If "surgical manipulation of body parts . . . resurrection of life . . . the ethical consequences of engaging powers we've yet to morally know how to use" reads like a lead-in for a Halloween movie marathon then the public can expect much more next week when biologist David Stocum presents on the seasonally-timed topic of "The Legacy of Frankenstein: Regenerative Biology and Medicine."

A new company, SpheroSense Technologies Inc., founded by scientists at IU Bloomington, aims to become the leader in continuous-monitoring devices for research, medical and safety applications based on a new type of miniature optical device. Unlike most existing technologies, this biosensor can detect small molecules, drugs, proteins, viruses, DNA and RNA, and it can be manufactured inexpensively enough to be disposable after delivering results in minutes. The combination of flexibility, compact size, high-speed detection and low price will make the new biosensor ideal for clinical, laboratory and industrial applications, including in a physician's office.

A space on Indiana University Bloomington's campus once occupied by nothing but students rushing to class soon will be home to 750 scientists and support staff busily mixing reagents, inoculating cell cultures, and typing up replies to fly mutant requests.

Rat brain cells grown in a dish activate each other in cascades that resemble avalanches, and these "brain avalanches" appear to be involved in memory. New computer models suggest that these brain avalanches may be optimal for information storage. If so, certain neurochemical treatments might someday improve life for people with memory problems.

Indiana University President Adam W. Herbert announced that the Lilly Endowment Inc. is giving IU Bloomington $53 million to broaden and intensify its life sciences research, retain its distinguished scientists, attract new world class scientists and contribute to the state's economic development by transferring technology to new and existing life science businesses. The grant is the largest IUB has ever received.

The Indiana Biocomplexity Consortium will host a workshop on "Complex Behavior in Unicellular Organisms" on the Indiana University Bloomington campus from Wednesday through Sunday (May 12-16). This is the sixth in a series of workshops organized to address important topics in the field of biocomplexity -- a cross-disciplinary area fusing physics, chemistry, computer science, mathematics and the life sciences.