When IU’s Meredith West and husband, Andrew King, completed a decade-long study focusing on the ability of starlings to mimic the social sounds around them—babies crying, roosters crowing, hammers pounding—their work shed new light on the possibility of a “collaboration” between composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and his pet starling. West presented the research at the 1991 meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

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Walking a fine line


Indiana families must earn $12.36 an hour, 40 hours a week for 52 weeks each year, to afford a two-bedroom apartment. Organizers of Homeward Bound, including Lt. Gov. Becky Skillman, are strengthening the safety net to fight homelessness this month.

Mozart's starling

IU animal behaviorist Meredith West will reflect on decades of research on avian vocal communication and social learning at the 2007 Distinguished Faculty Research Lecture at IUB April 16. Mozart's pet starling, by the way, was no "birdbrain."

Running the gantry

Last month the IU Cyclotron Facility and the Midwest Proton Radiotherapy Institute made medical history by performing the world’s first treatment using a robotic patient positioning system with a rotating gantry.

Trustees approve IUB R&B hike

A 5.03 percent increase for most room and board packages at IU Bloomington residence halls will take effect in the fall.

Hamilton on Iraq

SPEA hosted its extensive alumni base in Washington, D.C., last month at a colloquium on Capitol Hill. Former U.S. Rep Lee Hamilton, director of the Center on Congress, discussed his views on the war in Iraq.

Universal origins

Science writer Ken Kingery reflects on the 17th-century laws of motion of Sir Isaac Newton and how they stand steady for 21th-century astronomers.

Tripling funds

Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh called for a dramatic increase in funding for breast cancer research while visiting IU's Cancer Research Institute on the Indianapolis campus yesterday.

Wink, blink, but no nod

Ah, spring! Ah, papers and final exams! How's a student to catch some shut-eye? At IU South Bend, even the Chronicle of Higher Education is checking out the Nap Club.