School of Medicine

A WUSTL researcher has identified a bacterium as the pathogen living on bubbles in hot water environments.A team of researchers, led by an environmental engineer at Washington University in St. Louis, has applied a molecular approach to identify the biological particles in aerosol responsible for making employees of a Colorado hospital therapeutic pool ill. They found: when the bubble bursts, the bacteria disperse, and lifeguards get pneumonia-like symptoms.

The brighter signal over the transgenic heart indicates fat uptake and metabolism are greatly increased.Heart disease is the leading cause of death among the more than 13 million diabetics in the United States. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found that in mice whose heart muscles take up high amounts of fat, the heart fills abnormally after each contraction, a condition that is consistent with the first stage of heart dysfunction in human diabetics.

The first detailed studies of two of the largest human chromosomes have revealed enormous gene “deserts” lacking any protein-coding sequences and relics of the merger of two ape chromosomes to form a single human chromosome.

Researchers at the School of Medicine are seeking volunteers to participate in a study to determine if botulinum toxin (Botox) injections can help heal diabetic foot ulcers.

Scientists studying a common childhood brain tumor have uncovered a pleasant surprise: evidence that the tumors may be vulnerable to a class of drugs that has been in use for years.

Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis is rated the third best medical school in the nation, according to this year’s U.S. News & World Report rankings of graduate and professional programs released April 1.

The Atkins chair is the first professorship in the United States specifically devoted to supporting the study of obesity.

Courtesy PhotoNeurology postdoctoral researcher Yan Hu, Ph.D. (right), discusses her poster presentation at the Inaugural Postdoc Scientific Symposium Feb. 23.In The Scientist magazine’s third annual “Best Places for Postdocs to Work” survey, WUSTL was No. 2 for U.S. academic institutions.

With significant contributions from the Genome Sequencing Center, the sequence of the human X chromosome has been published.

The University’s Project ARK will sponsor the Journey of Hope AIDS Awareness Tour’s St. Louis stop April 13.