“I liked beer. I still like beer.” Long before Judge Brett Kavanaugh uttered these infamous words during confirmation hearings for his appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court in September, alcoholic beverages were a part of the life and work of the justices of the Supreme Court. In her new book, Glass and Gavel: The U.S. Supreme Court and Alcohol, Nancy Maveety, professor and chair of political science, discusses how the justices have participated in both the enjoyment and the restriction of beverage alcohol throughout our country’s history.

As reported in Live Science, lip balms for dry, chapped lips provide only temporary comfort, and some types can make scaly lips even drier. That’s because, in part, when the thin film of moisture from the lip balm evaporates, it dehydrates your lips even more. “It starts a vicious cycle,” said Dr. Leah Jacob, an assistant professor of dermatology in the School of Medicine.

After analyzing the diets of 16,000 Americans, researchers led by Diego Rose, professor of public health, found that preparing meals with a small carbon footprint is as simple as using less animal protein. “People whose diets had a lower carbon footprint were eating less red meat and dairy — which contribute to a larger share of greenhouse gas emissions and are high in saturated fat — and consuming more healthful foods like poultry, whole grains and plant-based proteins,” he said.

William C. Wimley, professor of biochemistry in the School of Medicine, is making soup, but not the kind you’d probably like to sip. In his lab, in a cell soup, he’s synthesizing peptides in order to create ones with therapeutic potential, particularly as smart-delivery systems to deliver drugs that have shown promise against microbes known as “superbugs.” Wimley’s work is supported by the National Institutes of Health and was recognized in the NIH Director’s Blog.

“They come to me because they have been lost to history.”

Jesmyn Ward, creative writing professor, in The New York Times, talking about her characters in her award-winning novels — like Esch in Salvage the Bones (2011) and Jojo in Sing, Unburied, Sing (2017).

Bruce Fleury, a professor in Tulane’s Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, has plenty to say about birds — so much so that he’s developed a 12-part lecture series that even the most novice bird-watcher will find both insightful and entertaining.

In a CNN report on the $48 million federal project to move families from Isle de Jean Charles, Louisiana, where the Gulf of Mexico is inundating homes, Torbjörn Törnqvist, professor and chair of earth and environmental science, said that one day it won’t be villages thinking of relocation, it will be cities. “The reality is that there are other, even larger cities that may actually be even more vulnerable, like Miami, for example.”

Avery Siegel, a Tulane student majoring in communication with a minor in public health, can add the title “Oscar winner” to her resume. Siegel, a second-year student in the School of Liberal Arts, is a co-executive producer of the documentary Period. End of Sentence, which won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short on Feb. 24. The film follows girls and women in Hapur, India, telling the story of the stigma of menstruation, and their experience with the installation of a pad machine in their village. Siegel and her fellow co-producers began…

“What we found was that women who fell in love had increased activity of genes involved in antiviral defenses.” - DAMIAN MURRAY, assistant professor of psychology, on his study analyzing the immune system of women in love.

The HOMELAND SECURITY program offered online by the School of Professional Advancement and the online SOCIAL WORK MASTER'S PROGRAM in the School of Social Work have been named top master’s programs by OnlineMasters.com.