In the 1920s and ’30s, African-American preachers spread the word to a mass audience one phonograph record at a time. A new book by Lerone Martin, PhD, of the Danforth Center on Religion and Politics, chronicles a forgotten era when clergy sermons on vinyl (and wax) outsold popular performers such as Bessie Smith.

Science textbooks say we can’t see infrared light. Like X-rays and radio waves, infrared light waves are longer than the light waves in the visual spectrum. But an international team of researchers co-led by Frans Vinberg, PhD (left), and Vladimir J. Kefalov, PhD, has found that under certain conditions, the retina can sense infrared light after all.

Genetic mutations may cause more cases of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) than scientists had realized, researchers say. Two of the study’s authors are doctoral student Janet Cady and Matthew Harms, MD, assistant professor of neurology at the School of Medicine.

​The Department of Music in Arts & Sciences will present its annual sing-along to “Messiah” at 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 14. The performance, which will include the Christmas portion of “Messiah” as well as the “Hallelujah Chorus,” will take place in Graham Chapel.