My hometown of Austin didn't ban smoking in public places until 2005. So, despite being raised in a non-smoking home, I inevitably inhaled varying amounts …
Month: June 2010
Wanted: "Hot" science blogs for popular UK newspaper
Last Thursday, The Guardian started compiling a list of the "hottest" science blogs on the web and is asking for help from its readers. In …
Disagreement and uncertainty about Gulf oil spill effects on human health
The Gulf oil spill poses only mild, temporary health risks to cleanup workers and none at all to the general public, according to the official position of the CDC and several other local and national authorities. Yet the public and several experts aren't so certain about the safety of the oil and the dispersants mixed with it.
The Gulf oil spill poses only mild, temporary health risks to cleanup workers and none at all to the general public, according to the official position of the CDC and several other local and national authorities. Yet the public and several experts aren't so certain about the safety of the oil and the dispersants mixed with it.
Genotype testing for medical, graduate students
The Stanford School of Medicine will offer an elective course this summer in which medical and graduate students will have the opportunity to have their …
LEED-certified buildings: Efficient, but are they healthy?
Living or working in buildings that carry the Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) seal of approval may lower your carbon footprint, but it …
Why physicians aren't using LinkedIn
I've been at the School of Medicine for well over two years, and I've frequently heard that LinkedIn isn't really popular with physicians and researchers. …
Greenwashing is dirty. Is it threatening human health?
I don't mind cleaning, but I've never liked conventional cleaning products, with their neon hues and potent citrus fumes. So when "green" alternatives first cropped …
Image of the Week: Microarray of 8,700 gene sequences
This week's image is a mouse cDNA microarray containing approximately 8,700 gene sequences. It was printed at the National Cancer Institute Microarray Facility and it …
Grand Roundup: Top posts for the week of May 31
The five most-read posts on Scope this week were: New Stanford Genomics Center to bring personalized medicine to patients: On Tuesday, the School of Medicine …
The "July effect" confirmed at teaching hospitals
As a graduate student in Stanford's Cancer Biology Program, I had my fair share of medical-student friends. It was always interesting to hear their behind-the-scenes …
Using stem cells to treat and cure immune diseases
Blood stem cell transplantation could be used to treat and cure difficult immunological disease if some technical challenges can be worked out.
Blood stem cell transplantation could be used to treat and cure difficult immunological disease if some technical challenges can be worked out.
Only one-third of teenage girls get HPV vaccine to prevent cervical cancer
Only 34 percent of 13- to 17-year-olds have gotten a vaccine that protects against HPV, the most common sexually transmitted disease, and can prevent cervical …
How long can an unprotected human survive for in space?
Have you ever wondered how long a human can live unprotected in space? Well, evidently, NASA has an answer, and it’s been circulating all over …
The cost of whole genome sequencing plummeting
Hot on the heels of my blog entry on Tuesday about Stanford's new Center for Genome and Personalized Medicine comes startling news about the price …
Should you follow your psychiatrist on Twitter?
University of Chicago psychiatrist Robert Husing, MD, has crafted an insightful policy to help people decide whether or not to follow him on Twitter. He …
Paying attention to Adderall use on college campuses
Maintaining focus in work and school can be...can be...Sorry, lost my train of thought. Oh, yes, difficult - especially so, some have argued, in the …