Synthetic biology enables protein origami

Synthetic biology enables protein origami

Fuzhong Zhang, associate professor of energy, environmental & chemical engineering in the McKelvey School of Engineering, and members of his lab have developed a bottom-up approach to build 2D nanostructures, essentially starting from scratch.
Epigenome orchestrates embryonic development

Epigenome orchestrates embryonic development

Studying zebrafish embryos, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have shown that the epigenome plays a significant part in guiding development in the first 24 hours after fertilization. The research may deepen understanding of congenital defects and miscarriage.

Genome sequenced of enterovirus D68 circulating in St. Louis

Researchers led by Gregory A. Storch, MD, at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, have sequenced the genome of enterovirus D68 sampled from patients treated at St. Louis Children’s Hospital. Nationwide, the virus has spread rapidly in recent months and caused severe respiratory illness in young children, with some patients requiring hospitalization.

Chalker awarded research grants

Douglas Chalker, PhD, associate professor of biology in Arts & Sciences, has been awarded $170,000 from the National Science Foundation to continue work on his project, “DNA Elimination Mechanisms in Tetrahymena.”

Fish prone to melanoma get DNA decoded

Scientists have decoded the genome of the platyfish, a cousin of the guppy and a popular choice for home aquariums. Scientists are interested in the fish because they tend to develop melanomas along the tail and fin.

Déjà vu all over again? Cultural understanding vs. horrors of eugenics

Scientific efforts to explain feeblemindedness, delinquency and racial inferiorities date to the Spanish Inquisition. And while the horrors of Nazi Germany exposed fatal flaws in science’s quest to build the master race, the ethical dilemmas posed by the science of eugenics are far from behind us, warns an anthropologist from Washington University in St. Louis.
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