Next time your baby mashes his bananas, apple sauce, AND carrots all together—not to mention all over his hands, hair, and the high chair—don’t fret about the mess: Your little one just may be getting smarter in the process.

Elementary-school teachers, administrators, and interested community members are invited to a free, informal discussion about how students learn. The discussion is part of an ongoing initiative by UI psychology department researchers to develop improved learning interventions for struggling students.

Dylan Holub faced a lot of ups and downs during his 141-day stay in the UI Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, including the development of retinopathy of prematurity—an abnormal blood vessel development in the retina which can cause blindness if not caught and treated early. Holub will be the honorary Kid Capain this Friday, Nov. 29 when the Hawkeyes play Nebraska.

A burgeoning controversy is brewing in Des Moines over fluoridation of the city's water supply, but Steven Levy of the University of Iowa College of Dentistry says low levels of fluoride are beneficial for improved dental health.

A quiz about screen time for children includes advice from Deborah Linebarger, University of Iowa associate professor of education, who has conducted multiple studies on young kids' media use and recommends TV and videos that have a lot of dialogue and tell simple stories.

UI researcher Thomas Schnell compares the use of automation in a cockpit to cruise control in a car: “Make it 10 times as complicated, and that’s what automation in the flight deck looks like."

Iowa City's strategy of supporting local startups rather than pursuing huge companies' expansions, paired with the exposure that the UI's Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center provides for student-led startups, creates a city with strong momentum.

Paul McCray, Jr. and David Price, both faculty in the UI Carver College of Medicine, have been awarded the distinction of 2013 Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

The University of Iowa School of Music will present a jam session by jazz faculty members from 8 to 10 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 3, at George’s, 312 E. Market St. in downtown Iowa City. The performance, part of a monthly series, is free and open to the public.

One of the world’s finest big bands will swing into the holiday season with two performances at West High School when University of Iowa's Hancher presents the Jazz at Lincoln Center with Wynton Marsalis Saturday, Dec. 7, at 5 and 8 p.m.

The 2013 University of Iowa Hawkeye Poll captured public opinion among Iowans on a range of timely issues, from health care coverage and gun control to the 2014 U.S. Senate elections and the recent federal government shutdown.

In an article about "medical tourism," the University of Iowa's Peter Cram recommends looking for an accredited hospital that performs large numbers of the procedure you need and a doctor who trained at a major medical school.