GenomeWeb
At CSHL Conference, Researchers Cite First Examples of Clinical Use of Whole-Genome Sequencing
09/29/2010
As the cost of human whole-genome sequencing is plummeting, researchers are beginning to explore its usefulness in the clinic. Earlier this month, several groups presented some of the first examples of how whole-genome sequencing is helping doctors select a therapy or make a diagnosis. Rick Wilson, co-director of the Genome Center at Washington University School of Medicine, presented the case of a 39-year-old woman with acute promyelocytic leukemia. Link to Article
The Wall Street Journal Online
One Man’s Revolution
09/28/2010
Misfortune begets fortune, the Chinese sage Laotzu wrote in the fifth century B.C. In the 21st century, Qiu Xiaolong, the Chinese-born author of police-detective novels, provides proof. It was his love of T.S. Eliot’s work that brought a just-married Mr. Qiu alone to the U.S. in 1988 on a one-year Ford Foundation fellowship—to Washington University (founded by Eliot’s grandfather) in St. Louis, the city in which the poet was born. Qiu’s latest book, “Years of Red Dust: Stories of Shanghai,” is a moving work of mainstream fiction published Tuesday by St. Martin’s Press. Link to Article
Sciencetext Tips and Tricks
Finding a private place on the wireless net
09/29/2010
Increasingly, we live in a wireless world, hundreds of millions of people connect to the internet through Wi-Fi networks, use mobile phones, or wireless broadband and devices connect to computer systems through wireless sensors and other gadgets. Unfortunately, all these different gadgets and computers are not good at talking nicely to each other at the moment, suggests research by Raj Jain of Washington University in St. Louis. Jain and colleagues have developed the concept of a virtual identity that could facilitate the next generation of connectivity technologies. Link to Article
Her Campus: A Collegiette’s Guide to LIfe
Madison Mayster: Helping the Blind in the Recession
9/29/2010
Upon learning that the government ceased funding for Braille education in public schools, Washington University junior Madison Mayster decided to start a volunteer organization to teach the Braille method and relevant occupational skills to blind individuals in her local community. As the recession worsened, Mayster’s dedication to the cause increased and she was able to draw a larger group of volunteers at Wash U. Link to Article
KPLR-TV
News 11 at Noon (2/2)
A Washington University student project is bringing Google maps to life. The project mixes web cameras and 3D maps to render 3D images of Busch Stadium, the Arch, the Eiffel Tower and many more international locations. The images are now available online as live 3D maps thanks to an internet application developed by Austin Abrams, a doctoral student in computer science at Washington University. Link to Broadcast Related news release
STLtoday.com
Related: It’s hip to be Square Buzz • Twitter inventor’s new venture is getting a lot of notice. Reality • Similar device on way; WU educator says his idea is for sale.
09/29/2010
Square, a new mobile-payment venture, offers a small plastic device that plugs into a cell phone’s audio jack and allows small merchants and individuals to accept credit card payments. Sherif Nasser, assistant professor of marketing at Washington University’s Olin School, says the product will be vulnerable to competition. Bob Morley, an associate professor of electrical engineering at Washington University, worked on the project earlier this year and later applied for a patent on the device. After months of negotiations, his bid for compensation failed. Link to Article
St. Louis Riverfront Times
Tuesday Tussle: Opposing viewpoint on whether Wash. U. tobacco study
9/26/2010
Dueling blog posts offer opposing views on whether Washington University’s recent study of second-hand tobacco pollution in St. Louis area bars and restaurants. Martin Pion, founder of MO-GASP (Missouri Group Against Smoking Pollution) squares off against Tony Palazzolo, an active member of Keep St. Louis Free and a strong believer in personal rights.
Link to Wash. U. Study Got it WRONG: Smoke Eaters Do Work
Link to Wash. U. Study Got It RIGHT: Smoke Eaters Don’t Work
News in higher education
The New York Times
Obama’s university visit was not simple
9/28/2010
Would it be all right if the Leader of the Free World stopped by your campus for a little while? The offer by the Democratic National Committee to the University of Wisconsin-Madison would seem like a no-brainer, conjuring images of university officials ostentatiously checking their calendars before saying: It just so happens that the Badgers of Wisconsin are free that day. The offer, though, forced the university’s chancellor, Biddy Martin, to weigh the many benefits of a visit by a sitting president against the naked political purpose of that visit. After all, the event would be a kickoff rally for Democrats as they approach the midterm elections, and Barack Obama would be appearing as a party leader more than as a president. In the end, the university said: Yes!
ABC World News
Gunman at University of Texas Austin identified as Sophomore Math Major Colton Tooley
9/28/2010
A 19-year-old math major got dressed in a suit and a ski mask and fired off several rounds from an AK-47 assault rifle today, sending the campus of the University of Texas at Austin into a lockdown before taking his own life in a library, police said. Cops say shooter was Colton Tooley, 19; Student fired rifle before killing self. Related video discusses how universities deal with threats of shooters on campus. Link to Article See also Boston Globe on attacks at area colleges
Austin American-Statesman
UT shooting reignites debate over guns on campus
9/28/2010
Almost as quickly as a lone gunman peppered the University of Texas campus with rifle fire Tuesday, a public debate reignited over whether concealed handguns should be allowed on university campuses. Link to Article
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