Grain traits traced to ‘dark matter’ of rice genome

grains of rice
Researchers from Washington University in St. Louis and the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences discovered that rice domestication relied on selection for traits determined by a poorly understood portion of the rice genome.

Researchers receive grant to support three projects to create map of all cells in human body

Four researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have received grants from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative to support three separate projects that contribute to the Human Cell Atlas, a global effort to create a detailed map of all cells in the human body. They are: Benjamin Humphreys, MD, PhD, the Joseph Friedman Professor of Renal Diseases […]

And then there was light

light through trees
New research from Washington University in St. Louis provides insight into how proteins called phytochromes sense light and contribute to how plants grow. Biologists used sophisticated techniques to structurally define the sequence of events that support the transition between light- and dark-adapted states.

Asthma severity linked to microbiome of upper airway

A new study from the School of Medicine showed a correlation between the types of bacteria in the upper airway and severity of asthma symptoms. The study will lead to future research seeking possible ways to alter the airway microbiome to reduce asthma severity.

Survey: Electorate wants candidates, parties to act on climate change

In a November wave of The American Social Survey conducted by the Weidenbaum Center on the Economy, Government, and Public Policy, political scientists polled likely primary voters to find that — despite consensus among Democratic candidates and the Trump administration’s actions to repeal environmental regulations — the two parties’ electorates don’t match their candidates’ stances on climate change.

Division of Computational and Data Sciences marries AI, social science

The interdisciplinary Division of Computational and Data Sciences, one of a few of its kind in the country, focuses on turning the computational lens on social sciences. In the new PhD program, students have two advisers, one in computer engineering and one in a social science domain from social work and public health, political science, or psychological and brain sciences.