"I felt a compelling need to promote social change," says Republican Rep. Joseph Cao. "I thought the best possible way for me to do that was to become politically involved." Alex Wong/Getty Images hide caption

Strength training not only builds muscle, it also generates new muscle nuclei. According to a new study, these nuclei stick around even when muscle mass goes away. iStockphoto.com hide caption

Wendell Pierce, a veteran of David Simon's The Wire, plays trombonist Antoine Batiste on Simon's new HBO series, Treme. He's also working to revive Pontchartrain Park, the New Orleans neighborhood where he grew up. Paul Schiraldi/HBO hide caption

Griffin Black used spare parts from Ebay and other online sources to re-create a modified Fender Telecaster used by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' Mike Campbell. Brad Horn/NPR hide caption

Brian Wilson has just released a new album paying tribute to George Gershwin. courtesy of the artist hide caption