Page 513 – The Source | Washington University in St. Louis

Wolf spiders may turn to cannibalism in a warming Arctic

A study by biologist Amanda Koltz in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis suggests that as female wolf spiders become larger and produce more offspring, competition among them increases — triggering higher rates of cannibalism and reducing the number of young spiders that survive to adulthood.

Joint report on gun violence makes impact at U.N. Human Rights Council

A joint report on gun violence by Washington University’s Whitney R. Harris World Law Institute and the Institute for Public Health has been widely cited in a summary report recently released by the United Nations.

Art & Design

ASAP artist grants available

The Pulitzer Arts Foundation and the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts have announced a new effort to support creative workers in the St. Louis area who are facing significant financial hardship caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Science & Technology

New method for measuring RNAi pesticide in soil

Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis have developed an extraction and cleanup method that, for the first time, will allow for measurements of RNAi pesticides in soil.

Libraries’ Neureuther essay contest winners named

Washington University Libraries has selected the winners of the 2020 Neureuther Student Book Collection Essay Competition. The competition offers prizes to both undergraduate students and graduate students who write short essays about their personal book collections.

Business & Entrepreneurship

Skandalaris announces startup competition winners

The Skandalaris Center for Interdisciplinary Innovation & Entrepreneurship recently announced winners of two major competitions.

Anthropology & Archaeology

Close encounters in the forest: western lowland gorillas

New research led by anthropologists at Washington University in St. Louis shows that encounters between gorilla groups were much more frequent, and that they had more varied social exchanges than expected. The effort is part of a long-term collaboration with the Congolese government and Wildlife Conservation Society that is changing perspectives on gorilla behavior, ecology and health.

Campus & Community

The View From Here 5.4.20

Images from on and around the Washington University campuses.

‘Jews Control Chinese Labs That Created Coronavirus’: White Supremacists’ Dangerous New Conspiracy Theory

As COVID-19 has swept around the globe, causing unprecedented levels of suffering and national shutdowns, the boards and websites of the dark web have kept pace, filled up with conspiracy theories accusing the Jews of triggering the pandemic.

Medicine & Health

Obesity prevented in mice treated with gene-disabling nanoparticles

Disabling a gene in specific mouse cells, School of Medicine researchers have prevented mice from becoming obese, even after the animals had been fed a high-fat diet. The researchers blocked the activity of a gene in immune cells called macrophages, key inflammatory cells.