the ampersand

WashU Expert: Without requiring vaccines, filled stadiums are unsafe

“If vaccines or negative COVID-19 tests are required for attendees, 100% attendance is safe,” says the Washington University in St. Louis mathematician who helped derive the model used for fan-attendance risk analysis across many of America’s sports venues. “Without requiring vaccinations or testing, it’s not.”

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.