Decades ago, experts predicted we would all be working just 14 to 15 hours a week by now, and would have so much free time we wouldn’t even know what to do with ourselves. UI historian Benjamin Hunnicutt calls the shorter workweek the “forgotten American dream."

A University of Iowa physiologist has a new technique to measure the stiffness of the aorta, a common risk factor for heart disease. The procedure involves measuring the pulse in the finger or on the arm, combined with an individual's age and body mass index.

A University of Iowa professor has received a $3.2 million National Institutes of Health grant to develop computerized models of the human lung that are easily seen by physicians and patients.

Vicki Grassian, director of the UI Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Institute and professor of chemistry, describes her award-winning work on the role of mineral dust in the atmosphere.

Fruit flies are as susceptible to loud noise as teenagers attending rock concerts, scientists have learned. The discovery that being blasted by sound has the same effect on the tiny insects as it does on humans could open up new avenues of research into hearing loss.

A lot has been made of the hot temperatures and taking precautions to prevent health problems, but UI physiology professor, Kevin Kregel, says you don’t have to be a prisoner of an air conditioned room—your body has the ability to adjust to the conditions.

The University of Iowa School of Music will present a faculty recital by Uriel Tsachor at 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 15, in Riverside Recital Hall on the UI campus. The performance is free and open to the public.

Enter the common fruit fly as the proxy to better understand hearing loss in humans. The study by the University of Iowa looks at how loud noises damage the ear, by affecting the molecular underpinnings. Results published in the online Early Edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Chris Baker, alumnus of the University of Iowa School of Journalism and Mass Communication, will read from his new book, "Others Had It Worse: Sour Dock, Moonshine, and Hard Times in Davis County, Iowa," at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 5, in a free reading at Prairie Lights Books in downtown Iowa City.

The University of Iowa School of Music will present a jam session by jazz faculty members from 8 to 10 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 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.

Geoffrey G. O’Brien, graduate of the University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop, will read from "People on Sunday" at 7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 9, in a free reading at Prairie Lights Books in downtown Iowa City. The reading also will be streamed live on the UI Writing University website.

The University of Iowa is pleased to announce the following faculty promotions. The promotions are effective for the 2013-14 academic year, beginning July 1.