Arts & Sciences

Why do so many of us cry at the movies? Why do we flinch when Rocky Balboa takes a punch? What’s really happening in our brains as we immerse ourselves in the lives being acted out on screen? These are the questions that Washington University in St. Louis neuroscientist Jeffrey M. Zacks, PhD, explores in his new book, “Flicker: Your Brain on Movies.”

Higher education reduces recidivism rates by as much as half. Yet today, only a small fraction of U.S. prisoners have access to such programs. In the fall of 2014, University College launched the Washington University Prison Education Project, a three-year pilot program supported by a grant from the Bard Prison Initiative.

The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation announced Feb. 23 that Kater Murch, PhD, assistant professor of physics in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, has been awarded a 2015 Sloan Research Fellowship. He is among 126 outstanding U.S. and Canadian researchers selected as fellowship recipients this year. The fellowships are given to early-career scientists and scholars whose achievements and potential identify them as rising stars, the next generation of scientific leaders.

The next round of spring Assembly Series programs at Washington University in St. Louis will cover a variety of topics, from how society talks about contagious diseases to delving into major philosophical theory to the possibility of cloning a mammoth.

Ram V. Dixit, PhD, assistant professor of biology in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, received a five-year, $1,163,940 Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award from the National Science Foundation to study mechanisms underlying plant cell morphogenesis.

The Washington University Symphony Orchestra, with student soloist Silas Hsu, will present early, reputation-making works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Jean Sibelius and Edvard Grieg at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 23, in the E. Desmond Lee Concert Hall at the 560 Music Center.

The American Library Association and its Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Round Table has selected Jeffrey Q. McCune Jr.’s book, “Sexual Discretion: Black Masculinity and the Politics of Passing” for its 2015 “Over the Rainbow” list.

Kevin Herbert, professor emeritus of classics in Arts & Sciences, died Tuesday, Feb. 10. He was 93.

Ampersand Week, the first weeklong celebration of the liberal arts at Washington University in St. Louis Feb. 21-28, includes a presentation by the popular duo known as Radiolab. Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich will appear at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 26, in Graham Chapel on the Danforth Campus for the Assembly Series. The program is free and open to the public but tickets are required.

Beavers don’t brush their teeth, and they don’t drink fluoridated water, but a new study reports beavers do have protection against tooth decay built into the chemical structure of their teeth: iron. The research team, which was led by scientists from Northwestern University, included Jill D. Pasteris, PhD, professor of earth and planetary sciences in Arts & Sciences.