Biology Department Washington University

Washington University evolutionary biologist Jonathan Losos’ new book “The Cat's Meow” traces the origin of domestic cats and how scientists use modern tools to study them.

Fish only seem silent when you’re on the outside looking in. Bruce Carlson’s lab at Washington University has been breaking new ground in our understanding of how they communicate. The fish the biology professor studies use electric pulses — and, as it turns out, pregnant pauses — as they signal their peers.

For many who have died, the “good family man” description is draped upon them like an embroidered pall, often as much in the interest of being nice and…