Scientists have identified genetic errors in women with autoimmune diseases that increase the risk of preeclampsia, a potentially life-threatening condition that occurs in 10 percent of all pregnancies.
The Center for Social Development (CSD) and the Gephardt Institute for Public Service at Washington University in St. Louis and DukeEngage of Duke University will host a symposium on international service and higher education from March 30-April 1 at the Knight Center at Washington University. “International service is not new to higher education, but it is at the threshold of a new era,” says Amanda Moore McBride, PhD, director of the Gephardt Institute and research director for the CSD at Washington University.
The social media giant Twitter began five years ago this month. While millions of people are using it to let their friends know about good places to go for lunch and what their kids are up to, it's impact on business may be just beginning says an expert at Washington University in St. Louis.
Can probiotics prevent pneumonia in patients breathing with the help of ventilators? That’s just one question researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis hope to answer as part of innovative new studies to reduce infections in health-care settings.
Workers who have limited rights and are exposed to significant hazards and injuries might sound like something out of a Victorian novel, but it’s a reality for paid domestic service employees who perform tasks such as cleaning, cooking, childcare and care of the elderly.
Planning to enter an office pool during this year’s NCAA March Madness tournament? Be careful. You might not enjoy the games very much if you bet, says a researcher at Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis.
Scientists have blocked harmful immune cells from entering the brain in mice with a condition similar to multiple sclerosis (MS). The disease is believed to be caused by immune cells that enter the brain and damage myelin, an insulating material on the branches of neurons that conduct nerve impulses.
The Supreme Court’s decision March 2 that a military funeral protest by Fred Phelps’ Westboro Baptist Church is protected by the First Amendment is a free speech victory, but “there is one note of concern for free speech advocates, which is the opinion’s toleration of ‘free speech zone’ theory,” says Neil Richards, JD, constitutional law expert and professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis.
Black children are involved in reported cases of child abuse at approximately twice the rate of white children. Until now, this has generally been attributed to racial bias in the child welfare system. But in a new study published in the journal Pediatrics, F. Brett Drake, PhD, professor at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis, finds that much, if not most, of the overrepresentation of black children in maltreatment reporting is due to increased exposure to risk factors such as poverty.
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s move to strip or significantly narrow his state’s public-sector workers’ collective bargaining rights has significant implications for all unionized workers, both in the public and private sector, says Marion Crain, JD, the Wiley B. Rutledge Professor of Law and director of the Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Work & Social Capital.
The Supreme Court should affirm the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act, says law professor Greg Magarian, JD, because the act fits comfortably within a proper understanding of the federal-state balance of power. Magarian, a constitutional law expert, weighs in on the challenge to the health care bill.
Washington University in St. Louis student proposes incentive program and metering system to cut electricity use in research labs on campus.
Economics Professor Hyman Minsky’s 1982 research identified the factors that led to the financial meltdown but was overlooked until recently.
Whether on a battlefield, in a factory or at a rock concert, noise-induced hearing loss is one of the most common hazards people face. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified a low-dose, two-drug cocktail that reduces hearing loss in mice when given before they are exposed to loud noise.
Scientists have decoded the DNA of the parasitic worm that causes trichinosis, a disease linked to eating raw or undercooked pork or carnivorous wild game animals, such as bear and walrus.
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.
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.”
Anyone who cares about the rule of law has to acknowledge that illegal immigration has serious social costs that cannot be casually dismissed, says immigration law expert Stephen Legomsky, JD, DPhil, the John S. Lehmann University Professor at Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. “When millions of individuals violate any law — whether it’s immigration, taxes or exceeding the posted speed limit — the rule of law takes a hit. But sometimes, mass violations reveal flaws in the law itself. At any rate, the rule of law also means that the penalties should not be disproportionate to the wrongdoing.”
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.
What happens to young adults with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) once they graduate high school and are no longer entitled to services? In a first-of-its-kind study, Paul Shattuck, PhD, professor at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis, looked at rates of service use among young adults with an ASD during their first few years after leaving high school. He found that 39.1 percent of these youths received no speech therapy, mental health, medical diagnostics or case management services. Shattuck also found that the odds of not receiving any services were more than three times higher for African-American young adults compared with white young adults and more than five times higher for those with incomes of $25,000 or less relative to those with incomes over $75,000.
