Ancient livestock dung heaps are now African wildlife hotspots

Wildebeest migration in Serengeti, Africa
Often viewed as wild, naturally pristine and endangered by human encroachment, some of the African savannah’s most fertile and biologically diverse wildlife hotspots owe their vitality to heaps of dung deposited there over thousands of years by the livestock of wandering herders, suggests new research in the journal Nature.

Washington People: Robyn Klein

Robyn Klein and student
Robyn Klein, MD, PhD, has never bought into the idea that girls and women don’t do science. Not only is Klein — vice provost and associate dean for graduate education for the Division of Biology & Biomedical Sciences — a well-respected expert in neuroimmunology and neuroinfectious diseases, she works hard to promote diversity in science.

Field Notes | Azores, Portugal

Azores field geology
Students in an undergraduate class in Arts & Sciences traveled to the remote Portuguese Azores archipelago to study field geology techniques in a rugged landscape shaped by volcanoes and shifting tectonic plates.

National award honors chemistry department’s safety innovation

peer safety inspection
The Department of Chemistry in Arts & Sciences recently received an Innovation Award from the Campus Safety, Health, and Environmental Management Association and Association of Public and Land-grant Universities in recognition of its outstanding program that improves research safety on campus.

Flags lowered in memory of Sen. John McCain

The U.S. and university flags over Brookings Hall are lowered to half-staff in memory of U.S. Sen. John McCain until sunset Sunday, Sept. 2. McCain died Aug. 25 at age 81.

Emergency communication system to be tested Sept. 6

Alertus beacon photo
Washington University in St. Louis will test its emergency communication system at 12:05 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 6. The test will take place unless there is the potential for severe weather or another emergency is occurring at that time.

WashU Expert: NAFTA in a jiffy?

A new trade deal to replace NAFTA will require completion by the end of the week, with or without Canada — so it’s too early and too hazy to consider this a good deal or a bad deal no matter what President Trump calls it, said a Washington University in St. Louis trade expert.

In sync: How cells make connections could impact circadian rhythm

If you’ve ever experienced jet lag, you are familiar with your circadian rhythm, which manages nearly all aspects of metabolism. Every cell in the body has a circadian clock, but until now, researchers were unclear about how networks of cells connect with each other over time. Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis and collaborating institutions have developed a new method that sheds light on these circadian rhythm networks.

Brown School student awarded funding for work with homeless children

Katherine Marcal, a doctoral student in social work at the Brown School, has been awarded a two-year, $60,000 grant from the National Institute of Mental Health of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for a project titled “Promoting Child Behavioral Health in Homeless Services: A Community-Based System Dynamics Approach.”