Assembly Series to tackle pulsars, poetry

Radio astronomer and astrophysicist Jocelyn Bell Burnell, Ph.D., the first to discover pulsars, will describe her landmark work and current research 11 a.m. March 19 in Graham Chapel. Carl Phillips, professor of English and of African and African American studies in Arts & Sciences, will deliver the first of three talks 4 p.m. March 25 in Umrath Lounge.

Fugitive cancer cells can be blocked by stopping blood cells that aid them

When platelet activity was blocked (right), bones had much smaller tumors.Cancer cells get a helping hand from platelets, specialized blood cells involved in clotting. Platelets shelter and feed tumor cells that stray into the bloodstream, making it easier for cancer to spread, or metastasize. Research at the School of Medicine suggests that inactivating platelets could slow down or prevent metastasis.

Carl Phillips and the ‘Art of Restlessness’

Distinguished poet Carl Phillips, professor of English and of African and African American Studies, both in Arts & Sciences at Washington University, will deliver the first of three talks on poetry at 4 p.m. Tuesday, March 25, in Umrath Lounge on the Danforth Campus, as part of the Interdisciplinary Project in the Humanities (IPH) in Arts & Sciences and WUSTL’s Assembly Series. Based on the theme of “The Art of Restlessness: On Poetry and Making,” Phillips’ talks are free and open to the public. The March 25th program will focus on “Poetry and Resistance.”

Review room debuts

Courtesy PhotoA photograph of Le Corbusier’s iconic “Notre Dame du Haut” (1955) under construction in Ronchamp, France. The image — by the Hungarian-born photographer Herve (Laszlo Elkan), who worked with Le Corbusier from 1949 until the architect’s death in 1965 — is currently featured in the exhibition “The Lens of Architecture-Ronchamp through Herve.”

Brain network linked to contemplation in adults is less complex in children

Diagrams map connections between brain regions linked to contemplative thought.A brain network linked to introspective tasks — such as forming the self-image or understanding the motivations of others — is less intricate and well-connected in children, scientists at the School of Medicine have learned. They also showed that the network establishes firmer connections between various brain regions as an individual matures.

Regional higher education recruitment consortium unveils Web site

The St. Louis Regional Higher Education Recruitment Consortium (STLR-HERC) has launched its employment Web site, announced Laurel Sgan, STLR-HERC director. The online jobs site features a search engine and currently more than 500 positions at St. Louis-area colleges, universities and affiliated institutions. It can be accessed at stlrherc.org and is free and open to the public.

Art & science of brain function is focus of WUSTL researchers’ dialogue with artist Deborah Aschheim, March 20

Mike Venso/Laumeier Sculpture ParkAschheim’s “Earworm (Node),” contains LEDs, plastic, speakers, music and copper.Artist Deborah Aschheim, known for her focus on interactive multi-sensory responses to neuroscience, memory and cognition, joins Washington University faculty from art, medicine, psychology and neuroscience for a free public panel discussion examining the relationship between Aschheim’s art and brain science at 6 p.m. March 20 in Room 110, January Hall. The “Deborah Aschheim: Reconsider,” exhibition, on display at Laumeier Sculpture Park, explores why we remember what we see and hear and why we forget, while offering a solution to curb the “forgetting curve.”