Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have discovered that an initial urinary tract infection (UTI) triggers changes to immune and other cells in the bladder that can prime the bladder to overreact to bacteria, worsening subsequent UTIs.
Invasive mosquitoes at the northern limit of their current range are surviving conditions that are colder than those in their native territory. This new evidence of rapid local adaptation could have implications for efforts to control the spread of this invasive species.
Impact events are relatively common. The objects known as shooting stars are actually small meteors burning up as they pass through Earth’s atmosphere. If a meteor is large enough, some part of it may reach Earth as a meteorite. These small impacts don’t form big craters, even if they might be large enough to devastate urban areas.
A new study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis supports evidence that children with mild asthma can effectively manage the condition by using their two inhalers — one a steroid and the other a bronchodilator — when symptoms occur. This is in contrast to the traditional method of using the steroid daily, regardless of symptoms, and the bronchodilator when symptoms occur. The as-needed use of both inhalers is just as effective for mild asthma as the traditional protocol, according to the investigators.
Of all the reasons why researchers would prefer more robust monitoring of pollutants in the atmosphere, one stands out: Having this basic information is an indication of progress in the realm of environmental science. A McKelvey School of Engineering scientist outlines the extent of the gap between what researchers know and don’t know.
To catalogue the animal residents of urban green spaces without disturbing them, researchers have set up 34 motion-activated cameras from the densely urbanized St. Louis riverfront to the wilds of Route 66 State Park in Eureka, Mo.
World War II was, by any measure, a massive undertaking that involved huge loss and suffering. The countries involved — Allied and Axis — committed substantial resources and sacrificed an astounding number of human lives. No matter how much a particular country contributed however, the sum total of all losses cannot equal more than 100%.
When it comes to plant growth and development, one hormone is responsible for it all: auxin. New Washington University in St. Louis research has uncovered a mechanism by which it can affect a plant in a myriad of ways.
An international team of researchers led by scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has identified a pair of genes that influence risk for both late-onset and early-onset Alzheimer’s disease.
The Trump Administration’s proposed overhaul of the landmark Endangered Species Act will “hasten the extinction of countless species,” said an international biodiversity expert at Washington University in St. Louis.Jonathan Losos, the William H. Danforth Distinguished University Professor, is the director of the university’s Living Earth Collaborative, a center for the study of biodiversity in partnership with the Missouri Botanical Garden and the Saint Louis Zoo.
Most people with a medical condition called long QT syndrome have a mutation in a gene that causes bouts of fast, chaotic heartbeats. They also experience fainting spells and seizures. The clinical approach has largely assumed that when the heart beats erratically, the brain eventually does not get enough oxygen — which in turn causes the seizures.
Violence at the hands of police is a leading cause of death for young men in the United States, finds a new study involving Washington University in St. Louis.“Over the life course, about 1 in every 1,000 black men can expect to be killed by police,” said Hedwig (Hedy) Lee, professor of sociology in Arts & Sciences and associate director of the Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity & Equity.
A long-term study of western gorillas in Gabon has revealed an unexpected behavior: they use their teeth to crack open and eat nuts. New research by Adam van Casteren, lecturer in biological anthropology in Arts & Sciences, may have important implications for the way researchers predict the diet of human ancestors based on the shape of their teeth.
In a meta-analysis of published research, psychologist Calvin Lai of Washington University in St. Louis teases out how changes in implicit bias do — and do not — appear to lead to changes in behavior. And why that might be.
A blood test to detect the brain changes of early Alzheimer’s disease has moved one step closer to reality. Researchers from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis report that they can measure levels of the Alzheimer’s protein amyloid beta in the blood and use such levels to predict whether the protein has accumulated in the brain. The findings represent a key step toward a blood test to diagnose people on track to develop the devastating disease before symptoms arise.
African American health care workers are there for a reason.A new book by a Washington University in St. Louis social scientist shows how hospitals, clinics and other institutions participate in “racial outsourcing,” relying heavily on black doctors, nurses, technicians and physician assistants to do “equity work” — extra labor that makes organizations and their services more accessible to communities of color.
