WUSTL chancellor Mark S. Wrighton is trying to establish meaningful relationships with foreign universities, in hopes of engaging large numbers of WUSTL students and faculty members, encouraging robust research collaborations, and cultivating a more global campus.

References:

1. Feb. 27, 2009 — U.S. Colleges Get Serious With Partners Overseas in the The Chronicle of Higher Education

Iraq is one of several tides running against GOP candidates, driving away independent voters and some party faithful. Except for Missouri, independent voters in five Senate races polled by USA Today were swinging toward the Democrat. Party loyalty was stronger among Democrats than Republicans in every state but Ohio. Michael Minta, professor of political science in Arts & Sciences, comments on how the stem cell research issue is dividing Republicans in Missouri.

References:

1. Sept. 1, 2006 — Republicans tense as voter disillusionment sets in in the USA Today

The 1,000 Genomes Project, an international research effort that includes WUSTL scientists, will sequence the genomes of one thousand people from different parts of the globe. Elaine Mardis, co-director of WUSTL's Genome Sequencing Center, comments.

References:

1. Jan. 28, 2008 — 1,000 Genomes Project in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Scientists are more interested than ever in the effects of extreme climate swings, such as prolonged drought, because the computer models predict wilder extremes as one effect of the climate change now underway.
WUSTL biology professor and ecologist Jonathan Chase comments on his study that appeared in the Oct. 15 issue of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

References:

1. Oct. 22, 2007 — Drought Can Destroy Diversity in the LiveScience.com

Article looks at St. Louis' effort to rebuild its image in the face of population loss and public school accreditation problems.
WUSTL architecture professor John Hoal, who has been involved in numerous municipal planning projects, comments on the redevelopment effort.

References:

1. April 17, 2007 — Hopes for a Renaissance After Exodus in St. Louis in the The New York Times

and 3 others.

Article on the efforts of WUSTL chancellor emeritus William Danforth and civic leader John Dubinsky to reorient the business climate in St. Louis. St. Louis has great research institutiions like WUSTL, but "we have not done so well with the commercialization of that science."
In 2001, Danforth -- along with a number of other business and civic leaders -- founded the Coalition for Plant and Life Sciences, a nonprofit group. The goal was to jump-start St. Louis' nascent biotechnology industry by providing both new and mature companies with increased access to financing and up-to-date facilities.

References:

1. Feb. 7, 2007 — Keeping the Fruits of Research Close to Home in St. Louis in the The New York Times

Democrats are pressing their support for embryonic stem cell research in Congressional races around the country, seeking to move back to center stage an issue they believe resonates with voters and to exploit a division between conservatives who oppose the science and other Republicans more open to it.
Former U.S. Senator John Danforth, an Episcopal minister, and his brother, William, WUSTL chancellor emeritus, have taken a prominent role in promoting the amendment.

References:

1. April 24, 2006 — Democrats hope to divide G.O.P. over stem cells in the The New York Times

and 1 others.

Animals can spread from island to island, giving rise to an explosion of new species, and even colonizing the mainland again. The results suggest that conserving biodiversity on islands is vital for the evolution of new species in the future. Other recent studies suggest that islands may also be engines of evolution for many other animals and perhaps even plants. In the June issue of The Journal of Biogeography, for example, Kirsten Nicholson of WUSTL and her colleagues published a study of lizards that live in Central and South America.

References:

1. Nov. 22, 2005 — In Give and Take of Evolution, a Surprising Contribution From Islands in the The New York Times

Missouri Gov. Blunt has shot back at his Illinois counterpart's effort to attract scientists and institutions involved in embryonic stem cell research to Illinois.
Blunt said in a letter to life sciences companies that he opposes the "prohibition and criminalization" of stem cell research. The letters were sent to U. Missouri, WUSTL and the KC Stowers Institute for Medical Research, among others.

References:

1. Sept. 13, 2005 — Blunt counters Blagojevich's courting of stem cell researchers in the Associated Press

and 4 others.

The skeleton of Clint the chimp, whose blood sample was used to map the chimpanzee genome, will reside at the Chicago Field Museum. The chimp died recently of heart failure at the age of 24. His remains will be safeguarded for future research.
WUSTL geneticist Richard Wilson, who participated in the chimp project, comments.

References:

1. Sept. 6, 2005 — Field Museum gets a new superstar in the Chicago Tribune

and 15 others.

Article on the reports published in Nature and Science magazines that an international team of scientists, including WUSTL's Genome Sequencing Center director Richard Wilson and colleague LaDeana Hillier, have finished sequencing the genome of the chimp. The comparison of genetic blueprints shows that just a handful of mutations account for the vast differences between the species. Scientists say the results provide a roadmap for studying diseases and the mechanisms by which humans evolved into the dominant species of Earth.

