Bloomberg Businessweek
Obama in Arizona means moment to alter an image of ‘detachment’
01/12/2011
In Arizona today, President Barack Obama will confront a moment of national pain that presents him with a chance to establish a new bond with the American people. Obama “has to walk a careful line in which he’s not accusing, but talking about our common responsibilities for a political discourse,” said Wayne Fields, an American culture expert at Washington University in St. Louis and author of “Union of Words: A History of Presidential Eloquence.” A president needs to be seen as a unifying, rather than a divisive, figure after a tragedy.” Link to Article See also Honalulu Star Advertiser
Biofuels Digest
Algae: 10 superstars with strategies for success
1/12/2011
If 2009 was the high watermark of that first rush of newfound enthusiasm for algae, 2010 was a year of tempered expectations, and a strong commitment by a wide assortment of research entities, governments and private ventures. Washington University is a partner in a consortium called the National Alliance for Advanced Biofuels and Bioproducts, which last year received a $44 million grant from the Department of Energy. Link to Article
Cutting Edge
Activity of a single brain cell Can predict if we spend or save
1/12/2011
By eavesdropping on the activity of a single brain cell, Yale University researchers can predict the outcome of decisions such as whether you will dip into your retirement account to buy a Porsche, according to a study published Jan. 12 in the journal Neuron. The Yale research team, which included Xinying Cai now at Washington University in St. Louis), helped identify areas of the brain involved in the choice between taking an immediate reward or deferring for a larger but delayed payoff. Link to Article
Health Canal
Feast or famine: Researchers identify leptin receptor’s sidekick as a target for appetite regulation
01/12/2011
A study by researchers at the Mayo Clinic and Washington University School of Medicine adds a new twist to the body of evidence suggesting human obesity is due in part to genetic factors. While studying hormone receptors in laboratory mice, neuroscientists identified a new molecular player responsible for the regulation of appetite and metabolism. Link to Article
STLtoday.com
Haiti still needs, gets help year after quake
01/12/2011
Dr. Patricia Wolff, a St. Louis pediatrician and founder of Meds & Food for Kids is working with Washington University professor Lora Iannotti on a nutrition study on children who consume a 100-calorie peanut butter packet containing a day’s worth of vitamins. Children who take the additives daily will be compared against others who took it half the time and children who didn’t take it at all. Link to Article See also KWMU (St. Louis Public Radio
STLtoday.com
Area colleges extend smoking ban to entire campus
01/12/2011
Colleges expand smoking bans — St. Louis Community College and Harris-Stowe State University have banned smoking on their campuses. Both institutions extended bans inside buildings to their entire campuses. The campuses of Washington University, Fontbonne University and St. Louis Christian College also are smoke-free. Link to Article See also KMOX-AM News Radio
Saint Louis Beacon
Another massacre
01/11/2011
The attempt on Rep. Gabrielle Gifford’s life, the murder of six citizens and the wounding of 13 more is surely a dreadful event, but hardly unimaginable or unthinkable. Indeed, if anything the tragic event in Tucson was in some sense foreseeable, writes James W. Davis is a professor emeritus in political science at Washington University. Link to Article
STLtoday.com
Washington University faculty named fellows of prestigious scientific society
01/12/2011
Three Washington University faculty members have been named fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the world’s largest general scientific society: Peter M.J. Burgers, Ph.D., the Marvin Brennecke Professor in Biological Chemistry; Tamara L. Doering, M.D., Ph.D., professor of molecular microbiology and director of the Graduate Program in Molecular Microbiology and Microbial Pathogenesis; and Fiona B. Marshall, Ph.D., professor of anthropology and of African and African-American studies.
Link to Article
Related news release http://news.wustl.edu/news/Pages/21721.aspx
St. Louis Jewish Light
Jewish Federation plans to begin search for next executive leader
1/12/2011
After two decades heading the Jewish Federation of St. Louis, Barry Rosenberg plans to leave the job at the expiration of his present contract. Rosenberg, 60, came to St. Louis in 1993 from the Jewish Federation of North Jersey where he served for 14 years. Rosenberg is an adjunct professor at the George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University and has served in other leadership and advisory positions at the university. Link to Article
St. Louis Business Journal
Dorsey’s Square raises $27.5M
1/11/2011
Twitter creator and native St. Louisan Jack Dorsey’s mobile device credit card processing startup Square Inc. has raised a $27.5 million Series B round of venture financing led by Menlo Park, Calif.-based Sequoia Capital. Last month, Square’s co-founder Jim McKelvey, co-owner of Third Degree Glass Factory, sued Washington University associate professor Robert Morley Jr., claiming that McKelvey’s name was wrongly omitted as a co-inventor on a Square patent. Link to Article
Touching Base blog / Barnes Jewish Hospital
Cold weather and show shoveling can lead to heart attacks
1/12/2011
With temperatures hovering around single digits and areas of the St. Louis community with as much as six inches of snow, we want to remind people to take it easy when it comes to snow shoveling. “There is a connection between extremely cold weather, snow shoveling and heart attack,” according to Edward Geltman, MD, director of the heart failure program at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine. Link to Article / Online video
News in Higher Education
Boston Globe
Extra training, education help workers stand out
1/12/2011
Many working and mid-career adults are pursuing advanced degrees and additional credentials to improve their prospects for promotions, higher pay and other opportunities. For many professionals, the time and expense of earning a master’s degree can pay dividends over the course of a career; for others, less costly and shorter certificate programs that enhance skills can also lead to advancement.
Richmond Times-Dispatch
Students prepare to take on the global economy
1/12/2011
Teaching students about how to work in a global marketplace is key if they want to have a legitimate future in business. Virginia Commonwealth University and the University of Richmond are among universities in Virginia that prepare undergraduate and M.B.A. students to deal in the rapidly changing world economy, where doing business with companies in China is as commonplace as doing business with a neighboring shopkeeper. Link to Article
Washington Post /Campus Overload blog
Web helps admissions officials demystify application process
1/ 6/2011
Admissions officials at many colleges are trying to fight the Hollywood version of the college application process: A panel of ancient white guys in suits sitting in a stuffy wood-paneled boardroom as they discuss a pile of dusty folders. To do this, dozens of admissions departments are producing YouTube videos, starting blogs, creating Twitter accounts and flocking to Facebook with this message: Look at how awesome, cool and approachable we are! 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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