Aquila Theatre at Edison Nov. 2 and 3

Cyrano is smart, courageous and noble, a brilliant poet and skilled swordsman. He is utterly besotted with the beautiful Roxanne. But oh, that nose! On Friday, the Aquila Theatre Company — today’s leading producer of touring classical theater — will return to Edison with Cyrano de Bergerac, Edmond Rostand’s funny, poignant and often heart-wrenching tale of unrequited love. On Saturday, Aquila will retake the stage with Taming of the Shrew, Shakespeare’s timeless battle of the sexes.

Puppy love helped charity at Rent-a-Pet event​​

Junior Yoni Barlev “rented” Max during Chi Omega sorority’s recent fundraiser for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. The sorority raised nearly $600 by renting dogs for 15-minute stints. More than 100 people rented the eight pets volunteered by faculty and staff. Make-A-Wish Foundation is the sorority’s nationally designated charity.

Financial Freedom Seminar: Time to plan is now

In remembrance of Martin Luther King Jr., the Society of Black Student Social Workers (SBSSW) and the Office of Student Affairs at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis will host its annual Financial Freedom Seminar on Saturday, Jan. 19, 2013.

Moon was created in giant smashup

It’s a big claim, but Washington University in St. Louis planetary scientist Frédéric Moynier says his group has discovered evidence that the Moon was born in a flaming blaze of glory when a body the size of Mars collided with the early Earth.

Cloninger receives honorary doctorate

C. Robert Cloninger, MD, the Wallace Renard Professor of Psychiatry at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, received an honorary doctorate at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden in a ceremony Oct. 17.

Open access to be celebrated next week

Next week, WUSTL Libraries has organized a series of five sessions designed to clarify issues surrounding open access and the dissemination of new knowledge as part of national “Open Access Week,” celebrated from Oct. 22 to 28.

Bloodstream infections in ICUs cut by 44 percent​​​

A major study in hospital intensive care units (ICUs) shows that bathing patients daily with an antimicrobial soap and applying antibiotic ointment to the nose reduced by 44 percent the bloodstream infections caused by dangerous pathogens, including the drug-resistant bacteria MRSA.

Scat-sniffing dog helps save endangered primates

A scat-sniffing dog by the name of Pinkerton may be the best friend ever for a small, highly elusive group of endangered monkey and gibbon species now scrambling for survival in the vanishing forests of a remote Chinese mountain range. The high-energy Belgian Malinois is a critical player in efforts to preserve the black-crested gibbon and the Phayre’s leaf monkey.

Political empowerment fading for black Americans in the age of Obama​

Hailed by some as the “end of race as we know it” and the beginning of a “post-racial” America, the 2008 election of Barack Obama sparked a measurable bump in feelings of political empowerment among black Americans. But those sentiments have faded considerably over the last year or so, according to a new analysis of political survey data, with the sharpest declines in perceived political power coming among blacks who identify themselves as conservatives or “born again” Christians.​