Category: News

How do cells take out the trash?

Research uncovers how unfolded proteins are discarded, and how a perfectly good protein can wind up in the trash

High-tech imaging focuses on oxygen metabolism in newborn brain

Our brains consume huge amounts of energy and rely on oxygen supplied by blood vessels. When the brains of infants are deprived of oxygen for any reason, it can lead to brain injury that causes cerebral palsy, epilepsy or cognitive impairment. Song Hu, PhD, associate professor of biomedical engineering in the McKelvey School of Engineering […]

Study into potassium channels reveals novel mechanism behind epilepsy, drug modulation

Epilepsy is a neurological disorder that arises from abnormal electrical activity in the brain leading to seizures. These seizure events can have a variety of causes, including genetic variants in a family of proteins that regulate potassium ions in the brain. Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis have led an international team to take […]

Holy awarded grant to study mouse pheromones

For animals such as mice, olfaction is their primary route to pick up social information, whether that’s identifying the dominant male in a group or figuring out the reproductive status of females. In turn, these signals can influence animals’ behavior and physiology. Pheromones in male urine, for instance, can trigger early puberty in mice. While […]

Cruchaga named Morriss Professor

Carlos Cruchaga, PhD, a pioneer in the use of human genomic data to understand and elucidate the biology of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, has been named an inaugural Barbara Burton and Reuben M. Morriss III Professor at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Cruchaga was installed by Chancellor Andrew D. Martin […]

Atkinson honored by American Society of Hematology

The American Society of Hematology has honored John Atkinson, MD, the Samuel Grant Professor of Medicine at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, for his significant contributions to the field of hematology. He is one of two recipients of the Ernest Beutler Lecture and Prize and is recognized for breakthroughs that have advanced understanding […]

New center’s aim: To ID biomarkers of neurodegenerative diseases

A new center established at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis aims to accelerate research into biomarkers of neurodegenerative conditions such as Huntington’s and Parkinson’s diseases, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), multiple sclerosis (MS) and the so-called tauopathies, a group that includes Alzheimer’s disease along with rarer diseases such as frontotemporal dementia, corticobasal syndrome […]

Wearable ultrasound sensors for human brain in development

A submarine can inadvertently reveal its location because of cavitation, a condition that creates bubbles underwater that burst, then emit sound waves that can be detected by sonar. A team of biomedical engineers at Washington University in St. Louis plans to use the same concept to detect cavitation in human brains that may contribute to […]

New structure found in cells

Every cell contains millions of protein molecules. Some of them have the ability to phase-separate to form non-membrane-bound compartments, called biomolecular condensates, inside a cell. It has long been assumed that there was no further structure underlying these condensates, only solution-soluble proteins. A research group led by Rohit Pappu, PhD, the Gene K. Beare Distinguished Professor […]

Neuroscience leaders tour research building construction site

Neuroscience leaders and other faculty and staff at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis got an up-close look at the Neuroscience Research Building during a recent tour of the construction site. The framework of all 11 stories has been built, and the process of wrapping the building in glass is underway. On the […]

Gut bacteria mine dietary fiber to release beneficial nutrients

A new study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis demonstrates that certain human gut microbes can mine dietary fiber to extract nutrients that otherwise would remain inaccessible to the human body. The study, published June 27 in the journal Cell, illustrates how the fiber byproducts of food production — such as rinds, peels […]

Postdoctoral research scholars Shaw and Litvinchuk receive 2022 Hope Center Awards

Each year, the Hope Center for Neurological Disorders recognizes trainees who present their work at the Hope Center Retreat. Hope Center award winners are selected based on scientific merit, presentation, and projects that address the Hope Center mission. Congratulations to this year’s winners of the Hope Center Awards based on presentations at yesterday’s Annual Hope Center […]

Pappu lab untangles more IDR secrets

Intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs) of proteins, when tethered to folded domains, function either as flexible tails or as linkers between domains. Most IDRs are composed of a mixture of oppositely charged residues. Recent measurements of tethered polyampholytes have shown that arginine- and lysine-rich sequences tend to behave very differently from one another. In a paper […]