School of Medicine

Young women who have experienced traumatic events are more likely to become alcohol dependent than those who have not, according to researchers at the School of Medicine and the Midwest Alcoholism Research Center. 

People who sleepwalk can now blame the disorder on their family. A study involving a four-generation family of sleepwalkers has suggested a genetic link to the common disorder, according to Christina A, Gurnett, MD, PhD. 

The way the heart responds to an early beat is predictive of cardiac death, especially for people with no conventional markers of cardiovascular disease, according to new research from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

Peter Burgers, PhD, the Marvin A. Brennecke Professor of Biological Chemistry at the School of Medicine, is an expert in DNA replication and repair — fundamental cellular processes shared across organisms, from yeast to humans.

Eleven faculty members from Washington University School of Medicine were honored Feb. 9 at the 2011 Distinguished Faculty Awards ceremony at the Eric P. Newman Education Center.

A parasite and a virus may be teaming up in a way that increases the parasite’s ability to harm humans, scientists at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis report this week in Science.

Teen mothers who eat breakfast have healthier weights and snacking habits and may influence healthy eating habits among their children, says a recent study by obesity prevention expert Debra Haire-Joshu, PhD, professor at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis. “It’s important to look at dietary patterns among postpartum teens to help reduce weight retention and prevent intergenerational obesity,” she says. “Overall, breakfast consumption among postpartum teens is low and interventions are needed to encourage breakfast consumption among teen mothers.”

Bacteria often attack with toxins designed to hijack or even kill host cells. To avoid self-destruction, bacteria have ways of protecting themselves from their own toxins. Now, researchers have described one of these protective mechanisms, potentially paving the way for new classes of antibiotics that cause the bacteria’s toxins to turn on themselves.

Washington University School of Medicine researchers report they have identified a gene that limits damage to the lung during acute stress from illness, trauma or transplant.

Like listeners adjusting a high-tech radio, scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have tuned in to precise frequencies of brain activity to unleash new insights into how the brain works. “Analysis of brain function normally focuses on where brain activity happens and when,” says Eric Leuthardt, MD. “What we’ve found is that the wavelength of the activity provides a third major branch of understanding brain physiology.”