Los Angeles Times
Senate veers to the right with GOP wins
11/03/2010
The U.S. Senate will undergo a distinct rightward shift as a result of Tuesday’s election, which ushered in conservative, “tea party”-backed candidates and prompted incumbents from both parties to look warily to the next election. “These guys are going to be moving to the right,” said Steven Smith, a political science professor and an expert on Congress at Washington University in St. Louis. “The question is, is that the right strategy for two years from now, four years from now? Or will it push the party too far to the right?” Link to Article
See also St. Louis Post Dispatch
Fox News, KPLR-TV News (St. Louis)
Related news release http://news.wustl.edu/news/Pages/21464.aspx
ESPN.com
Brett Favre’s time has finally passed
11/02/2010
What happens in athletics at mega-campuses such as Ohio State and UCLA is important, of course. But across the United States, men and women engage in games at small colleges where sportsmanship, not money, is the first concern. Bowdoin, Williams, Amherst and Middlebury, Washington University in St. Louis and a number of other small colleges with similar high standards are places at which academics and personal integrity truly matter more than winning. If only all college athletes could say they had been privileged to play at a school where academics and integrity mattered more than the final score. Link to Article
JAMA Medical News & Perspectives
Are CSF biomarkers ready for prime time as diagnostics for Alzheimer Disease?
11/3/2010
A recent study made national news by showing the association of β-amyloid and tau proteins in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) with Alzheimer disease pathology in the brain, as well as their ability to predict which patients with mild cognitive impairment would progress to Alzheimer disease. David M. Holtzman, MD, chair of neurology at Washington University, takes time from his own research on CSF to discuss the study’s implications. Link to Article
JAMA Medical News & Perspectives
Safe behind the wheel? Physicians may be reluctant to raise the question
11/3/2010
Having someone tell you to retire from driving can be devastating. It’s a major life change with very unpleasant consequences. Physicians often don’t want raise the topic with their older patients, especially if they fear a long and emotional discussion or a confrontation. “Doctors don’t typically deal with driving issues; it’s not in their comfort zone,” says David B. Carr, MD, associate professor of medicine and neurology at Washington University at St Louis. Link to Article
Science News
Quizzing while studying beats the highlighter
11/3/2010
We often think of testing as a way to measure how much information a person remembers, but research shows that testing can be a powerful study strategy as well. “The illusion is, you read something and think you’ll remember it. But if you don’t try to retrieve it, you don’t know if you know it,” Mary Pyc, a study co-author who is now a researcher at Washington University in St. Louis. Students often study by reading text and highlighting or underlining key ideas. Then, to study for a test, they look at their own markings. That approach might not be effective for students, says WUSTL psychologist Henry Roediger. Link to Article
MyFox Milwaukee
Avandia studies: Two new studies link diabetes drug Avandia and heart risks – WITI
11/03/2010
The diabetes drug Avandia, once the world’s top-selling diabetes medication, took two more hits Monday with one new study linking it to an increased risk of heart attacks and a separate study linking it to an increased risk of heart failure and stroke. The research comes before a federal hearing on the drug, also known by its generic name, rosiglitazone. “The uncertainty that has plagued rosiglitazone from previous clinical trial data remains difficult to reconcile,” said the lead author of the study, Dr. Richard G. Bach, of the Washington University School of Medicine. Link to Article
STLtoday.com
Missouri voters send anti-Obama signal in electing Blunt
11/03/2010
Republican Roy Blunt soundly defeated Democrat Robin Carnahan to become Missouri’s next U.S. senator in a bruising battle between two of the state’s most prominent political families. Though Carnahan’s family background and experience away from Washington made her an attractive candidate for Democrats, the political atmosphere favored Republicans too much for her to win, said Steven S. Smith, political science professor at Washington University. “Is there anything Carnahan could have done about it? Could she have run further and faster away from the national Democrats? I’m not sure,” he said Link to Article
St. Louis Beacon
Schweich relieved and excited after winning state auditor’s race
11/3/2010
Tom Schweich, Missouri’s newly elected state auditor, expressed relief and excitement after taking the concession call just after midnight from his Democratic opponent, incumbent Susan Montee. Link to Article
The Riverfront Times
Featured review: A Day Like Any Other
10/4/2010
This mid-career survey by 42-year-old Brazilian artist Rivane Neuenschwander features a suite of works that function like trenchantly clever pop refrains. The media are wildly diverse — installations, video, drawing, painting — but the constant is a core engine of simple play. In Rain Rains, silver buckets filled with water hang from the ceiling, dripping into buckets placed below. The exhibit runs through January 10, 2011, at the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, Forsyth and Skinker boulevards on the campus of Washington University. Link to Article
News in higher education
Baltimore Sun
StraighterLine’s challenge to the rising cost of college
11/1/2010
At a time when a year of college can cost as much as a luxury car, StraighterLine Inc. offers a cheap alternative: online courses starting at $138 a month, or $999 for a year of “101”-style classes typically taken by freshmen, ranging from mathematics to English to business statistics. The startup has high hopes of altering the economics of higher education by solely offering online courses a la carte — and no degrees. Link to Article
NextGov.com
Obama advances nanotechnology for agencies, industry
11/01/2010
The White House on Monday detailed a $1.76 billion program for 2011 and beyond, with additional funding, to reinvent industry with minuscule semiconductors, tiny medical implants and other nanoscale materials. Nanotechnology is expected to continue the ever-increasing miniaturization of semiconductor processing and memory devices. Officials now are inviting the public to submit feedback on the policy. Link to Article
Associated Press
UM identifies 5 degree programs it may cut
11/2/2010
The University of Missouri has identified five low-demand degree programs that it might eliminate. A report obtained by The Columbia Tribune says the university told the Missouri Department of Education last week that no students are pursuing specialist degrees in two programs
— career and technical education and special education. Those programs could close immediately.
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