Contents for Oct. 23-29, 1998

• A study conducted by Jim Simmons and colleagues sheds light on the remarkably sophisticated sonar that bats use. They found that a bat's brain can resolve the timing of echoes for sonar images up to three times more sharply than previously thought and much better than conventional man-made equipment. The work is of particular importance to the U.S. Navy, which relies on both man-made sonar and the sonar of trained dolphins to detect distant or obscure objects.

• Off Hours: Allen Pires, Food Service worker, DJ

• Professors of biology Peter Heywood and Kenneth R. Miller receive the Harriet W. Sheridan Award for Distinguished Contribution to Teaching and Learning, presented to members of the Brown teaching community who have demonstrated a commitment to improving teaching by reflecting on their own methods and those of their colleagues.

• Prenatal cocaine exposure lowers IQ and language performance scores and results in thousands of new children each year who enter school needing special education services, according to a study by three Brown researchers.