Even before they can read, children as young as 3 are beginning to understand how a written word is different than a simple drawing. That nuance could provide an important early indicator for children who may need extra help with reading lessons, new Arts & Sciences research suggests.

As the new year gets underway, many make self-improvement resolutions. New research led by Hengchen Dai, PhD, assistant professor at Olin Business School, shows extra motivation is all in the timing and the desire to get away from one’s past, imperfect self.

The brains of children who suffer clinical depression as preschoolers develop abnormally, compared with the brains of preschoolers unaffected by the disorder, according to university researchers. Their gray matter is lower in volume and thinner in the cortex, a part of the brain important in the processing of emotions.

Leaders from the university’s Next Age Institute gathered in Washington recently for an event comparing housing policy and urban planning approaches in the U.S., United Kingdom, India and Singapore. Michael Sherraden, PhD (right), participated in the event, as did James V. Wertsch, PhD, and university board member David Conner.

Cheryl Marie Mueller, clinical administrator in the Division of Bone and Mineral Diseases at the School of Medicine, died Dec. 17, 2015, after a 12-year battle with cancer. She was 52.