About The Source
The Source is a place for information, inspiration and for sharing stories about exciting discoveries and accomplishments at Washington University. Here, you’ll experience the research, scholarship and creativity that drive us every day. You’ll also get a glimpse of campus life and meet the people who inspire us: scientists, leaders, entrepreneurs, innovators, artists and authors. If you’re looking to explore a remarkable place where people matter and serious work is done, this is The Source.
Rare copy of Declaration of Independence now on view
What happened on July 4, 1776? Not what you might think. On that historic day more than 200 years ago, the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence. But it would be weeks before the Founding Fathers actually signed the handwritten document now housed in the National Archives in Washington. In the meantime, official broadsides were printed and posted on courthouse doors across the colonies. One of those broadsides is now on view at Washington University.
Washington People: Martin Israel
Martin Israel, professor of physics in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, received the Dean’s Medal this spring. Israel discusses his background and his career in this video from Arts & Sciences.
Genes linked to Alzheimer’s contribute to damage in different ways
School of Medicine researchers have found that the pathways through which various types of brain cells are damaged by Alzheimer’s disease varies, depending on the genes involved. The findings are published in the journal Genome Medicine.
Scientists ID source of damaging inflammation after heart attack
Scientists from the School of Medicine have zeroed in on a culprit that spurs damaging inflammation in the heart following a heart attack. The guilty party is a type of immune cell that tries to heal the injured heart but instead triggers inflammation that leads to even more damage.
New tools reveal prelude to chaos
Engineers at Washington University in St. Louis have developed tools that mathematically describe the kinetics in a system right before it dissolves into randomness.
Are fast-pitch softball pitchers overdoing it?
Youth baseball leagues often have fairly strict limits on how many innings pitchers can pitch or how many pitches a player can throw. But for girls playing fast-pitch softball, such guidelines are rare. School of Medicine sports medicine specialists have found that many pitchers aren’t getting enough time to recover and are experiencing shoulder fatigue, pain, weakness and injury.
Fortune — and nature — favors the bold
Natural selection acts on behavioral traits, says evolutionary biologist Jonathan Losos, who helped lead a replicated field experiment with anole lizards on eight small islands in the Caribbean, as reported in the June 1 issue of Science
Act fast to pay attention
Want to improve your attention? Arts & Sciences brain sciences researcher Richard Abrams at Washington University in St. Louis finds that our attention may be guided by the most recent interactions with our environment.