March's Science Café features Sarah Partan, Hampshire College, who will present Beyond the Chatter: Adventures in Animal Communication on Monday, March 4 at 6 p.m. at Esselon Café.

Learn about the fascinating world of animal communication and the answers to such questions as: Why did the robot squirrel wave its tail? What do female pigeons really want, his song or his dance? Do urban birds find it harder to get a date over all that noise?

All Science Café events are free and designed for a public audience. Light snacks will be provided and drinks will be available for purchase. For more information, visit www.oebsciencecafe.org

Classic Readings will meet on Tuesdays from 12 noon - 1 pm in the OEB Seminar Room (319 MOR 2). The schedule and pdfs of papers can be found here. All OEB grad students are invited. Contact discussion leader Scott Schneider with questions.

OEB alum Kathryn Lord's (PhD, 2010) recent paper in Ethology, A Comparison of the Sensory Development of Wolves (Canis lupus lupus) and Dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) is attracting attention. Lord's research may explain why wolves are forever wild, but dogs can be tamed. Her work suggests the different behaviors are related to the animals' earliest sensory experiences and the critical period of socialization.

Cornelia I. Bargmann
Torsten N. Wiesel Professor
Lulu and Anthony Wang Laboratory of Neural Circuits and Behavior

The Rockefeller University
Using fixed circuits to build flexible behaviors
4:00 p.m.
Wednesday, November 28
Engineering II Auditorium (Rm 119)

Dr. Bargmann's research focuses on how the environment, experience and the biology of the brain interact to shape an animal's behavior. Her lab aims to investigate how neural circuits develop in the nematode C. elegans. She is particularly interested in how genes influence neural pathways and behavior. She also has a longstanding interest in human genetics and developmental disorders.