It was bedlam for planetary scientist Bill McKinnon, PhD, and others at mission control when the first images of Pluto came down over the Deep Space Network. Some areas of the planet were smooth and others rumpled; some the color of dried blood, others gleaming white. The differences in composition and texture suggest Pluto is a living planet.

New insight into one of the most common inherited causes of brain tumors may help physicians diagnose and treat the learning disabilities that often accompany the condition, neurofibromatosis 1. The School of Medicine’s David H. Gutmann, MD, PhD, is the study’s senior author.

The Lifelong Learning Institute celebrates in 2015 its 20th anniversary of educating adults age 55 or older. Since its founding, the program has served some 2,000 students from across the region and has offered hundreds of courses, all taught by fellow students.

Randall J. Bateman, MD, the Charles F. and Joanne Knight Distinguished Professor of Neurology at the School of Medicine, has received a MetLife Foundation Award for Medical Research. Bateman, a leader in Alzheimer’s disease research, is the university’s fifth researcher to receive the prize.