The barbershop has been the subject of some interesting sociological and medical studies over the years. The man or woman that combs your hair and …
Month: October 2010
NIH awards aim to increase diversity in the sciences
The National Institutes of Health announced today six new grants aimed at fostering a diverse scientific workforce. In a release, director Francis Collins, MD, PhD, …
Video from Stanford's longevity roundtable now available
Over the next three decades, the number of people older than 65 in the United States will double from 40 million to 80 million. The …
Lorry I. Lokey Stem Cell Research Building to open on the Stanford campus
Stanford might be lovingly referred to as "The Farm," but it's also home to research facilities that are as beautiful as they are high-tech. The …
Untrained marathoners may risk temporary heart damage
After last week's Nike Women's Marathon, my Facebook page was peppered with celebratory status updates from runners. I was impressed, of course, that twenty thousand …
Understanding the connection between premature birth and fetal brain development
Advancements in medicine have greatly increased the survival rate of premature babies, but researchers have yet to determine how to prevent some infants born too …
San Francisco Examiner looks at "mummies and medicine"
Just in time for Halloween, the San Francisco Examiner has assembled a nice overview of the "Very Postmortem: Mummies and Medicine" exhibit at the Legion …
Controversial class primes students in genomics
I joined a group of Stanford medical and graduate students this summer in a class that was unprecedented - the first in the country where …
The largest stem cell research building in the U.S.
Do bricks and mortar really matter in the scientific enterprise? Irv Weissman, MD, thinks so. And that's why Weissman, director of the Stanford Institute for …
Why do women live longer? One man's best guess
Women live longer than men. Why? The answer is certainly not that they endure less stress, as was once assumed when men went to work …
Image of the week: Bedbug
The news just keeps getting worse on the bedbug front. Above, a digitally-colored scanning electron micrograph of Cimex lectularius shows the insect's six jointed legs …
Grand Roundup: Top posts for the week of Oct. 18
The five most-read posts on Scope this week were: Study says sharing a bed with baby may lead to more breastfeeding: The American Academy of …
Chronic disease: Genes matter, but so does environment
We're all familiar with the classic debate: Is it nature or nurture that most influences how our brains tick? Of course, a variation of that …
Spain holds napping championship to revive siesta tradition
Spain's first siesta championship wraps up in Madrid tomorrow, and the country's top napper will be awarded a prize of 1,000 euros. Organized by the …
Experts weigh in on how aging population affects us
UPDATE 10-22-10: A live webcast of the discussion will be available tomorrow beginning at 9:30 a.m. Pacific time. *** 10-11-10: The number of Americans over …
Video of Dalai Lama's talks at Stanford available online
Last week, the Dalai Lama visited Stanford for two days to discuss compassion, altruism and what it means to lead a meaningful life. While on …