Bacteria in the bloodstream can trigger an overwhelming immune response that causes sepsis, a life-threatening condition. Now, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found genes that help protect the body’s cells from dying during sepsis, which could lead to new treatments.

In the right environment, a harmless mineral can do a lot to change the composition of the drinking water that flows through lead pipes. New research from the McKelvey School of Engineering discovers how.

In September 1969, Washington University in St. Louis scientists were among the first to receive samples collected from the historic Apollo 11 moon mission. At this year’s Lunar and Planetary Science Convention, a student, a faculty member and an alum remind us of the value of these samples and share cutting edge research on decades-old rocks.

Emily Almas, associate dean and director of recruitment at Swarthmore College, has been appointed assistant vice provost and director of admissions at Washington University in St. Louis, announced Ronné Turner, vice provost for admissions and financial aid.

A new program funded through the Cancer Moonshot Initiative has doubled the number of patients at Siteman Cancer Center assessed for smoking — and increased by fivefold the percentage of cancer patients who smoke now taking medication to help them quit. The results have been published in the journal Translational Behavioral Medicine.

A new study reveals much about the history of African poultry development, according to Helina S. Woldekiros, assistant professor of anthropology in Arts & Sciences. But a 3,000-year-old local breed type is threatened by the introduction of commercial cluckers.

Logging road construction in Western Equatorial Africa has accelerated over the last two decades and has led to a dramatic decline of intact forest lands in the region, according to new research published by Crickette Sanz, associate professor of biological anthropology in Arts & Sciences. Increased human immigration and degradation of natural resources follows in the wake of such road expansion.

Two students in John Inazu’s first-year “Criminal Law” class embodied the lessons taught during the class about theories of punishment, questions of whether criminal justice can remedy injustice and issues of equity in sentencing.

Researchers at the School of Medicine and the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research in Dhaka, Bangladesh, are developing a new approach to address childhood malnutrition. They are designing therapeutic foods aimed at repairing the gut microbiomes of malnourished children.

Biologists in Arts & Sciences have mapped the crystal structure of a key protein that makes the metabolites responsible for the bitter taste in cruciferous plants like mustard and broccoli. The results could be used along with ongoing breeding strategies to manipulate crop plants for nutritional and taste benefits.