In a series of court documents that were at turns chilling and bizarre, federal investigators said U.S. Army microbiologist Bruce Ivins misled government agents investigating the 2001 anthrax mailings, sent emails with language closely matching the handwritten letters sent to victims and had access to the strain of anthrax used in the crime. WUSTL microbial genetics expert George Weinstock, who was not involved in the investigation, comments.

References:

1. Aug. 7, 2008 — FBI Paints Chilling Portrait of Anthrax-Attack Suspect in the The Wall Street Journal

The germ that caused the plague epidemic that ravaged medieval Europe has a weakness that could help make a particularly dangerous form easier to treat, according to a study published on Thursday.
There are periodic natural outbreaks of pneumonic plague like one that started in 2005 in the Democratic Republic of Congo. There also is acute concern terrorists could harness the bacterium as an airborne germ warfare agent to spread pneumonic plague.
Writing in the journal Science, WUSTL scientists led by molecular microbiology professor William Goldman said experiments with mice showed that the onslaught of the bacterium slows markedly when the germ cannot use a key protein.

References:

1. Jan. 25, 2007 — Scientists find potential weakness in plague germ in the Scientific American

and 3 others.

Part of the alarm over cases of E. coli poisoning, such as the current spinach-linked outbreak, has been the difficulty in treating the most severe cases -- when toxins produced by the bacterium cause kidney failure. But researchers have been working for two decades to learn more about the illness and now think they will eventually have ways to limit the damage.
WUSTL pediatrics professor Phillip Tarr comments. Tarr treated many of the children who fell ill in 1993 in the Pacific Northwest from E. coli poisoning involving contaminated, under-cooked meat.

References:

1. Sept. 25, 2006 — Search for an E. coli defense in the Los Angeles Times

and 1 others.

Federal health officials said Thursday that more explicit labeling was just one proposal under consideration for allowing fresh spinach back on the market. Others include stepped-up regulation of how spinach is grown and processed.
WUSTL pediatrics gastroenterology professor Phillip Tarr describes the illness and what people should do if they think they have the illness.

References:

1. Sept. 22, 2006 — Officials consider spinach labeling plan in the Associated Press

and 32 others.

AP story on research led by WUSTL psychiatry and medicine professor Seth Eisen that compared the health of veterans who were deployed to the Persian Gulf region and veterans who served elsewhere. The study found that Gulf War veterans are more likely to have chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia syndrome. The study, funded by the Department of Veterans Affairs, appears in the June 7 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine.

References:

1. June 9, 2005 — Gulf War study shows veterans prone to certain illnesses in the Associated Press State & Local Wire
2. June 9, 2005 — Gulf vets have more chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia in the ScienceBlog.com
3. June 10, 2005 — New Study Links Several Illnesses to Service in Gulf War Combat Zone in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch

and 16 others.

The NIH awarded a $40 million grant to Colorado State University for a regional center to fight animal-to-human diseases such as West Nile and hantavirus. The Rocky Mountain center will be one of 10 regional consortiums, including WUSTL, funded by the NIH to research threats from infectious diseases and bioterror agents.

References:

1. June 2, 2005 — National Institutes of Health funds regional research center at Colorado State in the Associated Press State & Local Wire

and 48 others.