A long train of little super heroes, fairies, cats, and ninjas—some with IV poles in tow—paraded through the halls of UI Children's Hospital Thursday, stopping here and there for trick-or-treat candy.

Making fat cells immortal might seem like a bad idea to most people, but for a team of University of Iowa scientists it was the ideal way to study how the interaction between bacteria and fat cells might contribute to diabetes.

A University of Iowa study shows that bacterial toxins trigger fat cells to produce pro-inflammatory molecules. The findings suggest that by promoting chronic inflammation through their effect on fat cells, bacterial toxins may play a role in the development of diabetes.

Starting this fall, UI Sports Medicine researchers, in collaboration with several regional flag and tackle football leagues, will conduct a study to document and compare rates of all injuries, including concussions, among youth players.

The Affordable Care Act declares that most Americans will face a penalty if they’re uninsured, starting in 2014, but experts predict it will be difficult to enforce: “They might send you a sternly worded letter,” said UI law professor Andy Grewal who specializes in tax issues.

UI neurologist Eric Dyken participated in a program about sleep, including the effect of darker nights on your sleeping habits, correlation between sleep and dementia, a new study that shows the brain clears out harmful toxins while you sleep, and sleep and diabetes risk.

Shelby Rheinschmidt is your normal teenager, except she just got a cochlear implant. Not just any cochlear implant—a hybrid cochlear implant, as part of a trial pioneered at the University of Iowa. Follow her journey from the decision, through the surgery, to the turning the implant on.

Jack Bickel was born with moderate to severe hearing loss and was fitted with hearing aids when he was 6 months old. At age 3, he moved on to a more powerful hearing aid. At age 9, what was left of Jack’s hearing started to decline significantly. A “hybrid” cochlear implant invented at the UI turned things around.

Madison Van Winkle celebrated her first birthday with something new—bilateral cochlear implants.

Bruce Gantz, head of the Department of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery, directs a multidisciplinary center at the University of Iowa that is driving improvements in cochlear implant technology, developing new implants for deaf children and adults, and preparing the field for advances in regenerative medicine.

A University of Iowa Faculty and Staff Health Fair will be held Wednesday, Nov. 6, from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the UI Field House main deck.

A second $10 million gift commitment from former Maquoketa, Iowa, residents Jerre and Mary Joy Stead to improve children's medicine at the University of Iowa will create four new faculty chairs and establish funds to support innovation and leadership development.