Brown University researchers have identified 55 proteins that interact with a receptor in mice known previously to bind with nicotine. The findings, detailed in an April 3 article in the Journal of Proteome Research, could have broad implications for future treatments for nicotine addiction, the search for new drug targets and treatments for diseases such as schizophrenia.

The Peter Green Lectures on the Modern Middle East presents Sami Zubaida, professor emeritus of politics and sociology at Birkbeck College, London. His talk, titled "Religion, Community, and Class in Iraqi Politics and Society," begins on Wednesday, April 1, 2009, at 4 p.m. in List Art Center, Room 120. It is free and open to the public.

Jim Yong Kim, a physician, medical anthropologist, internationally known expert on tuberculosis, and recently appointed president of Dartmouth College, delivers the Dr. and Mrs. Frederick W. Barnes Jr. Lecture in Public Health on Tuesday, April 14, 2009. The free lecture begins at  4 p.m. in Andrews Hall and is open to the public.

A Brown University-led research team has documented for the first time how bats land. The results are surprising: Not all bats land the same way. The findings, which appear in the Journal of Experimental Biology, could offer new insights into how the second-largest order of mammals evolved.

Two Brown University chemists have overcome a challenge to fuel cell reactions using palladium catalysts. The scientists produced palladium nanoparticles with about 40 percent greater active surface area than commercially available palladium particles, and the nanoparticles remain intact four times longer. Results appear in the online edition of the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

Romano Prodi, former prime minister of Italy, will deliver a Stephen A. Ogden ’60 Memorial Lecture on International Affairs on Monday, March 30, 2009, at 4 p.m. in the Salomon Center for Teaching, De Ciccio Family Auditorium.

The David Winton Bell Gallery and the Department of Visual Art present Student Exhibition 2009 through Sunday, March 29, 2009.  

Brown University researchers have demonstrated how a robot can follow human gestures in a variety of environments — indoors and outside — without having to adjust for variations in lighting. The achievement is an important step forward in the quest to build fully autonomous robots as partners for human endeavors. Results will be presented at the Human-Robot Interaction conference March 11-13, 2009, in San Diego.

Brown University chemists have developed a novel way to treat a class of breast cancer cells. The team has created a twin nanoparticle that specifically targets the Her-2 tumor cell and unloads a cancer-fighting drug directly into it. The result: Greater success at eliminating the cancer while minimizing an anti-cancer drug’s side effects. Findings are published online in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

Internationally renowned composer Joseph Schwantner will be a composer-in-residence at Brown University from Thursday, March 12, through Sunday, March 15, 2009. While here, the Brown University Orchestra will première his new work, entitled Chasing Light….

Brown physicists have played a key role in observing particle collisions that produce a single top quark, one of the fundamental constituents of matter. The discovery was announced Monday by scientists of the CDF and DZero collaborations at the Department of Energy’s Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. Meenaskhi Narain, a Brown physics professor who has been involved with DZero since the early 1990s, said the finding is "kind of a dream come true."

The newly renovated Brown University Bookstore celebrates its reopening with a series of special events from Monday, March 2, to Sunday, March 8, 2009.