Stan Braude News Today

A young American Basswood tree was planted in the northeast corner of Brookings Quadrangle in the presence of about 50 Washington University community members, Sept. 20.

For approximately 110 years, the American basswood in Brookings Quadrangle at Washington University in St. Louis was a home to bees, a beautiful backdrop for Commencements and a shady refuge for generations of students, staff and faculty. Now, thanks to a team of tree experts, the tree will live on.

Faculty from various disciplines at Washington University in St. Louis have received seed grant funding from the Taylor Geospatial Institute. The grants are designed to encourage collaborative research and provide resources to advance geospatial science through innovative projects.

It was once believed that the massive number of members in a naked mole-rat colony resulted from inbreeding, but studies have since shown that this is highly unlikely. In a new study published in the Journal of Zoology, Washington University biology professor Stan Braude reveals findings from the 30 years he has spent observing naked mole-rats in Kenya. They watched as 26 of the monitored colonies took 13 others by brute force, with the opposing rodents never to be seen again—or so they thoug...