Arts & Sciences

The coconut has been popular in lore and on palates for centuries, yet little is known about the history of this palm’s domestication and dispersal around the world. Now, Kenneth M. Olsen, Ph.D., assistant professor of biology in Arts & Sciences, is embarking on the task of understanding the plant’s history by exploring the genetics of the coconut.

The coconut has been popular in lore and on palates for centuries, yet little is known about the history of this palm’s domestication and dispersal around the world. Now, Kenneth M. Olsen, Ph.D., assistant professor of biology in Arts & Sciences, is embarking on the task of understanding the plant’s history by exploring the genetics of the coconut.

Could higher gas prices mean trimmer waistlines?Just as rising gasoline prices are forcing many Americans to tighten their financial belts, new research suggests higher fuel costs may come with a related silver lining — trimmer waistlines. “An additional $1 in real gasoline prices would reduce obesity in the U.S. by 15 percent after three years,” suggests Charles Courtemanche, an economics researcher at Washington University in St. Louis.

Physicist and writer Alan Lightman travels through Einstein’s dreams to help us understand the theory of relativity.

Newark, N.J., Mayor Cory Booker believes passionately that building strong communities takes individual effort and commitment, and he will explore that topic in detail for the Ervin Scholars 20th anniversary celebration at 4 p.m. Friday, Sept. 14, in the Laboratory Sciences Building auditorium. The talk, co-sponsored by the Assembly Series and the Campus Week of Dialogue, is free and open to the public.

Newark, N.J. Mayor Cory Booker believes passionately that building strong communities takes individual effort and commitment, and he will explore that topic in detail for the Ervin Scholars 20th anniversary celebration at 4 p.m. Friday, Sept. 14, in the Laboratory Sciences Building auditorium. The talk, co-sponsored by the Assembly Series and the Campus Week of Dialogue, is free and open to the public. “How to change the world with your bare hands: A commitment to community” is the title of his talk and a motto Booker lives by. Inspired by his parents at an early age, he has dedicated his life to achieving social justice through individual action.

Seventy-two academically talented high school juniors and seniors participated in the 2007 Pfizer-Solutia Partnership of Universities’ Students and Teachers as Research Scientists (STARS) program for gifted high-school students. WUSTL faculty were among the more than 50 professor-mentors.

Newark, N.J. Mayor Cory Booker believes passionately that building strong communities takes individual effort and commitment, and he will explore that topic in detail for the Ervin Scholars 20th anniversary celebration at 4 p.m. Friday, Sept. 14, in the Laboratory Sciences Building auditorium. The talk, co-sponsored by the Assembly Series and the Campus Week of Dialogue, is free and open to the public.

The Department of Music in Arts & Sciences will launch its fall 2007 concert series with “4 x 4,” a performance by the Washington University Chamber Orchestra at 8 p.m. tonight in Holmes Lounge.

CraigSen. Larry Craig’s arrest for alleged gay overtures in a Minneapolis restroom may spell the end of his political career, but some in the lesbian, gay and bisexual community are hoping the scandal has a silver lining. “Regardless of Larry Craig’s true sexual orientation, the real story here is the extremes that some people must go through to hide their real self from a hostile society,” says James Reid, a clinical psychologist who studies sexual identity and prejudice at Washington University in St. Louis.