Welcome to the Source
These are extraordinary times, and this year the Washington University community has come together like never before. Here in The Source, we share the many ways we’re responding to the questions before us, from the unprecedented challenge of COVID-19; to pressing social issues in the St. Louis community and beyond; to the research, scholarship and creativity that drive us on campus every day. These are our stories.
Campus space in a COVID-19 world
It looks the same, yet the 169-acre campus feels a bit different this fall. As students return, a by-the-numbers look at what has been done to make the campus as safe as possible for returning students, faculty and staff.
Hope in a time of uncertainty
Unprecedented times present the opportunity to develop innovative, lasting and positive change. It’s in this spirit that the 8th McDonnell International Scholars Academy Symposium will proceed, beginning with a virtual global town hall meeting Oct. 8. The event, featuring scholars and leaders from around the world, is free and open to the public.
Prenatal cannabis exposure associated with adverse outcomes during middle childhood
Research from the Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis shows prenatal cannabis exposure may impact child behavior later in life.
Replacing Justice Ginsburg
President Donald Trump’s top picks to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court — Judges Amy Coney Barrett and Barbara Lagoa — would fall ideologically somewhere between Justices Neil Gorsuch and Samuel Alito, shifting the median of court far to the right, suggests a new analysis by Supreme Court experts at Washington University in St. Louis.
Solving a current mystery
Lithium ion batteries that shouldn’t short circuit often do. Now researchers at the McKelvey School of Engineering have figured out why, and they have devised a straightforward way to tell if and when that will happen for individual batteries.
Immune system affects mind and body, study indicates
School of Medicine researchers have discovered that a molecule produced by the immune system acts on the brain to change the behavior of mice. The findings help illuminate a surprising mind-body connection.
Older people with early, asymptomatic Alzheimer’s at risk of falls
Older people without cognitive problems who experience a fall may have undetected neurodegeneration in their brains that puts them at high risk of developing Alzheimer’s dementia, according to a study from Washington University School of Medicine.
Materials in lithium-ion batteries may be recycled for reuse
A team of engineers from the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis conducted a feasibility study for electrochemical “refilling” of lithium-ion batteries into the spent electrodes to regenerate useful compounds.