We all know the story of the Roman gladiator, right? Not the whole story, says Harvard classicist and advisor to the 2000 blockbuster film, “Gladiator.” Kathleen Coleman will explain this fascinating and complex culture for the annual Biggs Lecture in the Classics: “Christians in the Roman Arena,” April 9.
A strange stone found in the Moroccan desert was the talk of the recent Lunar and Planetary Science Conference. The stone has highly unusual chemistry, suspiciously like that found by the Messenger space probe, which is currently surveying the surface of Mercury. If it was from Mercury, it would be the first meteorite from that body ever found. The prospects was thrilling but doubts crept in. WUSTL’s Randy Korotev, a lunar meteroite expert, explains the arguments for and against Mercurian origin.
Holden Thorp, who will become WUSTL’s provost in July, has been named chair of a new National Research Council committee tasked with establishing and promoting a culture of safety in academic laboratory research.
In Contemporary German Art: Selections from the Permanent Collection, the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum will highlight 16 large-scale works, all completed within the last 12 years, by artists living and working in Germany. The exhibition compliments the opening of a major expansion to the Saint Louis Art Museum, which will showcase its own holdings of postwar German art.
The Clinton Global Initiative University opens at Washington University in St. Louis with inspiring words from President Bill Clinton, Chelsea Clinton and a panel of innovative thinkers. Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton offers his thoughts on the first day.
A gene with a colorful name – mindbomb 1 – plays a key role far beyond the brain. New research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis shows that mindbomb 1 may
be involved in repairing cells injured by infection or inflammation in
the stomach and pancreas. Researchers also found hints that mindbomb 1 may have connections to cancer in those organs.
Researchers at Washington University have identified a new set of genetic markers for Alzheimer’s disease that point to a second pathway through which the disease develops. Much of the genetic research in Alzheimer’s centers on amyloid-beta, a key component of brain plaques in people with the disease. But the new study identified several genes linked to the tau protein, which is found in tangles.
Stephen H. Legomsky, U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Services chief counsel, plans to discuss the evolving topic
of immigration law at Washington University in St. Louis on Thursday,
April 11. Legomsky will present the 2012-13 Tyrrell Williams Lecture, “Immigration and the Role of the Government Attorney.”
International development economist John W. McArthur, will speak on the Washington University in St. Louis campus at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 11, in Brown Hall Lounge on the Danforth Campus. McArthur will appear on behalf of the Brown School’s Policy Forum. The event is free and open to the public.
The offices of Sustainability and Parking and Transportation challenge the WUSTL community to try alternative means of commuting to campus during Car-free Month, April 1-24. The teams with highest number of car-free trips and greatest number of car-free miles will win awards. April 12 is the last day to register for the Car-free Challenge.
