Don’t call it fur!
Chimpanzees don’t need haircuts.Mammals have fur over most of their bodies, but at some point during evolution, we humans lost that fur covering. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis argue that hair on the head is somehow different from fur because fur stops growing when it reaches a certain length, but our head hair continues to grow.
Surgeon revives successful clubfoot treatment
Matthew DobbsAlmost 60 years after it was conceived, Washington University orthopaedic surgeon Matthew Dobbs, MD, has revived a nonsurgical technique to correct clubfoot, a congenital foot deformity. By combining the venerable procedure with the latest genetic science and translational research, Dobbs aims to drastically improve treatment and perhaps eventually reduce the incidence of the malady.
Blocking cell suicide switch fails to stop prion damage in mouse brains
Researchers knew that prions, the misfolded proteins that cause mad cow disease and other brain disorders, were killing off a class of important brain cells in a transgenic mouse model. But when they found a way to rescue those cells, they were astonished to discover the mice still became sick.
Ground broken for new building to spur biotechnology in St. Louis
Rendering of the new CORTEX buildingEfforts to develop a significant biotechnology industry in St. Louis got a major boost with the groundbreaking for a new laboratory and office building that will provide space for growing companies. The new building at 4300 Forest Park Avenue in midtown St. Louis is being developed by CORTEX, the Center of Research, Technology & Entrepreneurial Exchange.
Treating varicose veins with radiofrequency or laser heat
Jeffrey Petersen uses laser heat to treat varicose veins.Some 41 percent of American women may have varicose vein disease by the time they reach their 40s and 50s. Now Washington University in St. Louis dermatologic surgeons are among a growing group of physicians offering a procedure that uses heat to treat the problem.
Sea squids owe their glow to molecule previously linked to whooping cough
Bobtail squidA molecule that triggers damaging changes in the lungs of children with whooping cough lets a bobtail squid living off the coast of Hawaii acquire the ability to glow, scientists have discovered.
$11 million grant boosts schizophrenia research
Neuroscientists at the School of Medicine have received a five-year, $11.6 million grant to fund a Silvio O. Conte Center for the Neuroscience of Mental Disorders. Since 2001, the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) has funded a feasibility center at Washington University, but the new grant upgrades the center’s status, funding and number of research projects.
Kelly named Alumni Endowed Professor of Cardiovascular Diseases
Daniel P. Kelly, M.D., director of the Center for Cardiovascular Research and co-director of the Cardiovascular Division at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has been named the Alumni Endowed Professor of Cardiovascular Diseases.
Kinder, gentler procedure gives superior results for stem cell transplants
An improved stem cell transplant regimen that is well-tolerated and has a high success rate has been developed by researchers at the School of Medicine. The procedure holds promise for treatment of blood and bone marrow disorders, immune dysfunction and certain metabolic disorders.
Scientists grow norovirus in lab
Scientists who developed the new technique reported it may already have led them to a good target for vaccine development.
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