Sulfur and silver

Photo by Robert BostonArea high school students visited the School of Medicine for Women in Science Day, sponsored by the Young Scientist Program and the Association for Women in Science.

Pain and itch responses regulated separately

Historically, scientists have regarded itching as a less intense version of the body’s response to pain, but researchers at the School of Medicine have determined that pain and itch actually are regulated by different molecular mechanisms. Researchers report they have separated itch and pain sensations in mice, a finding that could have important implications for treating both pain and chronic itching.

Cooling the brain prevents cell death in young mice exposed to anesthesia

New research from the School of Medicine suggests cooling the brain may prevent the death of nerve cells that has been observed in infant mice exposed to anesthesia. The effects of anesthesia on human infants and young children have been debated among neuroscientists, but growing evidence suggests exposure to anesthetic drugs during brain development may contribute to behavioral and developmental delays.

Gene chips accurately detect pneumonia in ICU patients on ventilators

Even seasoned doctors have a difficult time diagnosing pneumonia in hospitalized patients breathing with the assistance of a ventilator. That’s because a patient’s underlying illness often skews laboratory test results and masks pneumonia’s symptoms. Now, researchers at the School of Medicine report they have validated the use of gene chip technology to rapidly and accurately detect pneumonia associated with ventilator use in hospitalized patients.

New gene silencing pathway found in plants

Biologists at Washington University in St. Louis have made major headway in explaining a mechanism by which plant cells silence potentially harmful genes. A team led by Craig Pikaard, Ph.D., WUSTL professor of biology in Arts & Sciences, has published a paper this month in Cell, that explains how RNA polymerases work together to use the non-coding region of DNA to prevent destructive, virus-derived genes from being activated.
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