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 at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis 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.
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.
The FDA, through the new Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, is considering banning outdoor tobacco product advertising at various distances from schools and playgrounds. The tobacco industry is challenging these rules on First Amendment grounds, arguing that they would lead to a near complete ban on tobacco advertising in dense urban areas. A new study by the Center for Tobacco Policy Research (CTPR) at Washington University in St. Louis found that a 1000-foot buffer would still allow for tobacco ads. Smaller buffer zones of 350 feet may result in almost no reduction of outdoor tobacco advertising.
Crop yields from India’s first genetically modified crop may have been overemphasized, as modest rises in crop yields may come at the expense of sustainable farm management, says a new study by a Washington University in St. Louis anthropologist.
Commercials during the Super Bowl may be some of the most watched ads on broadcast T.V., but Olin marketing professors say social media has changed the game. Advertisers need to engage the audience before, during and after the game with strategies that include everything from smartphones to Twitter.
For almost two decades, cardiologists have searched for ways to see dangerous blood clots before they cause heart attacks. Now, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis report that they have designed nanoparticles that find clots and make them visible to a new kind of X-ray technology.
Diabetes researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified a key mechanism that appears to contribute to the blood vessel damage that occurs in people with diabetes.
Retired NFL players use painkillers at four times the rate of the general population, according to new research conducted by investigators at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The researchers say the brutal collisions and bone-jarring injuries associated with football often cause long-term pain, which contributes to continued use and abuse of pain-killing medications.
The Crimes Against Humanity Initiative at the Whitney R. Harris World Law Institute of Washington University in St. Louis School of Law recently released the text of a proposed multilateral treaty on the prevention and punishment of crimes against humanity. Leila Nadya Sadat, JD, director of the initiative, says that this is the first time that such a convention has been drafted. “It represents a real opportunity for the international community to complete the Rome Statute system by imposing a clear obligation on states to prevent and punish crimes against humanity,” says Sadat, also the Henry H. Oberschelp Professor of Law and Harris Institute director. “Moreover, it offers mechanisms designed to help states cooperate with each other in the investigation and prosecution of such crimes,” she says.
An international team of scientists, led by Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has decoded the DNA of a Sumatran and Bornean orangutans. The research, published in Nature, reveals intriguing clues about the evolution of great apes, including humans, and provides opportunities to aid conservation efforts in the wild, where the orangutans are endangered.
A workhorse of modern biology is sick, and scientists are happy. Researchers have found that C. elegans, a millimeter-long worm used to study many aspects of biology, gets naturally occurring viral infections. This may mean it can help scientists study the way viruses and their hosts interact.
A study by Washington University researchers has raised safety concerns about an investigational approach to treating cancer. The strategy takes aim at a key signaling pathway, called Notch, involved in the formation of new blood vessels that feed tumor growth. When researchers targeted the Notch1 signaling pathway in mice, the animals developed vascular tumors, primarily in the liver, which led to massive hemorrhages that caused their death.
Health 2.0 and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) recently named Ozioma, an online cancer information tool from the Health Communication Research Laboratory (HCRL) at Washington University in St. Louis, one of two winners of a national contest. The Ozioma tool helps reporters and media relations professionals create localized cancer stories for specific populations in specific communities. “For those who write about and report on health, providing a central location to access community-level health data can increase the likelihood that they’ll include these data in their stories,” says Charlene A. Caburnay, PhD, research assistant professor at the Brown School at Washington University.
When the Senate convenes Tuesday, Jan. 25, it is expected to weigh a resolution to reform the filibuster rule and eliminate secret holds — protocols that many have blamed for encouraging congressional gridlock. Although the proposal is put forth by members of the Senate’s Democratic majority, it contains a series of relatively modest changes that should hold some appeal to the Senate’s Republican minority, suggests congressional expert Steven S. Smith of Washington University in St. Louis.
