Composer Tom Peterson is not very interested in music that balances consonance and dissonance. He likes conflict in his compositions, and in one piece even asked his musicians to "play what makes you angry." (part 3 of 3) --by Sheilah Britton

Megan McGinnity has has studied child slavery in Ghana. She has examined how former child soldiers are being reintegrated into society in Rwanda. And she has studied the sex trade in Thailand, Singapore and Cambodia. The ASU honors student says that seeing these problems through the lens of economics helps explain peoples' incentives. She hopes that changing the incentive structure can help solve these and other daunting problems of human trafficking. (part 2 of 3) --by Sheilah Britton

Meet Sharon Cini, an ASU student who has worked with the Senate committee on Indian affairs studying health care, law enforcement and sexual assault in Indian country. Cini is one of a rapidly growing group of undergraduates getting hands-on research experience in their fields. Read about Cini and other student researchers in this three-part series. --by Sheilah Britton

Most people assume that landscape photographs are about rocks or trees or space. For Mark Klett, the real meaning of landscape photography concerns our essential connection to place, to each other, and, most important, to time. --by Adelheid Fischer

The existence of "superbugs" like methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureas (MRSA) have raised public concern over bacterial infections. A mathematical model that looks at different strategies for curbing hospital-acquired infections suggests that antimicrobial cycling and patient isolation may be effective approaches when patients are harboring dual-resistant bacteria. --by Carol Hughes

Historians aren't known for interdisciplinary collaborations. But Paul Hirt is getting environmental historians out into the field and working with anthropologists, ecologists and geographers. He hopes to increase their understanding of the complex interactions between humans and the landscape. --by Adelheid Fischer

The sky islands borderlands of the Southwest is a unique area harboring such a broad range of life that Conservation International has designated it a hotspot of global diversity. Once sparsely settled, the sky islands borderlands are now undergoing economic, ecological, and social upheavals. Environmental historian Paul Hirt is looking at the region's past to help citizens, businesses and governments manage its present and future. --by Adelheid Fischer

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One day soon a biosensing nanodevice may eliminate long lines at airport security checkpoints and revolutionize health screenings for diseases like anthrax, cancer and antibiotic resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Even more incredible than the device itself, is that it is based on the world's tiniest rotary motor: a biological engine measured on the order of molecules. --by Margaret Coulombe (Read the full text in SOLS News)

Being full of beans might not be such a bad thing. ASU nutritionists say that eating a half-cup of the legumes each day may just keep the doctor away. --by Melissa Crytzer Fry