‘Curtains’ on stage

School of Medicine students rehearse for the School of Medicine spring musical, “Curtains,” to be held at 7:30 p.m. April 14-16 at the Whelpley Auditorium on the St. Louis College of Pharmacy campus. Tickets may be purchased beginning Monday, April 4, in Room 100 of the McDonnell Medical Sciences Building or in the Farrell Learning and Teaching Center lobby from noon-1 p.m. daily.

Engineers hope to provide smooth slide for kids with cochlear implants

Courtesy image/WUSTL PhotoFor some deaf children, a plastic slide is a more formidable foe than the school wedgie-giver. Static electricity buildup from sliding down a plastic slide — instant summertime fun for those with normal hearing — can temporarily silence the world to cochlear implantees. Two electrical engineers at Washington University in St. Louis tested static electricity buildup — which can zap a cochlear implant — on sliding children to quantify the sparks. Thanks to some publicity and increased awareness, their research has inspired the St. Louis County Parks and Recreation Department to consider the problem, and an anti-static coating company to try to solve it. More…