Gene E. Robinson, the Director of the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, will discuss how molecular mechanisms, particularly the activity of genes, within the honey bee brain enable it to direct the bee’s behavior in response to changes in the environment, the needs of the hive, and physiological state. Future work to better understand how the genome activity in the brain translates experience into behavior will help answer questions about how human social environments impact behavior and health, and how the deleterious effects of stressful environments can be ameliorated.