Véronique LaCapra

If you live or spend time in St. Charles or Lincoln Counties, you’ve probably noticed an unusual number of snow geese around. The birds have been congregating near the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers — estimates of their numbers run as high as 20,000.

An international brain mapping project led by Washington University has released its first set of results.

The Human Connectome Project is a five-year effort to study brain circuits and how the wiring of the brain relates to human behavior.

Project researchers are working to obtain high-resolution brain scans of 1,200 healthy adults, along with information about their cognitive abilities, personalities, and other characteristics.

Updated at 4:10 p.m. to include quotes from IDNR and 4:23 p.m. to include map.

Officials in Illinois have found the first cases of a devastating bat disease known as white-nose syndrome in that state.

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources says laboratory tests confirmed the fungal disease in two species of bat in four counties. Those include Monroe County in the Metro East, LaSalle County in north-central Illinois, and Hardin and Pope Counties in the southern part of the state.

Updated on Tuesday, February 19, at 6:10 p.m. to add quote from Bowman.

The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments today in a legal battle between St. Louis-based Monsanto and a 75-year-old Indiana farmer.

The case revolves around whether Vernon Hugh Bowman violated Monsanto's patent rights when he bought seeds from a grain elevator and planted them.