During the July 30 Democratic presidential debate, candidate Pete Buttigieg renewed his calls to “depoliticize the Supreme Court with structural reform.”Buttigieg has previously endorsed a Supreme Court reform proposal offered by Daniel Epps, associate professor in the School of Law at Washington University in St.
A new study harnessed the unique genetic history of the people of Finland to identify variations in DNA that might predispose certain individuals to disease, whether or not they are Finnish themselves. The study was conducted by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and collaborating institutions.
Goal-oriented, motivational physical and occupational therapy helps older patients recover more fully from broken hips, strokes and other ailments that land them in skilled nursing facilities for rehabilitation, according to new research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
Researchers from Arts & Sciences have solved the X-ray crystal structure of the enzyme that makes obafluorin — a broad spectrum antibiotic agent made by a fluorescent strain of soil bacteria. This new class of antibiotics might provide a powerful antidote to the growing scourge of antibiotic resistance.
A team of engineers at Washington University in St. Louis has found what they believe is a more stable, less toxic semiconductor for solar applications, using a novel double mineral discovered through data analytics and quantum-mechanical calculations.
Dishonest deeds diminish a person’s ability to read others’ emotions, or “interpersonal cognition,” new research found. And here’s one of the other key findings: The consequences snowball. One dishonest act can set in motion even more dishonesty.
Biologists discovered a cellular transporter that links two of the most powerful hormones in plant development — auxin and cytokinin — and shows how they regulate root initiation and progression. Understanding why and how plants make different types of root architectures can help develop plants that better cope with distinct soil conditions and environments.
Bacteria in the bloodstream can trigger an overwhelming immune response that causes sepsis. Now, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found genes that help protect the body's cells from dying during sepsis, which could lead to new treatments for the life-threatening condition.
In the right environment, a harmless mineral can do a lot to change the composition of the drinking water that flows through lead pipes. New research from the McKelvey School of Engineering discovers how.
In September 1969, Washington University in St. Louis scientists were among the first to receive samples collected from the historic Apollo 11 moon mission. At this year's Lunar and Planetary Science Convention, a student, a faculty member and an alum remind us of the value of these samples and share cutting edge research on decades-old rocks.
This month marks the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing of the Apollo program, and a leading lunar expert wants the world to keep exploring.Brad Jolliff, the Scott Rudolph Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, helps to lead a research team that soon will unlock a set of samples collected from the moon nearly a half-century ago — ones that actually are from the Apollo 17 mission, and have never before been exposed to Earth’s atmosphere.
Pick your chicken wisely. The choice could make or break your marriage. For generations, household farmers in the Horn of Africa have selectively chosen chickens with certain traits that make them more appealing. Some choices are driven by the farmers’ traditional courtship rituals; others are guided by more mundane concerns, such as taste and disease resistance.
Crickette Sanz, associate professor of biological anthropology in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, received the 2019 Ai’s Scarf Award, otherwise known as the Women-in-Primatology Award. The honor was announced in Kyoto, Japan, in advance of World Chimpanzee Day July 14, a celebration of “our closest cousin in the animal kingdom.
A new type of therapeutic food, specifically designed to repair the gut microbiomes of malnourished children, is superior to standard therapy in an initial clinical trial conducted in Bangladesh.
The mustards, broccolis and cabbages of the world share a distinct and bitter taste. Some consider the flavor of cruciferous plants their strongest attribute. But even in India and China, where Brassicas have been cultivated for more than 4,000 years, scientists have sought to tone down the chemical compounds responsible for their pungent flavor.
Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis have developed a one-parameter measure that makes selecting the correct electrolyte for potassium-air batteries an exercise in rationality, rather than patience.
People who take advantage of nonprofit credit counseling services have statistically significant reductions in consumer debt, finds a new study from the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis.“We followed the credit records of counseled consumers and a comparison group for a year and a half following counseling, and found that counseling was associated with a large reduction in revolving debt, which includes credit card debt,” said Stephen Roll, research assistant professor at the Brown School and an expert on asset building and debt management.
