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Future teachers from the University of Iowa College of Education are showcasing their high-tech skills in a novel way, thanks to a new effort to prepare teachers for the classroom who will also be noticed by employers. "The Electronic Portfolio Project" is a new initiative to provide students in the teacher education program in the College of Education with training, skills and resources to make their academic and professional abilities available to employers on the World Wide Web.

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Public trials of government officials accused of mass atrocities can be quite effective in helping countries heal their psychic wounds, University of Iowa Law Professor Mark Osiel argues in a new book that has attracted attention from judges currently investigating war crimes. "Mass Atrocity, Collective Memory, and the Law" (Transaction Publishers, 1997) lays out Osiel's arguments that the law -- and its manifestation in public trials -- can help societies make sense of their with traumatic pasts.

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The world's most advanced search for the basic building blocks of matter -- a quest begun in ancient Greece -- will be conducted with the help of physicists from the University of Iowa and Iowa State University.

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Employees with certain disabilities are more likely to be injured on the job than workers without disabilities. As a result, further research in the design and evaluation of workplace accommodations for these employees may be needed, according to a study by researchers at the University of Iowa College of Medicine.

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The unruly child in the dentist's chair may resist treatment not because of fear but rather out of trouble responding to requests from adults. A University of Iowa College of Dentistry professor suggests that parenting styles affect preschool children's willingness to comply with dental care.

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Though anabolic steroids are known to produce aggressive behavior, a University of Iowa study shows that the drugs do not necessarily cause automobile drivers to take extra risks behind the wheel.

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Immune system function is decreased in alcoholics and alcohol abusers with liver disease, making them more susceptible to infections and disease. Recent research done at the University of Iowa suggests that alcohol, rather than the liver disease, is largely responsible for the decrease in immune system function -- perhaps by decreasing the number of immune system cells. Sporadic alcohol intake, or binge drinking, may contribute to that cell loss, according to Dr. Robert Cook, professor of pathology at the UI College of Medicine and Iowa City Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

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When it comes to lung cancer diagnosis sometimes less is more, even in the high-tech world of medicine. That is the message of a University of Iowa study showing that the analysis of sputum -- a low-cost, low-risk method for detecting lung cancer -- makes more sense as an initial diagnostic test for many patients than the more expensive invasive methods. In addition, the potential national savings in testing costs with the adoption of sputum analysis would be at least $30 million per year.

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A University of Iowa rheumatologist reports that the drug alendronate (marketed as Fosamax) may help prevent steroid-induced osteoporosis, the second most common cause of osteoporosis in post-menopausal women.

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What does it mean if your doctor is not among those listed as "Best Doctors"? Maybe nothing in terms of good care, says Dr. Arthur Hartz, University of Iowa professor of family medicine.

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A mechanism that regulates protein activity, previously undescribed for advanced cells, has been reported by Dr. Toshinori Hoshi, University of Iowa assistant professor of physiology and biophysics.

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IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Every mom knows that after giving birth, sleep is a precious commodity; fatigue and emotional fluctuations are part of the experience. Everyone knows it, but according to Michael O'Hara, University of Iowa professor of psychology, no one has documented the effect of post-birth sleep patterns on thought processes and mood.

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IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Among neurological disorders, autism is the new kid on the block, and no one really knows what causes it. For nearly 30 years scientists believed that autism was a disorder of the mind, caused by poor parenting or perhaps early psychological trauma. But by the 1970s, it became clear that biological rather than psychological factors cause the brain abnormality. Today, psychiatrists still don't know exactly what that abnormality is or where and how it develops. Those are questions Dr. Joseph Piven, University of Iowa associate professor of psychiatry, and his colleagues tackle daily. Recently, they found neuroanatomical differences between the brains of autistic and healthy young adults.

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Cystic fibrosis, the most common hereditary disease in the United States, is caused by the malfunction of an ion channel that is critical for maintaining the secretions of salt and water that protect the lungs. New research suggests a novel way in which this ion channel may function, thus challenging a commonly held "corked/uncorked" theory. The finding, published in Thursday's issue of the journal Nature, paves the way for a more refined research effort to find a cure or improve treatment for cystic fibrosis.

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Cigarette smoking significantly worsens the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis, according to University of Iowa College of Medicine researchers who studied the severity of the disease in more than 300 patients.

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The guidelines used to evaluate on-the-job injury prevention programs often use the weakest available measurement criteria, according to published research led or co-led by Dr. Craig Zwerling, University of Iowa associate professor of preventive medicine and environmental health.

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For 50 years, Dr. Ignacio V. Ponseti, professor emeritus of orthopaedic surgery at the University of Iowa College of Medicine, has been telling his colleagues that surgery is not the proper method for correcting clubfoot in infants.

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IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Repeated exposure to molds often found in damp hay and grain can irritate the lungs causing a disease known as farmer's lung or hypersensitivity pneumonitis. The syndrome causes coughing and shortness of breath, and is "reasonably common in the Midwest," says Dr. Gary Hunninghake, University of Iowa professor of internal medicine, who has studied the disease for many years.

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A certain amount of suspicion is a good thing but too much can be unhealthy. University of Iowa researchers have shown that personality traits and attitudes can affect how well patients follow their medical regimen.

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The consequences of genetic testing should be carefully considered by patients and health care providers before a test is administered, according to a University of Iowa nursing professor.

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The University of Iowa is one of two research centers coordinating a worldwide surveillance program to track the escalating spread of bacteria resistant to current antibiotics.

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Study finds that following AHA recommendations for electrode placement during defibrilation allows the most current to reach the heart.

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Observers around the world will be watching July 1 as Hong Kong makes the transition from British to Chinese authority. To mark the occasion, the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics and the UI College of Medicine will take part in a worldwide teleconference convened by the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

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For decades, traction has been used routinely to treat dislocated hips in children. But as a University of Iowa College Medicine researcher points out, little scientific evidence exists to show this procedure makes any difference in treating newborn and young children with hip problems.

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A researcher at the University of Iowa College of Medicine has discovered a technique that may open new doors for prostate cancer therapy. Dr. Timothy Ratliff, UI professor of urology, says a virus called canarypox has the potential to be used as a means of transporting genes that stimulate anti-tumor activity into prostate cancer cells. Ratliff's research appears in the March 19 issue of Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

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UI researchers report that mutations in a gene located on chromosome 1 are responsible for primary open angle glaucoma. "These study results point to the potential availability of a blood test that can identify people at risk for primary open angle glaucoma," says Dr. Thomas Weingeist, UI professor and head of ophthalmology.