In a story that dominated the front page of the Inquirer's "Home & Garden" section, readers learned about Temple junior Annie Preston, an urban gardener who has transformed an "ugly" abandoned lot in West Philadelphia into a productive and attractive farm in two years — all on the surrounding community's terms. "I've always been passionate about environmental issues, and food is a really good way to get people excited about the environment," she says. Preston's project helped earn her prestigious Truman and Udall scholarships.

In an opinion piece, Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, a professor of psychology at Temple, looks at the debate over whether IQ is fixed. “Research with children tells us we can modify IQ,” she said. Other studies have shown that with practice, we can improve almost everything, from playing the violin to kicking a ball. “The story line emerging is that we can modify adults' fluid intelligence. If

Americans traveling to less developed nations should pay special attention to the water, according to David Schlossberg, a professor of medicine at Temple who contributed to and edited the book Infections of Leisure. He recommends drinking only bottled water with a sealed cap, to make sure you’re not swallowing dressed-up tap water. “For all the advances in medicine, infectious disease remains the No. 1 killer on the planet,” he said.