the ampersand

Piarulli receives early-career research award

Electric fish — and humans — pause before communicating key points

Biologist Bruce Carlson in Arts & Sciences draws parallels between human language and electric communication in fish. His new research published in Current Biology reveals an underlying mechanism for how pauses allow neurons in the midbrain to recover from stimulation.

Made in the shade for fun in the sun

A new study from the laboratory of Rick Vierstra in the Department of Biology helps explain how proteins called phytochromes respond to light intensity and temperature, thus enabling land plants to colonize the planet many millions of year ago.