It’s not everyday you get to see a Nobel laureate and a Harvard professor sing “The Elements” while one of them plays the accordion. Yet that’s exactly what happened last night when Richard J. Roberts, winner of the 1993 Nobel Prize in Medicine, and Harvard medical professor Thomas Michel performed during the opening ceremonies of the Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony. Held annually in the Sanders Theatre at Harvard University, the Ig Nobels celebrate unconventional achievements in all fields of science and include performances from professors, Nobel Laureates, and professional opera singers. Chemistry was the theme of this year’s ceremony, and in that spirit each winner received a model table inscribed with the elemental symbols on the surface — a literal table of the elements.

The Idea Bank, an online forum for community members to give MIT comments and suggestions, is open again — this time to discuss the MIT150 festivities and collect ideas for future MIT150-inspired events. The Idea Bank is intended to foster ideas in a setting where students, faculty, staff, and alumni all have input.

Professor Rudolf Jaenisch, a founding member of the Whitehead Institute, has been named as one of seven recipients of the 2011 National Medal of Science award. The National Medal of Science is the highest honor in the fields of science and engineering in the United States. Barack Obama named Professor Jaenisch this past Tuesday for his work on the epigenetic regulation of gene expression.

ASHLAND — An Ashland man who holds a physics degree from Northeastern University was charged Wednesday with an Al Qaeda-inspired plot to send a remote-controlled aircraft carrying explosives into the Pentagon and the US Capitol “to kill as many people as possible,” according to a complaint filed in federal court.