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Issue 2 & Member Applications Now Available!
Our second and final issue of Frontiers Volume 4 is now published! Read the articles online below, or find them…
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Volume 4 Issue 1 Out Now!
Dear Reader, Frontiers Magazine attempts to tell stories about health. We reframe dialogues, current events, and ideas so that the…
The Intertwining of Politics and Medicine: DACA and its Effects on Mental Health
Through hard work, determination and initiative, every resident in the United States should have the equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity: the very core of the American Dream. While it seems plausible in theory, many struggle to achieve this idealized version of the American life, as is the case for many undocumented immigrants. With…
Xenotransplantation and Gene Editing in Pigs
Xenotransplantation, the transplantation, implantation, or infusion into a human recipient from an animal donor, has been attempted for more than 300 years with little to no success [1]. The possibility of an essentially unlimited pool of organs to choose from has taunted many transplant surgeons and researchers alike. Beginning with blood xenotransfusion, then the grafting…
2017 Health Care Policy Recap
On March 23, 2010, the Patient Protection and Affordable Healthcare Act, also known as ACA or colloquially as Obamacare, was signed into law by President Obama. It passed with heavy Democratic support and no Republican support in the U.S. Congress, and for the past seven years, Republicans have aimed to repeal and replace the bill…
Prescriptions for a Diseased Pharmaceutical Industry
We always hear about people who have won the lottery and donated to charity, but if a charity wins the lottery, we don’t expect them to give up their winnings. Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières) has done just that. Nearly 90 percent of all the money this Nobel Peace Prize laureate receives goes to…
Connecting with Synapse: A Look at Other Health-Related Groups on Campus
Synapse is WashU’s premier neuroscience organization, but, although it may seem like it may be focused heavily on science and pre-med topics, I can say firsthand as a member of Synapse for three years that it is a student group with a plethora of opportunities for everyone to get involved in. For instance, I’ve been…
Update on West Lake Landfill: Still Waiting
“Precautions and odor reporting are in order. Please wear a mask if in the vicinity,” cautions a Facebook post in the West Lake Landfill community Facebook group that links to a September 12 construction notice. A comment in response reads, “Why do innocent people still have to live next to this site?” The West…
The First Human Head Transplant
Since the mid 20th century, advances in medicine have allowed doctors to save patients from terminal diseases that eat away at life-giving organs— diseases that had previously been death sentences. From the first kidney transplant in 1954 to the first full face transplant in 2010, the boundaries of medicine have been continually pushed forward towards…
Formulas and Failures: A Lab Ethnography
Pre-medical undergraduates in colleges often feel a pressure to get lab experience for medical school and, most importantly, get published. At WUSTL, research symposiums litter the campus, and reading research articles is an important facet of many upper level biology classes. In many research articles, the methods and materials sections are supplementary and placed in…
The Possibility of Eye Transplantation
The gift of sight is something that can be easily taken for granted, at least until something causes issues with vision. Our eyes allow us to take in extraordinary amounts of information every day, and in many ways, are our primary means of understanding our environment through the power of perception. Our bodies invest a…
TAVRs: The Minimally Invasive Alternative to Open-Heart Surgery
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), cardiovascular diseases are the primary global cause of death, as of late 2016. Fortunately, many cardiovascular conditions, such as congenital heart defects, coronary artery disease, and clogged, leaky, or stiff heart valves, can be remedied by open-heart surgery. During this procedure, the patient is anesthetized, and the surgeon…