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.

Interfaces play important role in condensate behavior

A team of researchers, led by Rohit Pappu at the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis, focused on defining the features of condensate boundaries. They found that within condensates — molecular communities that make up the building blocks of life — the molecules’ organization resembles the hub-and-spoke structure of airports.

Poirier honored with Goodman Legacy Award

Robert Poirier, MD, an associate professor and clinical chief of emergency medicine at Washington University School of Medicine, has received the 2022 Goodman Legacy Award from the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

2022: the year in video

Innovative discoveries, interesting students and inspiring speakers were all captured on video at Washington University in St. Louis. Here, The Source looks back at some of 2022’s highlights.