A hard pill to swallow: why U.S. drug prices are so high
Prescription drugs in America can cost 85 percent more than they do just north of the border. A secretive industry, legal loopholes, and price-sheltered consumers help keep prices high. University experts Roger Feldman and Stephen Schondelmeyer weigh in on the issue.

Top 10 reasons to buy a Golden Gopher E-Bike
The Golden Gopher E-Bike is a battery operated scooter that cruises at 15-20 miles per hour and goes 20 miles between charges. Here are 10 reasons you should buy one.

From weather to wolves: books with U connections
Reviews of three books with University connections--Leaning into the Wind: A Memoir of Midwest Weather, Slowing Down to the Speed of Love, and Wolves: Behavior, Ecology, and Conservation.

Money for bricks and mortar
The University of Minnesota is taking its $155 million 2004 Capital Request--designed to preserve its buildings and make important upgrades and expansions--to the Minnesota State Legislature.

Lab-based incubator aims to jumpstart biosciences in Minnesota
The U has identified more than 60 technologies that could be the basis for start-ups in the next few years. University Enterprise Laboratories (UEL) is a public-private partnership to help start-up companies struggling to survive.

Clarification
Clarification of a portion of the obesity story, M, winter 2004.

A perfect match: doubling the impact of endowed scholarships
To encourage new gifts for scholarships, the U recently launched a program that will double the impact of any gift of $25,000 or more for endowed scholarships.

The gift of scholarship
Nancy and Larry Bentson, ('45 and '43), recently converted a $10 million bequest to the U into an immediate gift for undergraduate scholarships to support nearly 100 students a year.

Returning the favor
Lawyer Sarah Landau ('94) received the Fesler Scholarship in her freshman year and other scholarships during her remaining years at the U. Last year, Landau began funding an endowed scholarship at the University.

Not by the book: A gift in honor of an innovative grade-school teacher
To honor her friend and her work, alum Irene Scatliff established the Margaret Virum Fund for School Partnerships in Literacy with $30,000. The endowed fund provides a flexible source of income for literary partnerships between the University and public schools in the Twin Cities and surrounding areas.

Putting the gloves back on
After the extremely divisive presidential elections of 2000, many people hoped that Republicans and Democrats would come together for the good of the country. Instead, political warfare and cynicism have reached new levels. Into this minefield steps the University's Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs' new Center for the Study of Politics--a place to raise public understanding of politics, serve as a resource to citizens and the media on important policy issues, and show students that politics can be a noble calling.

100 years of alumni advocacy: from toilet soap to regent selection
This feature offers a snapshot of the University of Minnesota Alumni Association's 100 years of advocacy.

Centennial Finale May 6
The University of Minnesota Alumni Association will wrap up its centennial year May 6 by honoring instrumental composer Yanni at its 2004 Annual Celebration.

The UMAA makes a difference today
The University of Minnesota Alumni Association plays many roles on the Twin Cities campus. This piece offers some highlights.

Surbhi Madia: U senior does her share to generate warmth
Surbhi Madia and her boyfriend, John Barber, organized a highly successful Winter Warmth from U clothing drive. The rewards were well worth all the hard work of organizing, according to Madia. "In the last six months of [helping coordinate the clothing drive], I have learned more than I did in all of college," she says.

A deficiency of 'D' for patients with pain
Research conducted at the University of Minnesota found that of a group of 150 patients showing "persistent, nonspecific musculoskeletal pain"--meaning vague, sometimes generalized aches and pains--93 percent were deficient in vitamin D.

Sleeping (and dying) on Minnesota streets
Minnesota has more homeless than you might think--an estimated 21,000--and they stand in stark defiance of stereotypes.

Reckless behavior or healthy experimentation?
University of Minnesota researcher wants parents to learn the the difference between healthy experimentation and reckless behavior.

Stadium talk builds
When Governor Tim Pawlenty convened a Stadium Screening Committee to solicit and discuss stadium proposals, the University stepped forward as a fully vested player.

Midwifery means 'with woman'
Chances are, if you hear the word midwife, you may think it's an old-fashioned word for something that doesn't exist anymore. But midwifery is alive and thriving, serving a wide range of women--high-income as well as newly arrived immigrants--and the University has one of the best programs in the nation.

Q & A on stem cell research at the U
Stem cells--parent cells for all the body's tissues--offer great potential and promise for important medical treatments and cures. But embryonic stem cell use is controversial, and federal funding is prohibited for research on newly donated embryos.

Painting with fire
With the building of a new wood-fired kiln on campus, University of Minnesota, Morris, (UMM) can now introduce its students to the sensual and artistic magic of this millennia-old process.

Writing a winner
The University of Minnesota Alumni Association unveiled the winner of its new cheer competition.