Arts & Sciences

As Americans begin to file their last returns under a fading tax system, as President Donald Trump concludes his first State of the Union with a great emphasis on the economy, as the world watches this country undergo tectonic changes, it’s time to cut through the politicking and positioning. Washington University in St. Louis compiled researchers and experts across campus to attempt to put the new tax reform into perspective, plainly speaking.

Congressional Republicans agree on tax cuts more than they agree on nearly any other issue. Tax cuts have been central to Republican economic policy since the mid-20th century.

The Beyond Boundaries interdisciplinary program at Washington University in St. Louis offers first-year students a wide array of experiences: exposure to new concepts and people; opportunities to learn from some of the world’s leading scholars across a spectrum of disciplines; and something a bit less tangible.

As President Donald Trump prepares to offer his first State of the Union address, a new analysis by a Washington University in St. Louis sociologist may explain why the pronounced, decades-long expansion of U.S.-based hate groups has slowed to a crawl during the first year of his administration.

In a sneak attack, some pathogenic microbes manipulate plant hormones to gain access to their hosts undetected. Biologists at Washington University in St. Louis have exposed one such interloper by characterizing the unique biochemical pathway it uses to synthesize auxin, a central hormone in plant development.

The Center for the Humanities in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis has named its 2018-19 cohort of six faculty fellows.

Researchers have created a novel polymer that changes color and contracts when exposed to visible light. The tiny, makeshift muscle does some heavy lifting — relatively speaking.

William F. Tate, dean of the Graduate School at Washington University in St. Louis, is included in the 2018 “Edu-Scholar Public Influence Rankings,” as determined by Frederick M. Hess, the American Enterprise Institute’s director of education policy.  

Los Angeles artist Tim Youd will pay homage to longtime English professor Stanley Elkin by retyping the latter’s 1976 novel “The Franchiser.” Sponsored by the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, in conjunction with the exhibition “Tim Youd: St. Louis Retyped,” the 11-day performance begins Jan. 26 in Ridgley Hall’s Holmes Lounge.

Sibling pianists Katia and Marielle Labèque — praised by The New York Times as “the best piano duet in front of an audience today” — will perform four-hand works by Igor Stravinsky, Philip Glass and Bryce Dessner (known to many as guitarist for The National) Jan. 28 as part of the Great Artists Series at Washington University in St. Louis.