Perspectives

Arts & Sciences’ Christine Johnson, a historian of the Middle Ages, finds parallels between the post-pandemic labor shortages of today and the temporary shift in power to workers after the Black Death reduced Europe’s medieval population by a third. Then and now, she writes, the ruling classes seek a return to the previous status quo.

Rebecca Schwarzlose, a postdoctoral researcher in psychiatry at the School of Medicine, is the author of a book about brain organization titled “Brainscapes: The Warped, Wondrous Maps Written in Your Brain — and How They Guide You.”

hould businesses and universities require vaccinations for employees and students to return? As a mathematician who has studied coronavirus risk at large-scale sporting events and in other places, I believe the answer is a resounding yes, writes mathematics department chair John McCarthy.

By creating a bipartisan panel of experts, Biden likely hopes to temper the politicization surrounding the debate and confer credibility on reforms he might pursue. However, once the time to push policy change arrives, Biden might find that public support for his reforms would have been the same had he not convened it, writes political science associate professor Andrew Reeves.

“When we isolated these plant-like marine microbes, we never knew what secrets they would reveal. Lucky for us, they help us sock away the global greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide,” writes biologist Arpita Bose, assistant professor in Arts & Sciences, in this “Behind the Paper” blog post.

Food is becoming a target for anti-Islam politics in Europe, writes John Bowen, professor of sociocultural anthropology.

Aduhelm, the first new Alzheimer’s drug in 18 years, may not work. But states and Medicare might pay billions of dollars for it anyway, argues the School of Law’s Rachel Sachs, an expert on drug pricing.

Today, St. Louis’ Army ROTC Cadets stand on the shoulders of giants. Their patriotic spirit represents their dedication to the unfinished work for which their forebears fought so nobly to advance, writes Andrew Betson, chair of the military science department.

Daniel Epps, an expert on the U.S. Supreme Court and associate professor at the School of Law, has launched a new podcast, which will report on and analyze the work of the court. William Baude of the University of Chicago Law School is co-host of the podcast, “Divided Argument.”

In this episode of the “Show Me the Science” podcast, learn about how changes in Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations for masking will be implemented at the university and elsewhere.