Most women take birth control pills to prevent pregnancy. But Oxford researchers say the pill may prevent ovarian cancer as well.

Two years ago, Tony Grier received a pair of diseased lungs during a lung transplant at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Now, HUP must respond to questions raised in a lawsuit filed by Grier's estate. Grier, 43, had pulmonary sarcoidosis - a rare disease that in its chronic form thickens lung tissue to the point at which it can no longer transmit oxygen into the bloodstream - and believed he was exchanging his own lungs for those of a healthy 18-year-old.

For the last few months, Cornell has looked a lot less like the Big Red-faced embarrassment of the early 2000s and more like the Cincinnati Reds' "Big Red Machine" of the 1970s. Pundits picked the team to finish first in the Ivy League preseason poll, and so far, the play has matched the hype.

Khaliq Gant goes to basketball practice, works out and travels to away games with the Cornell basketball team, but you won't see him suiting up this year. And he's not upset about that. Two years ago, Gant was an up-and-coming sophomore guard, playing 14 minutes per game for the Big Red.

Senior Lee Rosen has seen a fair amount of changes in the squash team in his four years at Penn. He's gone from No. 5 to No. 1 within the team rankings. He's seen elite players come and go. But he's never seen his Quakers lose to Dartmouth. This weekend, however, Rosen is in danger of seeing his team fall to the Big Green (11-3), whom the Quakers (6-5) will travel to play on Sunday after a Saturday match at Harvard (4-1).

Three days ago, the women's squash team officially reclaimed the top spot in the College Squash Association rankings. Now, the Quakers (10-0, 5-0 Ivy) look to close out the perfect regular season that eluded them last year, as they travel north to take on Harvard and Dartmouth.

Survival of the fittest seems to be working well for Charles Darwin, who will celebrate his 199th birthday this weekend.

Need-blind admissions for international students? Not yet for Penn. With Dartmouth College's announcement last month that they would extend need-blind admissions to international students, Penn now stands in the minority of Ivy League schools without such a financial-aid commitment.

In recent years, more and more students have been able to grab a cup of coffee or go shopping - without leaving their apartment buildings.

Once only associated with Birkenstock-sporting, stoned-out hippies, vegetarianism has enchanted many mainstream Americans in recent years - from Chelsea Clinton to Natalie Portman. Indeed, the march away from meat is gradually changing the landscape of dining, with posh restaurants now offering separate vegetarian menus and even Burger King adding veggie burgers as a Meal Deal option.

Incorrect analysis To the Editor: I would like to clarify a few of the statistics cited in Jim Saksa's article, "Missing the Bigger Picture." Based on his personal opinion, Mr. Saksa reported that the difference between men's and women's LSAT scores is statistically insignificant.

Now all those Red Bulls Penn students use to help them study all night may serve a higher purpose. Penn for UNICEF is joining forces with the Residential Advisory Board to collect aluminum soda can tabs. The tabs will be donated to the Philadelphia Ronald McDonald House, which will sell them to a scrap metal dealer to help pay operational costs.

Unlike most students, I won't receive my first semester grades until March. As one of around 600 juniors, I studied abroad this past semester. And at this point, I have no idea what grades to expect - especially because the University of Seville has yet to discover the wonders of e-mail communication between students and professors.

Need-blind admissions for international students? Not yet for Penn. With Dartmouth College's announcement last month that they would extend need-blind admissions to international students, Penn now stands in the minority of Ivy League schools without such a financial-aid commitment.

Historically, Columbia has not posed much of a threat for Penn. This is the school that had a symposium on the culture of losing two years ago. The Lions haven't had a winning Ivy season in 15 years. And they've lost 10 of their last 11 games against the Quakers.

Home-court advantage? The law of averages? The mercy of the basketball gods? The Quakers (3-15, 0-3 Ivy) are hopeful that one of these forces can bring them relief from a 12-game skid as they host Columbia (5-13, 2-2) and Cornell (11-6, 3-1) at the Palestra this weekend.

For John Rosen, Judaism, the search for human contentment and the need for belonging all have a strong correlation to the migratory patterns of birds. Yesterday, Rosen shared those thoughts with students and faculty members at Kelly Writers House, and later, during a book-signing in Houston Hall to promote his forthcoming book, The Life of the Skies: Judaism, Evolution and the Natural World, which will be released later this month.