In the beginning was the fig leaf. Eden couture. “Our students always start with a leaf-inspired project because that is the beginning of fashion,” quips Jeigh Singleton, director of the Fashion Design program in the Sam Fox School. At 6 p.m. Sunday, May 1, natural qualities of color, line, shape and texture will be on display as part of the Sam Fox School’s 82nd annual fashion show at Kemper Art Museum. FULL STORY

URL: http://news.wustl.edu/news/Pages/22198.aspx

Every day, 1,500 babies in the United States are born too early, according to the March of Dimes. Indira Mysorekar, PhD, and a team of researchers at the School of Medicine are studying asymptomatic infections in the placenta and uterine lining to see if they may play a role in preterm birth.  FULL STORY

URL: http://news.wustl.edu/news/Pages/22213.aspx

An investigation of the letters of Isabella Gardner, a gifted but somewhat forgotten poet of the mid-20th century, brought Dutch scholar Marian Janssen to Washington University Libraries’ Isabella Gardner Papers. Janssen returns to WUSTL to discuss her biography of Gardner, titled Not at All What One Is Used To: The Life and Times of Isabella Gardner, at 4 p.m. Friday, April 29. FULL STORY

URL: http://news.wustl.edu/news/Pages/22199.aspx

For professionals in design or the visual and performing arts, the modern environmental movement is a source of both professional challenge and increasing opportunity. At 4 p.m. Wednesday, April 27, Edison Theatre and the Office of Sustainability will host a panel colloquium on “Environmentalism and the Arts.”  FULL STORY

URL: http://news.wustl.edu/news/Pages/22224.aspx

Graduate students from across WUSTL gathered April 4 for the Graduate Professional Council’s (GPC) Bridging GAPS Awards Ceremony in Danforth University Center. The annual ceremony, organized by the GPC, is a recognition and celebration of the important role that graduate student leadership plays in enhancing interdisciplinary endeavors and the graduate student community. FULL STORY

URL: http://news.wustl.edu/news/Pages/22222.aspx

• 4 p.m. Program in DNA Metabolism and Repair Seminar Series. “Ku, One Ring to Rule Them All: Telomeres, Gene Targeting and DNA Repair.” Eric Hendrickson, prof. of biochemistry, molecular biology and biophysics, U. of Minnesota. Sponsored by Siteman Cancer Center. Free and open to the public. McDonnell Medical Sciences Bldg., 1st fl., Cori Aud. (314) 362-3110.

• Severe weather alerts posted on WUSTL emergency website. Severe weather watches and warnings automatically will be posted on the university’s emergency website, emergency.wustl.edu. The emergency website will show the severe weather alerts on the right-hand side of the page. It will display the most recent watch or warning in a box and provide a link to view all active weather alerts.

• Men’s track wins third consecutive UAA title. The men’s outdoor track & field team won the 2011 University Athletic Association (UAA) Outdoor title April 23 at Emory University. This latest win gives WUSTL a sweep of both the UAA indoor and outdoor titles for the second year in a row. It was the third straight outdoor title, marking just the second time in school history the team accomplished that feat.