Newsroom Stories

Gary NoelDavid Dorfman Dance”Does what you do make a difference?” “Is violence ever justified?” “When can activism become terrorism, or vice versa?” Such provocative questions lie at the heart of underground, an ambitious evening-length multimedia dance piece by acclaimed choreographer David Dorfman. On Sept. 25 and 26 Dorfman — a Washington University alumnus — will return to Edison Theatre with his company, David Dorfman Dance, to launch the 2009-10 OVATIONS Series.

An international team of scientists has identified two more genetic risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease. The findings are reported in the online edition of the journal Nature Genetics.

Jessica Jackley, co-founder of Kiva, the Internet-driven microfinance organization that connects lenders with budding entrepreneurs, will deliver the Assembly Series/Skandalaris Lecture at 5 p.m. Thursday, September 17 in Simon Hall’s May Auditorium. The event is free and open to the public. This is the kickoff event for the Skandalaris Center’s annual business plan competitions: the Olin Cup, and the YouthBridge Social Entrepreneur and Innovation Competition.

Photo by David KilperAs students, faculty and staff return to campus this fall from all corners of the world, WUSTL administrators and health officials are monitoring the spread of the H1N1 (swine flu) virus and ensuring the University is prepared should an outbreak occur on campus.

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) will host a regional meeting on Genomics and the Future of Medicine from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Sept. 10 in the Eric P. Newman Education Center at the School of Medicine.

The 11th annual Service First will be held Saturday, Sept. 5, at 12 St. Louis area schools. Approximately 90 students will head to each school, helping paint indoor and outdoor murals and activities and maps on the playground and creating bulletin boards and preparing classrooms.

Juvenile male chimpanzee in the Goualougo Triangle, Republic of Congo. Chimpanzees in the Congo have developed specialized “tool kits” to forage for army ants, reveals new research published Sept. 3 in the American Journal of Primatology. This not only provides the first direct evidence of multiple tool use in this context, but suggests that chimpanzees have developed a sustainable way of harvesting food. A team from the Goualougo Triangle Ape Project, led by Crickette Sanz, Ph.D., assistant professor of Anthropology in Arts & Sciences, studied several communities of chimpanzee throughout the Nouabalé-Ndoki national park in the Republic of Congo.

Julie Otsuka will present the Assembly Series and Neureuther Library lecture at 3:30 p.m., Tuesday, September 15 in Graham Chapel. Otsuka’s debut novel, “When the Emperor Was Divine” is this year’s Freshman Reading Program selection.

McBrideThe health reform debate to date has been characterized by a lot of confusion and misinformation. “The conclusion that most of the uninsured either are voluntarily uninsured or do not need assistance is erroneous,” says Timothy McBride, Ph.D., leading health economist and associate dean of public health at the George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis. The Census Bureau will announce the official health insurance estimates on Thursday, Sept. 10. According to McBride, because of the economic downturn, the number of uninsured may top 50 million.

Around the world dance is often quite literally the physical embodiment of cultural identity and practice. Yet for individual dancers, the power of such traditions can give rise to certain expectations and even stereotypes based on perceived identity. On Sept. 12 the Dance Program in the Performing Arts Department in Arts & Sciences will explore the role of ethnicity in contemporary dance with “Dancing Who I Am,” a panel discussion and informal concert featuring faculty members as well as leading critics and choreographers from around the country. The event comes as part of the semester-long series “Ethnic Profiling: A Challenge to Democracy,” organized by the Center for the Study of Ethics and Human Values. Also as part of the series, the Kathryn M. Buder Center for American Indian Studies will screen Ancestor Eyes, an award-winning Native American short film, Sept. 13.