Arts & Sciences

A study in the Nov. 2 issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences is the first to fully document the demographic impacts of West Nile virus on North American bird populations. Data from bird-banding stations shows more species were hit than suspected, and half of those have yet to recover.

At 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 12, Edward C. Stone, PhD, project scientist and public spokesman for the twin Voyager spacecrafts, will visit the campus of Washington University in St. Louis and describe the probes’ 36-year journeys across the solar system. Stone will describe spectacular flybys of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune and Voyager I’s departure from the solar system. The lecture is part of the Robert M. Walker Distinguished Lecture Series hosted by the McDonnell Center for Space Sciences in Arts & Sciences.

James Bond forever sips martinis, forever unaffected by his own life of violence. Yet the unflappable film Bond stands in marked contrast to Ian Fleming’s original novels, writes film scholar Colin Burnett.

In this Q&A, Mellon Mays Fellow Kisha Bwenge discusses the dangers of commodifying identity and the impact of cultural tourism on Maasai and Hadzabe communities in northern Tanzania.

Think being color blind is a disadvantage? Washington University anthropologist Amanda Melin says don’t be so sure. Color blindness actually may give some animals, and people, a competitive edge.

One of the more unbelievable things they tell you in school is that if you drop two objects of different weights they will hit the ground at the same time. Is that really true? Michael Abercrombie, PhD ’16, explains.

Ever wonder where we really come from? Washington University graduate student Cole D. Pruitt explains the connection between the stuff we’re made of, burping stars and nuclear pasta.

Barbara A. Schaal, PhD, dean of the faculty of Arts & Sciences and the Mary-Dell Chilton Distinguished Professor at Washington University in St. Louis, is one of eight distinguished scientists named to the newly formed Scientific Advisory Committee for the Supporters of Agricultural Research (SoAR) Foundation.

University College in Arts & Sciences and the School of Engineering & Applied Science at Washington University in St. Louis are partnering with LaunchCode to offer a free 16-week basic coding class, called CS50x St. Louis, beginning Jan. 19, 2016.

FoodShare is a new app that allows users to donate a meal for every meal purchased at a participating restaurant. Developed by Washington University junior Andrew Glantz, the app ​is a finalist for the Mobileys, a nationwide competition that honors entrepreneurs who make a difference through mobile innovation.