ProSPER is a graduate student group dedicated to promoting science policy, education, and research.
ProSPER Blog posts are educational exercises intended to develop students’ communication skills. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of ProSPER or Washington University in St. Louis.
Latest blog posts
Gene Therapy: A New Frontier in Medicine
On December 8th, 2023, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved two gene therapy treatments for Sickle cell disease (SCD).1 This is the first time gene therapies have been approved as a potential treatment, marking a breakthrough in medical advancements. This also marks huge strides in the treatment of SCD. Previously, symptoms could be treated, […]
ProSPER Fall 2023 Book Club Recap
Lack of Narrative: How Science Communication Fails the General Public Book Summary: Plastics by Imari Walker-Franklin and Jenna Jambeck provides a comprehensive introduction to the life cycle of plastics—from fossil fuel refinement, the breakdown of these plastics into micro and nanoplastic particles, to the discovery of these particles in human beings. The authors describe how […]
Revisiting the Moon: The Future of Artemis
NASA has been very active in recent news, launching the uncrewed Artemis I mission in November 2022 [1], and announcing on April 3rd, 2023 the names of the four crew members who will fly around the Moon on the Artemis II mission in late 2024 [2]. Among the selected crew members are the first US […]