Can every Friday be this fun?

Students celebrate First Friday, the annual campus celebration marking the end of the first week of classes, by sliding down a giant inflatable slide in the Village Sept. 3. Other First Friday events around campus included free donuts and ice cream, an appearance by comedian Seth Meyers of Saturday Night Live, a dance party, games and more.

Jazz at Holmes series kicks off with St. Louis Nu-Jazz 5tet

The St. Louis Nu-Jazz 5tet will launch Washington University’s fall Jazz at Holmes series with a free concert at 8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 9. The popular series features professional jazz musicians from around St. Louis and abroad performing in Holmes Lounge — a casual, coffeehouse-style setting — most Thursday evenings throughout the academic year.  

News highlights for September 8, 2010

Psychology Today / National Humanities Center Bright spots and blind spots in self-knowledge 9/7/2010 How well do you know yourself? How well do you know what makes you happy? Do others know things about you that you don’t know about yourself? If so, can you improve your self-understanding, bring your view of yourself more into […]

Impact hypothesis loses its sparkle

The warming that following the last Ice Age was interrupted by a cold snap that killed off megafauna such as the giant ground sloth and the wooly mammoth. Could this crisis have been caused by an asteroid impact or a comet breaking up in the atmosphere? Unfortunately the geological evidence for such a dramatic event has not stood up to scrutiny. In PNAS a group of scientists challenges the catastrophists last, best hope: shock-synthesized nanodiamonds. 

Keep your footing at WUSTL

Of the 12 categories of workplace injuries and illnesses Washington University’s Office of Environmental Health & Safety tracks, “slips, trips and falls” is the category that usually contains the most serious injuries that faculty and staff sustain. Faculty, staff and students can follow these tips to keep their footing.

University-wide blood drive Sept. 14

Looking to kick the semester off right by doing something good for the community? Volunteer to donate blood during the first of four university-wide blood drives to be held this year. The drive will take place Sept. 14 at eight different locations on the Danforth, Medical and West campuses.

Advancing Alzheimer’s disease research

The Charles F. and Joanne Knight Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center at Washington University School of Medicine was dedicated Sept. 1. The Knights have long been leaders in supporting Alzheimer’s disease research and have committed more than $15 million to advance Alzheimer’s research at the School of Medicine.

Emergency notification system to be tested Wednesday, Sept. 15

Washington University will test its emergency notification system, WUSTLAlerts, at approximately 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 15. For the test, WUSTLAlerts will send e-mails to @wustl.edu addresses, voice messages to campus phones and cell phones and text messages to cell phones.