Ancient DNA study tracks formation of populations across Central Asia
Ethically sourced and informed by archaeology, an ambitious new study reports genome-wide DNA information from 523 ancient humans collected at archaeological sites across the Near East and Central and South Asia. Washington University in St. Louis brought key partners together to generate the world’s largest study of ancient DNA, published this week in the journal Science.
Sumers Recreation Center attains LEED Platinum certification
The U.S. Green Building Council recently awarded Sumers Recreation Center its highest certification: LEED Platinum. The news demonstrates Washington University in St. Louis’ sustained commitment to protecting the environment.
Helping autonomous vehicles, robots make better plans
A researcher at the McKelvey School of Engineering is working to improve the way autonomous vehicles make decisions, and the way they relay that information.
Monitoring bridge safety with wireless sensors
Researchers from Washington University in St. Louis and Michigan State University are testing innovative sensors on Michigan’s Mackinac Bridge that are powered by traffic vibrations and could detect bridge failures before they happen.
Zhang wins $2 million NIH grant to study metabolite heterogeneity in bacteria
Fuzhong Zhang, an expert in synthetic biology at the McKelvey School of Engineering, is investigating how genetically identical cells manage to act so differently. The answer may have implications for antibiotic persistence.
Time to retire the ‘pristine myth’ of climate change
Anthropologist T.R. Kidder in Arts & Sciences contributed to one of the first “big data” studies in archaeology to tackle broader questions of how humans have reshaped landscapes, ecosystems and potentially climate over millennia. The analysis published Aug. 30 in the journal Science challenges conventional ideas that man’s impact has been “mostly recent.”
New, fundamental limit to ‘seeing and believing’ in imaging
As researchers probe smaller parts of our world, a “picture” is not always showing what it may seem to show. One researcher at the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis has uncovered a fundamental limit to our ability to trust what we see when it comes to images of molecular motion.
Big brains or big guts: Choose one
A global study comparing 2,062 birds finds that, in highly variable environments, birds tend to have either larger or smaller brains relative to their body size. New research from Carlos Botero, assistant professor of biology in Arts & Sciences, finds birds with smaller brains tend to use ecological strategies that are not available to big-brained counterparts.
Mosquitoes push northern limits with time-capsule eggs to survive winters
New Arts & Sciences research from Washington University in St. Louis shows that invasive mosquitoes at the northern limit of their current range are surviving conditions that are colder than those in their native territory. This new evidence of rapid local adaptation could have implications for efforts to control the spread of this invasive species.
NSF Center for Sustainable Polymers grant renewed
The NSF Center for Sustainable Polymers (CSP) has been awarded a $20 million grant renewal from the National Science Foundation in support of its research. The CSP, based at the University of Minnesota, partners with researchers from around the country, including William Tolman in Arts & Sciences.
Older Stories