College-aged women are getting surgical and non-invasive cosmetic alterations at rates higher than ever before. Noticeably, many of these women are in sororities. No prior research has identified a definitive relationship between sorority women and cosmetic enhancements. The purpose of this research was to investigate why sorority women are increasingly getting cosmetic work done, particularly examining the influences behind those procedures. Research questions include: Is there a physical standard of beauty in sororities? If so, does this physical standard of beauty influence sorority women’s decisions to undergo cosmetic procedures? Possible benefits of this study include helping to educate people about how Greek life might play a role in influencing beauty standards among college-aged women, as well as providing insights to clinics about their marketing to college-aged women. An anonymous digital survey evaluating cosmetic procedures and physical standards of beauty was sent to every sorority at Arizona State University, University of Arizona and Northern Arizona University to share with its members. In total, 15 chapters chose to participate, resulting in multiple-choice and text responses from 74 sorority women. Additionally, several interviews with sorority women and a local psychologist took place. The results revealed a clear demand and interest for cosmetic alterations, with almost half of respondents having already undergone at least one cosmetic procedure, yet it’s not so clear whether or not Greek life is really to blame for sorority women increasingly going under the knife. The study’s results were compiled into a report and a long-form, narrative reporting journalism article.

In letters to the journals Science and Nature (1, 2), 22 virologists notified the research community of their interest in expanding research to develop strains of the already deadly H7N9 Asian influenza virus that would be transmissible via aerosols among mammals, thus creating potential pandemic pathogens. PPPs are defined as pathogens that are potentially highly contagious, potentially highly deadly, and not currently present in the human population. Mammalian contagious avian flu, the 1918 pandemic flu, and SARS are examples. The letter writers cite their scientific reasons for the need for such research, much the same reasons as given by those working on similar projects for the H5N1 avian flu virus (3, 4). This new proposed research signals wider interest in making dangerous influenza viruses (5, 6) contagious in mammals via respiratory aerosols. At present, there are no international regulations or guidelines in place to decide whether such a research project should proceed.