Arts & Sciences

New research from Gary Patti’s laboratory in Arts & Sciences shows that when cells divide rapidly, their mitochondria are fused together. In this configuration, the cell is able to more efficiently use oxygen for energy. This work illuminates the inner workings of dividing cells and shows how mitochondria combine to help cells to multiply in unexpected ways.

A new study led by Petra Levin in Arts & Sciences suggests that triclosan exposure may inadvertently drive bacteria into a state in which they are able to tolerate normally lethal concentrations of antibiotics — including those antibiotics that are commonly used to treat urinary tract infections.

Listening to his voicemail, Robert Mark Morgan wondered if someone had died. Friends had left messages offering condolences and support. Turns out, everyone was fine, but his career as a set designer had been seriously wounded. In the latest edition of “Fail Better,” Morgan, of the Performing Arts Department in Arts & Sciences, shares how he refused to let a devastating review sideline his career in theater.

New research from Washington University in St. Louis shows that honey bees (Apis mellifera) develop different scent profiles as they age, and the gatekeeper bees at the hive’s door respond differently to returning foragers than they do when they encounter younger bees who have never ventured out before.

Washington University in St. Louis has been awarded a $20,000 “mini-grant” by the Association of American Universities to further existing efforts to improve undergraduate education in STEM disciplines. The funding will support programming organized by the Center for Integrative Research on Cognition, Learning and Education (CIRCLE).

A light flashes. A wing rustles. A feather floats gently to the floor. Tony Kushner’s “Angels in America” features some of the most indelible images in American theater. From Feb. 22 to March 3, the Performing Arts Department in Arts & Sciences will stage Kushner’s epic drama for six performances in Edison Theatre.

Senior Hannah Gilberstadt leads the Jazz Band at Washington University through a rendition of Antonio Carlos Jobim’s 1962 classic “Só Danço Samba” (“I Only Dance Samba”). The Brazilian composer was among the 20th century’s most influential songwriters, and a pioneer of the bossa nova style.

Long before Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook and even MySpace, early Mississippian Mound cultures in America’s southern Appalachian Mountains shared artistic trends and technologies across regional networks that functioned in similar ways as modern social media, suggests new research from Washington University in St. Louis.

The American Academy of Microbiology has named three Washington University in St. Louis faculty members as fellows: Gautam Dantas, of the School of Medicine, and Robert Kranz and Petra Levin, professors of biology in Arts & Sciences.

C. David Gutsche, professor emeritus of chemistry in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, died Aug. 28, 2018, in Seattle. Gutsche was 97.