic contaminants.

Beyond the average cell

E. Coli
Models based on an average cell are useful, but they may not accurately describe how individual cells really work. Molecular biologists use actual single-cell data to update the framework for understanding the relationship between cell growth, DNA replication and division in a bacterial system.

Organelles grow in random bursts

cell
Far from orderly “brick-by-brick” assembly, the internal structures of cells are grown in stochastic bursts, according to physicist Shankar Mukherji in Arts & Sciences, author of a Jan. 6 study in Physical Review Letters.