Power of FEMA diluted by growing terrorism concerns, says government decision-making expert

StaudtThe devastating conditions in the Gulf Coast have left many Americans asking, “Why did the government fail when Katrina hit?” “The answer to this question can be linked to the organizational changes that occurred in the federal government after September 11, 2001,” says Nancy Staudt, professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis and expert on government decision-making. “At that time, the federal government began to worry about fragmented and uncoordinated relief efforts and sought to create a more streamlined approach to dealing with national disasters. FEMA was placed in a mammoth bureaucracy with less authority to respond to natural disasters; its power was diluted by the growing concerns for terrorism.”

archive – Rankings of WUSTL by News Media

Below is a link to the Washington University news release about the U.S. News & World Report undergraduate rankings for 2004-05: http://news-info.wustl.edu/news/page/normal/3627.html To view a full listing of U.S. News magazine, book and Web-only rankings for 2004-05, please visit the U.S. News & World Report site: http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/rankings/rankindex_brief.php

Once-a-day AIDS meds in Third World nations to be tested

Researchers are trying to reduce the number of pills needed by AIDS patients.The public perception of AIDS treatment — a cocktail of many different pills taken several times a day — has largely been erased in the U.S. thanks to advances in drug design and delivery. Many patients are able to keep sufficiently high medication levels in their bodies with once-daily doses. Now researchers in an international collaborative that includes the WUSM Aids Clinical Trials Unit have begun an ambitious new study to see if this treatment paradigm can be implemented in Third World countries.

Presidents ‘can’t always get what they want,’ suggests new book on judicial appointments

As the Senate prepares to consider nominees for two Supreme Court vacancies, some liberals fear that President Bush will use the opportunity to pack the High Court with conservative-leaning justices, pushing the law of the land dramatically to the right for years to come. However, a new book on the history of America’s judicial nomination process offers compelling evidence that a president’s ability to perpetuate personal political legacies through court appointments tends to be both short-lived and unpredictable. When it comes to the politics of Supreme Court nominees, president’s don’t always get what they want, suggests WUSTL Supreme Court expert Lee Epstein.

Smoking, high-risk viruses pose greater danger for cervical cancer patients

Smoking can increase the risk of death from cervical cancer.Cervical cancer patients infected with either of two strains of human papillomavirus (HPV) were twice as likely to die of their disease as patients with other common strains of HPV, according to a study at the School of Medicine. In addition, smokers with these strains increased their risk of death even further.

Farrell Center grand opening

Photo by Robert BostonThe state-of-the-art Farrell Learning and Teaching Center will celebrate its grand opening Sept. 16 with a series of events.