Arts & Sciences

Alexander Hamilton, Benjamin Franklin, Hubert Humphrey and some guy named “Thomas Moore” are among the names that many Americans mistakenly identify as belonging to a past president of the United States, finds a news study by memory researchers at Washington University in St. Louis.

Members of Synapse, Washington University’s neuroscience club, are helping local high school students prepare for the annual St. Louis Area Brain Bee, Saturday, Feb. 13, at McDonnell Hall. “The Brain Bee is a competition but it’s not about being competitive. It’s about getting more people excited about this fast-growing field,” says junior Smruti Rath.

Anyone counting on a certain share of an inheritance should be aware that in recent years, parents have become increasingly likely to divide their estates unequally, suggests a new study co-authored by economist Robert Pollak of Washington University in St. Louis.

Anthropologists from Washington University in St. Louis are among an international research team that found Australopithecus sediba did not have the jaw and tooth structure necessary to exist on a steady diet of hard foods. The findings are contrary to a 2012 study that gained international attention.

Pulsars are dead stars that emit intense beams of radio waves that sweep through space with the regularity of a clock. That’s strange enough but what’s even stranger, they sometimes speed up — in a universe where the norm is for everything to slow down. What could possibly give them the extra energy? S Kumar Mallavarapu, […]

An upcoming broadcast of NOVA called “Memory Hackers,” airs Wednesday, Feb. 10, and will explore the cutting edge frontiers of human memory. Washington University in St. Louis scientists are featured in the show.

Why was the New Year’s flood in Missouri so bad? Most news reports blamed it on the heavy rain, but Robert Criss, PhD, professor of earth and planetary sciences in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis says analysis of the flood data shows much of the damage was due to recent modifications to the river.

Civic Scholar Kierstan Carter wanted to change St. Louis by connecting high school students with community leaders. But when that idea flopped, Carter moved on to Plan B: changing herself.

Traditional Chinese sword dancing debuts this weekend at the annual Lunar New Year Festival at Edison Theatre on the campus of Washington University in St. Louis. “The swords only look dangerous,” says junior Sarah Lin, noting the dance’s combination of grace and power.

Three of St. Louis’ most prominent musicians will perform works by Haydn, Saint-Saëns and Arensky Feb. 19 when Washington University’s Eliot Trio presents its annual concert in Holmes Lounge.