‘Intelligent Design or Evolution’ forum Oct. 8
“Intelligent Design or Evolution: How Did We Get Here?” will be held from 1-3 p.m. Oct. 8 at the St. Louis Science Center.
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Home cooking
Photo by David KilperSophomore Shelby Washington gets a meal from the Mallinckrodt Student Center food court Sept. 29 during the “Eat Local Challenge.”
Campus Watch
The following incidents were reported to University Police Sept. 29-Oct. 5. Readers with information that could assist in investigating these incidents are urged to call 935-5555. This information is provided as a public service to promote safety awareness and is available on the University Police Web site at police.wustl.edu. Sept. 30 12:49 p.m. — Cash […]
Of note
Amy D. Waterman, Ph.D.,
Gerhild Williams, Ph.D.,
Paul S.G. Stein, Ph.D.,
John Heil, Ph.D.,
Chengjie Xiong, Ph.D.,
and more…
Student body
Photo by Robert BostonThe Student Health and Athletic Center on the second floor of Olin Residence Hall celebrated its grand opening Sept. 23.
Cell phone radiation doesn’t cause cellular stress, doesn’t promote cancer
Cell phone radiation doesn’t stress human cells.Weighing in on the debate about whether cell phones have adverse health effects, researchers at the School of Medicine have found that the electromagnetic radiation produced by cell phones does not activate the stress response in mouse, hamster or human cells growing in cultures. High levels of the stress response are thought to result in changes associated with malignancy.
Olin School of Business professors examine the economics of infertility treatments
In vitro fertilization can cost anywhere from $10,000 – $15,000 for each round of treatments. This means access to assisted reproductive technologies (ART) is generally limited to a relatively small portion of couples that seek it. Several state governments have turned to public policy in an attempt to make access to ART more widely available. But two professors from the Olin School of Business at Washington University in St. Louis find that market competition can be as effective at expanding access as requiring insurance companies to cover infertility treatments. At the same time, competition appears to lower the rate of high-risk births and encourages the use of new technologies.
Olin School of Business ventures into unchartered territory
Photo by Mary Butkus / WUSTL PhotoSteve Malter (right) teaching students to plan their academic life for their business career.The Olin School of Business at Washington University in St. Louis has created a class that addresses the students’ need for academic advice and career guidance at the same time. Managing Your Business Career Strategy (MYBCS) was designed to address this need. Students learn how their classes could help with future career choices; they learn job search skills; and they learn the particulars about the characteristics of various career options. It’s the first of its kind at Washington University in St. Louis, and it may very well be the first of its kind in the nation.
Federal courts decision an important victory in battle to protect public health
Communities exposed to toxic lead emissions recently won an important victory in federal court through a case filed by the Interdisciplinary Environmental Clinic (IEC) at Washington University in St. Louis. “The court chastised the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for long-neglecting its duty to review the lead standard every five years, and placed the agency on a firm schedule for conducting the review,” says Maxine I. Lipeles, IEC director and professor of law and engineering. “Because the lead standard must be revised to protect public health, and the existing standard is out of date, we believe that the EPA is virtually required to revise the standard downward. That would help protect children in communities across the country where smelters and other facilities emit significant amounts of lead into the air. The decision should also caution the EPA to act more promptly in reviewing the other five national ambient air quality standards * for nitrogen oxides, ozone, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, and particulate matter.”
Fish in ponds benefit flowering plants
Fish in ponds can be a flowering plant’s best friend, according to WUSTL ecologists.Fish and flowering plants would seem to have as much in common as pigs and beauty soap. But ecologists at Washington University in St. Louis and the University of Florida have found an amazing relationship between the different species that provides a new direction for understanding how ecosystems “hook up.” A team of researchers, headed by Tiffany Knight, Ph.D., Washington University assistant professor of biology in Arts & Sciences, has shown a correlation between the presence of fish in ponds and well-pollinated St. John’s wort (Hypericum fasciculatum, Hypericaceae) at a Florida research station.