VIDEO: Even in the strange world of open quantum systems, the arrow of time points steadily forward -- most of the time. New experiments conducted at Washington University in St. Louis compare the forward and reverse trajectories of superconducting circuits called qubits, and find that they follow the second law of thermodynamics.
As ecosystem engineers, bison have been hiding in plain sight for the past 40 years, since archaeologists first discovered that several native plants were domesticated in eastern North America. New research by Natalie Mueller, assistant professor of anthropology in Arts & Sciences, explains the connection, published July 8 in Nature Plants.
Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and Rush University in Chicago have found a compound that promotes a vigorous immune assault on pancreatic cancer. The findings, in mice, suggest a way to improve immunotherapy for the deadly disease in patients.
Volatile elements in magma, primarily water, drive explosive volcanic eruptions. The tricky part is determining just how much volatile content was present before the eruption took place. This is especially difficult when the only evidence scientists have to go on is the end product after all the volatiles have been lost.
Research from the McKelvey School of Engineering suggests that without considering certain factors, researchers may overestimate how fast calcium carbonate forms in saline environments.
The Supreme Court’s June 27 decision to kill all federal constitutional complaints about partisan gerrymandering is a tremendous loss for our democratic process, says a constitutional law expert at Washington University in St. Louis.“The court has long restricted states’ ability to manipulate electoral districts based on race,” said Greg Magarian, the Thomas and Karole Green Professor of Law.
Studying children shortly after they began experiencing tics, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis discovered that although tics don’t go away, most children are able to suppress and control them. Understanding how they do that may provide insight to help others at risk for significant tic disorders.
Condensation might ruin a wood coffee table or fog up glasses when entering a warm building on a winter day, but it’s not all inconveniences; the condensation and evaporation cycle has important applications.Water can be harvested from “thin air,” or separated from salt in desalination plants by way of condensation.
Joy Harjo, a member of the Muscogee Creek Nation, has been selected as the 23rd U.S. poet laureate, a move that will inspire Native American people throughout the country, says Kellie Thompson, director of the Kathryn M. Buder Center for American Indian Studies at Washington University in St. Louis.“Her selection will inspire us in expected ways — maybe to become poets and artists — but also in unexpected ways, like speaking our truth in spaces where it typically has not been heard, as Native American people and as women,” said Thompson, a member of the Seneca Nation of Indians.
Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found that immune cells that typically protect neurons from damage may be the link between early and late brain changes in Alzheimer’s disease. Breaking that link could lead to new approaches to delay or prevent the disease.
Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have figured out how to grow the intestinal parasite Cryptosporidium in the lab, an achievement that will speed efforts to treat or prevent diarrhea caused by the parasite.
Hacking into brain signals may be more straightforward than once thought. Physicists studying the brain at Washington University in St. Louis have shown how measuring signals from a single neuron may be as good as capturing information from many neurons at once using big, expensive arrays of electrodes.The new work continues the discussion about how the brain seems to function in a “critical” state, operating at the cusp between two phases of activity in a way that offers advantages for information transmission and processing.
An investigational flu drug cures mice infected with the rare but deadly Bourbon virus, according to a new study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The findings potentially could lead to a treatment.
The single-celled parasite Leishmania can reproduce sexually, according to a study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The finding could pave the way towards finding genes that help the parasite cause disease.
New research has identified a novel approach to staving off the detrimental effects of aging, according to a study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Supplementing older mice with an enzyme called eNAMPT from younger mice extends life spans in the older mice.
New research from Washington University in St. Louis reveals the molecular machinery behind the high-intensity sweetness of the stevia plant. The results could be used to engineer new non-caloric products without the aftertaste that many associate with the sweetener marketed as Stevia.Although the genes and proteins in the biochemical pathway responsible for stevia synthesis are almost completely known, this is the first time that the 3D structure of the proteins that make rebaudioside A — or RebA, the major ingredient in the product Stevia —has been published, according to the authors of a new paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The standards and expectations to which men and woman generally conform impact health across life stages, health sectors and world regions, finds a new study from the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis.By analyzing a series of six case studies, gender norms expert Lindsay Stark, associate professor at the Brown School, and co-authors show that such norms are complex and their impact on health can be context-specific.
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