Campus Watch

The following incidents were reported to University Police March 30-April 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. April 4 4:49 p.m. — A […]

For the Record

Michael Sherraden, Ph.D., Shirley J. Dyke, Ph.D., Joseph Pickard, and more…

Reaching out

Photo by Robert BostonA free medical screening at the Tower Village Apartments was the first in a series of community-outreach events planned by medical school physicians.

New genetics division seeks to transform pediatric patient care

Photo by Robert BostonJonathan D. Gitlin will serve as director of the new Division of Genetics and Genomic Medicine in the Department of Pediatrics.It incorporates a model of individualized medical care in which physicians look to a patients’ genetic makeup to determine the best treatment. More medical news

Construction update

News and information about various projects impacting the University’s campuses.

Early-stage diabetic heart disease mimicked in mouse hearts

The brighter signal over the transgenic heart indicates fat uptake and metabolism are greatly increased.Heart disease is the leading cause of death among the more than 13 million diabetics in the United States. Researchers at the School of Medicine have found that in mice whose heart muscles take up high amounts of fat, the heart fills abnormally after each contraction, a condition that is consistent with the first stage of heart dysfunction in human diabetics.

Nanoparticles offer new hope for detection and treatment

Magnified nanoparticlesSpecially designed nanoparticles can reveal tiny cancerous tumors that are invisible to ordinary means of detection, according to a study by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Researchers demonstrated that very small human melanoma tumors growing in mice — indiscernible from the surrounding tissue by direct MRI scan — could be “lit up” and easily located. Because the nanoparticles can be engineered to carry a variety of substances, they also may be able to deliver cancer-fighting drugs to malignant tumors.

Oxygen near lens linked to cataracts in eye surgery patients

Yellowing of the eye’s lens due to age-related nuclear sclerotic cataractResearchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis may be a step closer to understanding what causes cataracts, with the hope of one day being able to prevent them. In a new study published in the American Journal of Ophthalmology, the researchers report oxygen may be the culprit.

Fruit fly brain study confirms complexity of neurodevelopment

Drosophila melanoFor years, two schools of thought have dominated neurobiologists’ theories about how early nerve cells develop specialties that allow the assembly of a mature brain. One theory suggests master regulators trigger the development, while the other attributes the development to interactions between local factors. In a new study of developing fruit fly brain cells, scientists at Washington University School of Medicine and Harvard University showed that both models are valid.