health

Using real-time recording of cellular movement, biologists at the University of Iowa have discovered how tumors form. Cancer cells reach out and grab other cells, and as little as 5 percent cancerous cells are needed for tumor formation. Findings could lead to more precise cancer testing.

University of Iowa employees who participated in university-sponsored health initiatives last year report healthier eating, lower work absenteeism and greater productivity on the job, factors that have helped keep health-insurance premiums at the same level for a third consecutive year, according to the UI's "liveWell” 2014 annual report.

The University of Iowa ushered in a new age of accelerated research in biomedicine with the formal opening on Wednesday of the $126 million John and Mary Pappajohn Biomedical Discovery Building. The 256,000-square-foot building on the UI health sciences campus will house “high-risk, high-reward” research in diabetes, deafness, and brain science as well as complex diseases affecting the heart and lungs.