References:

1. Sept. 1, 2005 — In Chimpanzee DNA, Signs of Y Chromosome's Evolution in the New York Times
2. Sept. 1, 2005 — Man, Chimp Separated by Dab of DNA in the Los Angeles Times
3. Sept. 1, 2005 — Washington U. had major role in chimp genome sequencing in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch

and 55 others.

It may not matter to people who hate snakes, but researchers at WUSTL have discovered that rattlers are adaptable and have some interesting habits. Article mentions the work of WUSTL researchers Wayne Drda, Corey Anderson and Ryan Turnquist.

References:

1. June 20, 2005 — Snake-chasing doesn't rattle these researchers in the Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service

and 46 others.

Armed with fresh hope of overturning President Bush's limits on federal funding for embryonic stem cell studies, Republican members of Congress held an unusual hearing in a Chicago courtroom Monday to rally support for expanding the controversial research. To counter the argument that adult cells are valid alternatives, two researchers who specialize in adult stem cells — including WUSTL's Steven Teitelbaum — were invited to explain the advantages of embryonic cells.

References:

1. May 17, 2005 — Stem cell bill gains steam in the Chicago Tribune

and 16 others.

Article on the outlook for bioscience hotspots focuses on St. Louis.
For years this fading industrial center has poured a fortune into the genetic engineering of plants, ignoring critics of the controversial technology and enduring a long stretch with little to show for its investment.
Now, finally, St. Louis is starting to see a payoff, putting some welcome distance between itself and the many other cities trying to hit it big in biotech.
Comments from John Biggs, Roger Beachy, Peter Raven, and WUSTL chancellor Mark Wrighton.

References:

1. May 1, 2005 — St. Louis waits for Bio-Belt to bloom in the Chicago Tribune

and 12 others.

In the first comprehensive survey of this realm, Palo Alto scientists found 395 strains of bacteria living in the intestines of healthy people. Most were previously unknown to science. WUSTL's Center for Genome Sciences director Jeffrey Gordon, who was not involved in the study, comments. A separate study at WUSTL, reported last year, raises the intriguing possibility that intestinal bugs may help determine if a person is prone to getting fat.

References:

1. April 15, 2005 — Study surveys human intestines in the San Jose Mercury News (California)

and 17 others.

A multi-institutional U.S. research team led by WUSTL has completed DNA analysis of human chromosomes 2 and 4, the journal Nature reported on Wednesday. The sequencing work on the chromosomes was carried out as part of the international Human Genome Project. The Post-Dispatch news item includes a comment by WUSTL scientist Richard Wilson, who says researchers at the center plan to focus more on finding genetic variations that could predispose some people to disease.

References:

1. April 7, 2005 — U.S. scientists decode human chromosomes 2 and 4 in the Xinhua News Service (China)

and 7 others.

An international team of researchers announced they have cataloged all the genes on the female X chromosome, a technical feat expected to enable fresh insights into women's health and add a genetic component to the debate over differences between the sexes.
The sequencing was carried out by more than 250 researchers as part of the Human Genome Project, of which WUSTL is a part.

References:

1. March 17, 2005 — Mapping of the female chromosome will shed new light on disease and differences in the sexes in the Chicago Tribune

and 27 others.

A new coalition of groups in Missouri has formed to back embryonic stem cell research and oppose bills in the state legislature that would curtail the practice of human cloning. Missouri Coalition for Lifesaving Cures features 60 different organizations including the American Diabetes Association, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce, and Washington University.

References:

1. Feb. 11, 2005 — Missouri Coalition Forms to Back Human Cloning, Stem Cell Research in the LifeNews.com (Montana)
2. Feb. 10, 2005 — Coalition forms to support stem-cell research in Missouri in the St. Louis Business Journal

and 3 others.

You may have one of the biggest risk factors for heart attack, and your doctor doesn't even know it. While doctors screening for heart problems know to monitor smoking, high cholesterol and high blood pressure, few pay attention to a potentially more serious foe: depression. "In cardiology there have been dozens of studies done on hypertension," said Kenneth Freedland, professor of psychiatry at the School of Medicine, who has been studying the link between depression and heart disease since the 1980s. "We need to make sure the public and medical community understand that this is an important problem, too."

References:

1. Feb. 23, 2004 — Depression: hidden cause of heart attack? in the The Wall Street Journal

and 2 others.

David Kilper/WUSTL Photo

Heathcote

Julia Heathcote, graduate student in earth and planetary sciences in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, has combed the dinosaur fossil record from T. Rex to songbirds and has compiled the first quantitative analysis of the quality and congruence of that record. She calls the record, known as the Dinosauria, "moderately good," and says her results indicate that there might be 500 or more dinosaurs yet to be discovered.

References:

1. Feb. 10, 2004 — Many Dino Species Undiscovered in the BBC News Online

and 2 others.