International Business Times HK
64 percent of elderly black Americans face risk of poverty
12/14/2010
As many as 50 percent of Americans between the ages of 60 and 90 will face at least one year of poverty or near poverty going forward and that poverty will not be evenly distributed across the population, according to new research by Mark R. Rank, the Herbert S. Hadley Professor of Social Work at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis. He found that the risk of black elderly Americans facing poverty was double that of white elderly Americans. Link to Article See also Reuters, MSNBC.com, AsiaOne, Bangladesh News, Daily Mail (UK)
The New York Times
Threads of discovery, to weave a plan of attack
12/13/2010
Alzheimers researchers are obsessed with a small, sticky protein fragment, beta amyloid, that clumps into barnacle-like balls in the brains of patients with this degenerative neurological disease. Now, a surprising new study led by WUSTL researcher Dr. Randall Bateman has found that most people with Alzheimers seem to make perfectly normal amounts of amyloid. They just can’t get rid of it. Bateman came up with the research idea in 2003 when he was a neurology resident at Washington University School of Medicine. Link to Article
The New York Times
Study of baby teeth sees radiation effects
12/13/2010
Men who grew up in the St. Louis area in the early 1960s and died of cancer by middle age had more than twice as much radioactive strontium in their baby teeth as men born in the same area at the same time who are still living, according to a study based on teeth collected years ago by Washington University in St. Louis. Link to Article
Nature.com
Hydrogen production comes naturally to ocean microbe
12/14/2010
The single-celled cyanobacterium Cyanothece 51142 can make hydrogen in air, Himadri Pakrasi of Washington University in St Louis, Missouri, and his colleagues report in Nature Communications1. Until now, the only organisms known to make hydrogen could only produce it in an oxygen-free environment — making it a potentially expensive process to scale-up. Link to Article
The Wall Street Journal
Turn off the ringing sound
12/14/2010
Brain-imaging studies are shedding new light on how some peoples’ brains are wired with unusual connections between the auditory cortex that governs hearing and the centers for attention, emotion and executive function. “We have always wondered why some people find tinnitus so distressing. Now we can see it,” says Jay Piccirillo, an otolaryngologist at Washington University in St. Louis who is studying a new treatment for tinnitus that targets magnetic pulses at patients’ brains to redirect. Link to Article
Smithsonian
Explanation offered for ‘bizarre’ moon
12/14/2010
U.S. scientists say they have a theory for the bizarre appearance of one of Saturn’s moons, where a huge ridge around its equator gives it a “walnut” shape. Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis surmise a giant impact explains the ridge, up to 12 miles high and 60 miles wide, that almost completely encircles Iapetus, the ringed planet’s outermost moon, a university release said Monday. Link to Article See also Riverfront Times, St. Louis Globe Democrat, Smithsonian.com, United Press International
The Daily Beast
Healthcare law struck down
12/13/2010
Health-care reform’s individual mandate, a core piece of Democrats’ crowning legislative achievement, is headed to a higher court now that it’s been found unconstitutional by a U.S. District Court. Some argue that the courts have become so politicized that constitutional arguments might not matter. “This is a very political Supreme Court right now,” says Merton Bernstein, a law professor at Washington University. “With this court, you can never say never.” Link to Article
MSN Health & Fitness
What’s good for heart may also be good for brain
12/13/2010
Sticking to a heart-healthy lifestyle may also ward off Alzheimer’s disease, according to a new study that suggests that raising “good” cholesterol levels can help prevent the brain disorder in older people. Catherine M. Roe of Washington University in St. Louis, said it was already known that “good” cholesterol benefits the heart, but this study shows “an additional reason to make sure we live a healthy lifestyle.” Link to Article
Las Vegas Review Journal
OBESITY: Teens turning to bariatric surgery to lose weight
12/14/2010
In June, 18-year-old Brittany Lewis was the first patient to undergo the gastric banding procedure as part of a new bariatric surgery program for adolescents that opened in St. Louis. The program is the first of its kind in the area. “It is known that the obesity problem has increased not only for adults but for adolescents. Bariatric surgery is the most effective way known for weight loss,” said Washington University bariatric surgeon Esteban Varela, MD, who directs the program. Link to Article
St. Louis Business Journal
Emerson, AT&T give $7.5M to Siteman Cancer Center
12/13/2010
Emerson plans to give $5 million and AT&T will donate $2.5 million to scientists at the Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center. This commitment will generate an additional $15 million through matching support from Siteman, Washington University School of Medicine and BJC HealthCare. The first project supported by the grant will be Siteman’s research in endometrial cancer, the most common gynecologic cancer. Link to Article
News in higher education
New York Times
Opinion: College, jobs and inequality
12/14/2010
A college education does correlate with higher pay and better job prospects, but it isn’t a cure-all for joblessness and income inequality. Link to Article
New York Times
Opinion: How can a tongue-tied America be a global leader?
12/13/2010
Responses to budget cuts in college language departments. Link to Article
Boston Globe
Veterans as leaders on campus
12/12/2010
Although many military veterans are struggling with the transition to campus, here is how a growing number are transferring their experience in military leadership to take leadership positions on campus and organize groups to support and advance veteran students. Link to Article
Bloomberg News
Colleges add Shariah courses to plug shortage: Islamic finance
12/12/2010
Universities are expanding Islamic finance courses as demand for professionals qualified in Shariah law outstrips supply in the $1 trillion industry. Link to Article
For additional higher education news (subscription may be required):
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Inside Higher Ed
University Business
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