Scientists have identified the first DNA sequence variant common in the population that is not only associated with an increased risk of heart failure, but appears to play a role in causing it. The variant, a change in a single letter of the DNA sequence, impairs channels that control kidney function.
Life expectancy was probably the same for early modern and late archaic humans and did not factor in the extinction of Neanderthals, suggests a new study by a Washington University in St. Louis anthropologist.
On Jan. 12, 2010, Lora Iannotti, PhD, nutrition and public health expert at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis, was in Leogane, a seaside town 18 miles west of Port au Prince, Haiti, working with local officials on improving the health of Haitian children. That’s when a catastrophic earthquake struck the poverty-stricken country.
Changing words in Mark Twain’s classic book "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" is fine as long as the original version still is easily available for readers, says Gerald L. Early, PhD. “We change texts all the time,” Early says. “For instance, we make children's versions of the Bible, Homer and Shakespeare.”
Consistent exercise is associated with a lower risk of dying from colon cancer, according to a new study led by Siteman Cancer Center researchers at Washington University and Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. The study is among the first to show that physical activity can make the disease less deadly.
Addiction researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found that a risk for alcoholism also may put individuals at risk for obesity, and the association between a family history of alcoholism and obesity risk has become more pronounced in recent years.
Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have learned why changes in a single gene, ROP18, contribute substantially to dangerous forms of the parasite Toxoplasma gondii. The answer has likely moved science closer to new ways to beat Toxoplasma and many other parasites.
What do beer industry giant Tsingtao and a St. Louis microbrewery have in common? Hops, barley and business school. Schlafly's brewmaster and Tsingtao's president are recent graduates of Olin Business School's Executive MBA program that provides a unique experience for students to network with peers around the globe and share stories from the executive suite over a glass of beer.
Plan your exit before you enter a new business market may sound like strange advice, but it comes from an expert in entrepreneurship with experience to prove it. Olin Business School professor Clifford Holekamp shares his expertise in the December issue of Octane, the award winning magazine of the Entrepreneurs’ Organization.
The PSA test can indicate prostate cancer when none is present and miss life-threatening tumors. But a new study suggests the test is more reliable in men taking dutasteride (Avodart®), a drug widely prescribed to shrink an enlarged prostate gland.
People with a known, high risk for Alzheimer’s disease develop abnormal brain function even before the appearance of telltale, amyloid plaques that are characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease, according to a new study from researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The findings suggest that a gene variant affects brain function long before the brain begins accumulating the amyloid that will eventually lead to dementia.
The ruling by Judge Henry E. Hudson of the Federal District Court in Richmond, Va., finding the individual mandate provision of the new health-care law unconstitutional is an important ruling, but it does not settle the question, says Timothy D. McBride, PhD, health economist and associate dean for public health at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis. McBride says that the individual mandate, while just a small piece of the health-reform structure, is very important to making all of the parts of health reform work. “It is more or less like pulling on the thread of a garment, and having the whole garment come apart if this disappears,” he says.
Do black leather pants qualify as a tax deduction for rock stars? Fans, musicians, journalists, researchers and anyone else interested in music can see how the courts dealt with this question and nearly any other legal issue involving the music industry at The Discography: Legal Encyclopedia of Popular Music accessible through thediscography.org. The site was created by Loren Wells, JD, musician and recent graduate of the Washington University in St. Louis School of Law and is supported by the Center for Empirical Research in the Law (CERL) at the School of Law. The site’s database — the most elaborate of its kind — covers 2,400 court opinions spanning nearly 200 years of the music industry.
Novel metal catalysts might be able to turn greenhouse gases like methane and carbon dioxide into liquid fuels without producing more carbon waste in the process.
Cheryl Block, JD, federal budget and tax expert and professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis, weighs in on tax cut extensions. “Finger pointing aside, both parties have been at the helm at various times since 2001,” Block says, “both standing watch over the growing imbalance between revenues and spending and both aware of threats to the nation’s future fiscal health in light of the aging population, escalating health care costs, and growing government commitments under entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicaid.”
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