Tools allow us to do more with our hands, but our hands can be tools in their own right. A thumb isn’t a prerequisite to study physics, but it helps to have one. For physics students, hands serve as cognitive tools: By applying the right hand grip rule, physicists let their hands do some of the thinking for them, “offloading” their cognition onto their fingers.

Susan Asselin is one of Rhode Island’s most sought-after consultants. She runs a private business out of her North Providence home, sees up to 20 clients a week and has a pedigree including advisers stretching back a century. And with this week’s announcement from the National Bureau of Economic Research that the United States is officially in a recession, Asselin is full of advice for clients looking to climb their way out of a deep financial hole: “Coffins,” she says, “and a few drops of prosperity oil.

The queen leaf-cutter ant Atta Texana is a very special find. She sees daylight only once a year, counts herself among the largest ants in the animal kingdom and, when lightly toasted, has a sweet and nutty flavor with a crisp, bacon-like texture. David Gracer orders them by the pound and eats them by the dozen.

You almost had me fooled, New England. I had almost adjusted to the missing ‘u’s in my favourite words, almost came to like the extra color on your flag and almost gotten over not being able to drink here despite being old enough to drive a car to a voting station with a gun in my hand, a cigarette in my mouth and army enlistment papers in the glove compartment (you should try it sometime).

Corporation members peering out the window of University Hall’s third floor Saturday might have been surprised to see a similar meeting taking place on the grass. Protesting what they feel is an opaque and exclusive board of governors, Students for a Democratic Society parodied the annual fall meeting of the University’s highest governing body by having some of the group’s white male members – along with a “token female” and a “token minority” – lead a mock discussion.

When the Corporation convenes this weekend for its annual October meeting, its decisions will impact people from all walks of University life. But anyone anxious to learn more about the proceedings will have to wait nearly a lifetime to properly scrutinize this year’s meeting of the University’s top governing body – the minutes, reports and addresses that comprise the Corporation’s official records are kept confidential for 50 years.

Andrew Bergmanson ’11 draws stares from his competitors as he pushes open the double glass doors and enters the silent room.

Brenna Carmody ’09 leans over a tall iced coffee and uses detailed hand gestures to explain a fundraising idea to her professor across the table.

Investigators from the U.S. Senate Finance Committee are scrutinizing Brown over disclosure of conflicts of interest in clinical research, Provost David Kertzer ’69 P’95 P’98 confirmed Thursday.

Among the reasons Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, has targeted Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior Martin Keller in his scrutiny of conflicts of interest in clinical research is Keller’s authorship of a controversial study of the antidepressant Paxil in children.