Arts & Sciences

Like passionate foodies who know the best places to eat in every town, Silk Road nomads may have been the gastronomic elites of the Medieval Ages, enjoying diets much more diverse than their sedentary urban counterparts, suggests a new study in Scientific Reports.

When words fail and argument falls short, art and performance can help reframe important questions. On March 24, three campus choreographers will explore issues of culture, identity and social justice in the dance concert “Common Ground.”

Oskar Eustis, one of the most admired figures in contemporary American theater, will present the annual Helen Clanton Morrin Lecture March 26 for the Performing Arts Department in Arts & Sciences.

Given the chance to play Robin Hood, most Americans show little interest in taking from the rich and giving to the poor. A new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences may explain why it’s so hard for voters in modern democracies to erase the economic inequalities that separate most citizens from the nation’s super-wealthy elites.

How can we be happier? In a world where stress, anxiety and bad days can easily overtake the good, Washington University happiness expert Tim Bono strives to answer that question in his book, “When Likes Aren’t Enough: A Crash Course in the Science of Happiness.”

Good teachers make for engaged students and stable schools. That’s why Washington University is partnering with the St. Louis Teacher Residency program to address two of the most vexing problems facing high-needs schools: teacher turnover and teacher quality.

S. George Philander, one of the world’s leading experts on climate and the interactions between the ocean and atmosphere, will deliver two talks March 28 and 29 as part of the McDonnell Distinguished Lecture Series, sponsored by Washington University in St. Louis’ McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences.

Gary Patti has been named the Michael and Tana Powell Associate Professor of Chemistry at Washington University in St. Louis. He was installed Dec. 1 in a ceremony in the Laboratory Sciences building.

In a growing plant cell, motor proteins called kinesins work as transporters that haul materials built in one part of the cell to the place where they are needed. Now, biologists at Washington University in St. Louis have discovered the molecular brakeman that holds kinesins in check until their cargo is needed.

Mark McDaniel, professor of psychological and brain sciences in Arts & Sciences, is one of three leading experts in cognitive and learning sciences appointed as permanent members of a Learning Research Advisory Council formed by Macmillan Learning.