Women whose bodies have high levels of chemicals found in plastics, personal-care products, common household items and the environment experience menopause two to four years earlier than women with lower levels of these chemicals, according to a new School of Medicine study. The senior author is Amber Cooper, MD.

Cyanobacteria are attractive organisms for the bio-production of fuels, chemicals and drugs, but they have a drawback: Most strains in common use grow slowly. But researchers in Arts & Sciences recently reported recovering a fast-growing strain of cyanobacteria from a decades-old stored culture. The new strain grows by 50 percent per hour.

The Eliot Trio — pianist Seth Carlin, professor of music in Arts & Sciences, and violinist David Halen and cellist Bjorn Ranheim, both of the St. Louis Symphony — will play the music of Beethoven, Bruch and Mendelssohn for its annual concert at 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 6, in Holmes Lounge on the Danforth Campus.