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Medical News: Genes can 'Blue Song': Lost Tennessee Washington People: Leonard Green influence nicotine dependence Williams poem is published preaches the psychology of learning 8 Feb. 15, 2007 record.wustl.edu Washington University in StLouis Do we have multiple Students argue before Roberts biological clocks? BY JESSICA MARTIN BY TONY FITZPATRICK Four finalists in the School of Law's Biologists have discovered a large biological clock in Wiley Rutledge Moot Court Com- the smelling center of mice brains and have revealed petition experienced what most law- that the sense of smell for mice is stronger at night, yers only dream of: arguing before peaking in the nighttime hours and waning during day- Chief Justice of the United States light hours. The study is the first to show that mice have John G. Roberts Jr. multiple biological clocks, opening the possibility that "To be able to argue in front of other mammals — including humans — could, as well. one of the sharpest legal minds in the A team led by Erik Herzog, Ph.D., associate professor country was an experience I will of biology in Arts & Sciences, discovered the clock in the never forget," said Samir Kaushik, a olfactory bulb, the brain center that aids the mouse in second-year law student who argued detecting odors. Results were published in a recent issue the case with teammate and fellow of The Journal of Neuroscience. second-year student Renee Waters at §. ,.-,. ^y; The olfaction biological clock, located in the front of the Feb. 6 competition in the Bryan % v mm the brain directly behind the nose, is hundreds of times Cave Moot Courtroom of Anheuser- larger than the known biological clock called the supra- Busch Hall. chiasmatic nucleus (SCN), located at the base of the "It was an incredible honor to brain. Cells in both the SCN and the olfactory bulb keep argue before Roberts," Waters said. 24-hour time and are normally highly synchronized with "There is no jurist for whom I have each other and with environmental cycles of day-night. greater respect than the chief justice. Samir Kaushik (front left) stands victorious beside fellow School of Law "It's been a question for some time whether the SCN It was an honor to be in his presence student Renee Waters after winning the Wiley Rutledge Moot Court Com- functions as the only biological clock," Herzog said. "One and to engage in dialogue with him petition Feb. 6. The pair successfully argued their case before Chief Jus- wouldn't think that the ability to smell would cycle, but and the four other jurists." tice of the United States John G. Roberts Jr. (back center). that's what we show. Roberts, who presided over the "I think now that the SCN is like the atomic clock — competition, was joined on the panel thought-provoking questions from school has to offer, Waters said. important for keeping central time — and then there are by Karen Nelson Moore, judge on the several different angles." "There is a limit to how much a all of these peripheral clocks for timing tasks like sleep- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Frazier was pleased that the panel competition like this can simulate re- wake, vigilance, digestion, olfaction, hearing, touch and Circuit; law school alumna Catherine took the competition so seriously. ality, but it's a lot closer to what vision, though not all yet found. It may be that the pe- D. Perry, judge on the U.S. District "The judges weren't throwing out lawyers really do than the typical ripheral clocks are like individual wristwatches that we Court, Eastern District of Missouri; softballs — and that made the whole doctrinal classes," she said. "It gives must periodically reset." David R. Herndon, judge on the U.S. competition a pleasure," he said. us students an idea of how thrilling Perhaps most surprising is the observation that the ol- District Court, Southern District of A student-run Moot Court Board, actually practicing law can be." factory bulb clock can run independent of daily rhythms Illinois; and Richard J. Lazarus, pro- chaired this year by third-year stu- The law school has held moot in sleep-wake or the SCN, making it the Big Ben of the fessor at the Georgetown University dents Brad Keeton and Allison court competitions since its founding mammalian circadian rhythm world. Law Center. Scharf, oversees the annual competi- in 1867. This year's Wiley Rutledge "It seems to be one of those biological clocks that can After making what was described tion and assists in selecting the legal Moot Court Competition began keep running itself for a long time, even without the as a very difficult decision, the panel topic. last fall with preliminary rounds in SCN," Herzog said. named Kaushik and Waters the com- Based on characters from the 2004 which nearly 100 second- and third- Herzog and collaborators Daniel Granados-Fuentes, petition winners. The other final movie "Win a Date with Tad Hamil- year law students participated in two- Ph.D., research associate in biology, and Alan Tseng, a team consisted of third-year students ton," this year's case focused on the person teams. senior majoring in biology, put cedar oil on a cotton James Frazier and Daniel Rhoads. fictitious criminal appeal of a contest Numerous judges and lawyers swab and allowed mice to sniff it for five minutes. "The organizers did a fantastic job winner's boyfriend who allegedly from the local legal community "We then counted the number of olfactory bulb cells bringing together five well-respected threatened a celebrity. served as judges for the various that had been activated by the odorant," Herzog said. jurists to serve on the panel," Kaushik This type of competition is one of rounds of the competition. "The gene cFOS is a marker for cells that were activated said. "We were all challenged with the most valuable experiences the law See Students, Page 6 by the stimulus; we recorded the expression of that gene." See Clocks, Page 6 Turner elected member of prestigious National Academy of Engineering Jonathan S. Turner, Ph.D., the tions accorded to an engineer. Barbara J. and Jerome R. Cox Turner was recognized for his Jr. Professor of contributions to the design and Computer analysis of high-performance Science in the communication networks and was School of among 64 new members elected Engineering & in February, bringing the total Applied U.S. peer-elected membership to Science, has 2,217 of the world's most accom- been elected to plished engineers. the National "Jon's election to the National Academy of Academy of Engineering is a Engineering Turner much deserved recognition of his (NAE). exceptional contributions in re- Election to the NAE is among search, teaching and service to his the highest professional distinc- See Turner, Page 6 Interrupting nerve signals halts disorders BY JIM DRYDEN February issue of Cell Metabo- lism. Interrupting nerve signals to the "At least in mice, we've shown liver can prevent diabetes and we can prevent the development hypertension in mice, according of diabetes and hypertension by to School of Medicine scientists. interrupting vagal nerve signal- The research team surgically ing," said senior investigator Clay Poetic Construction Bruce Lindsey (right), dean of the College of Architecture and Graduate removed the vagus nerve in mice F. Semenkovich, M.D., professor School of Architecture & Urban Design in the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts, leads a and found the procedure prevent- of medicine and of cell biology group of students in a Renga building workshop Jan. 27-28 in Givens Hall. The workshop was an ed or reversed the development of and physiology. exercise in collaborative building based on Renga, a Japanese poetry form in which 100 people insulin resistance and high blood "We don't know whether the collectively write a poem with one person writing each stanza in succession. Applied to building, pressure in mice primed to devel- same will hold true for humans, student teams had 30 minutes to build something with two two-by-fours. Each successive team op these disorders through treat- but we think somehow altering added to what was built. Ten teams of two students built the structure using only one guideline: ment with glucocorticoids. vagal nerve activity could provide the structure had to be able to be inhabited. Their finding is reported in the See Nerve, Page 6 2 RECORD WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST. LOUIS Ida Early named secretary to the Board of Trustees BY ANDY CLENDENNEN University in the late 1970s. Originally from Dallas, Early is Ida H. Early has been named married to Gerald L. Early, Ph.D., secretary to the Board of the Merle Kling Professor of Trustees, announced Chan- Modern Letters, director of the cellor Mark S. Wrighton. Center for the Humanities and The appointment is effective professor of African & African July 1, when Harriet K. Switzer, American Studies, of American Ph.D., steps down from that post. culture studies and of English, all "Harriet Switzer has been a in Arts 8c Sciences.