When you are out in the woods and hear a cracking sound, your brain needs to process quickly whether the sound is coming from, say, a bear or a chipmunk. In new research published in PLoS Biology, a biomedical engineer at Washington University in St. Louis has a new interpretation for an old observation, debunking an established theory in the process.
People sometimes spend as much time deciding whether to spend a few cents more on groceries as they do deciding whether to spend a few thousand dollars extra when buying a car. A new study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis shows that these spending habits may reflect how our brains tally differences in value among objects that vary greatly in worth.
Mutations in a gene linked to autism in people causes neurons to form too many connections in rodents, according to a new study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The findings suggest that malfunctions in communication between brain cells could be at the root of autism.
The bipartisan bill proposed by U.S. Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.), aimed at shoring up the troubled health insurance markets, has some approaches that would help fix the marketplaces, but more changes are needed, says a health economist at Washington University in St. Louis.“The Alexander-Murray approach would apply a small number of tweaks to the marketplaces meant to reduce volatility,” said Tim McBride, professor at the Brown School and expert on health reform and access to health care.
Malnutrition problems can be traced to poor-quality diets lacking in diversity, a recent phenomenon in evolutionary history, according to a new paper from the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis.“Earlier diets were highly diverse and nutrient dense, in contrast to modern food systems in which monotonous diets of staple cereals and ultra-processed foods play a more prominent role,” wrote Lora Iannotti, associate professor and senior author of the paper, “Genome–nutrition Divergence: Evolving Understanding of the Malnutrition Spectrum,” published in the journal Nutrition Reviews.
Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified a pathway in the brain that seems to connect exposure to adverse experiences during early childhood with depression and problems with physical health in teens and preteens.
President Donald Trump’s Oct. 26 announcement that the opioid epidemic is a “public health emergency” rather than a “national emergency” goes against the understanding of most authorities, said an expert on substance use disorder treatment at Washington University in St. Louis.“Recall that the commission President Trump formed, led by New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, indicated that the opioid epidemic was the equivalent of the September 11 attacks happening every three weeks,” said David Patterson Silver Wolf, associate professor at the Brown School and director of the Community-Academic Partnership on Addiction.
In the body, cells move around to form organs during development; to heal wounds; and when they metastasize from cancerous tumors. A mechanical engineer at Washington University in St. Louis found that cells remember the properties they had in their first environment for several days after they move to another in a process called mechanical memory.
Survey data indicate that in recent years, teens have become far less likely to abuse alcohol, nicotine and illicit drugs, according to researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Teens also are less likely to engage in behaviors like fighting and stealing, and the researchers believe the declines in substance use and delinquency are connected.
An older Neandertal from about 50,000 years ago, who had suffered multiple injuries and other degenerations, became deaf and must have relied on the help of others to avoid prey and survive well into his 40s, indicates a new analysis published Oct. 20 in the online journal PLoS ONE.
Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis is one of the first centers nationwide to offer a new immunotherapy that targets certain blood cancers. Newly approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for types of advanced non-Hodgkin lymphoma in adults, the CAR-T cell therapy harnesses a patient’s own immune system to fight cancer.
An estimated 120 million people worldwide are infected with lymphatic filariasis, a parasitic, mosquito-borne disease that can cause major swelling and deformity of the legs, a condition known as elephantiasis. Health-care workers rely on leg measurements to assess the severity of the condition. However, measuring legs that are severely swollen often proves cumbersome and impractical. But now, scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, working with collaborators in Sri Lanka, have shown that a portable scanning device can measure limb enlargement and disfigurement faster and more easily in patients with elephantiasis. The research tool makes it easy to obtain accurate measurements and determine whether treatments to reduce swelling are effective.
New mothers in poor urban communities may feel the necessity to work and have a measure of food security rather than trying to find the time and ability for exclusive breastfeeding, a health issue that could be rectified with social support, researchers from the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis found in a study in Haiti.
Scientists drilling down to the molecular roots of Alzheimer’s disease have encountered a good news/bad news scenario. The bad news is that in the early stages of the disease, high-risk TREM2 variants can hobble the immune system’s ability to protect the brain from amyloid beta. The good news, according to researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, is that later in the disease, the absence of TREM2 protein seems to protect the brain from damage.
One of the health care issues about which seemingly all Americans agree: Prescription drug prices have skyrocketed. And they keep going higher. How do Americans get better value for their health care dollars?One answer may be novel pricing models that more closely link a drug’s price to its value, rather than paying for volume.
Huntington’s disease is a progressive, fatal neurodegenerative disorder that is caused by mutations in one specific gene called huntingtin (Htt). Now, for the first time, an international team of researchers has uncovered a detailed structural description of Htt.
Congress allowed the federal Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) to expire Oct. 1, leading to the demise of one of the most successful government programs ever implemented, said an expert on health economics at Washington University in St. Louis.“CHIP has led to a substantial reduction in the uninsured rate for children, to the point where children now have only a 5 percent uninsured rate — the lowest ever,” said Tim McBride, professor at the Brown School and director of the Center for Health Economics and Policy.
As part of continuing efforts to expand access and opportunities for students interested in pursuing a legal education, the Washington University in St. Louis School of Law will begin accepting the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) in addition to the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT).
For children with Staphylococcus aureus (staph) infections, prescribing antibiotics — in addition to lancing and draining — may reduce the risk of recurrent infections, according to Washington University School of Medicine.
A new study led by Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis shows that dosing warfarin (Coumadin and others) is safer — producing fewer adverse events such as hemorrhage — when key elements of a patient’s genetic makeup are considered.
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