You may have heard today that average life-expectancy gains for Americans are rising at a slower pace than those in many other developed nations. The …
Month: January 2011
List grades best and worst states for food poisoning
I'm a bit late to this too, but, as someone who actually bothers to look at San Francisco's restaurant inspection scores, I just couldn't resist: …
Chitchat, not fate, may predict relationship success
In fairytales, and teen TV dramas, kindred spirits are usually brought together by fate or love at first sight, but new research suggests that, in …
Why can't we walk straight?
I'm a bit late to this, but here's a fantastic video from NPR pondering the mystery of why we can't walk straight. The piece is …
A Gaga-ish take on graduate student life
I don't know anything about the group that made this video parody of graduate student life, but I love it. Any current or former graduate …
Stanford joins first human embryonic stem cell trial
Today Stanford's School of Medicine announced its participation in the first human embryonic stem cell trial in paralyzed humans. Stanford has partnered with Santa Clara …
Newsweek profiles Stanford's John Ioannidis and his efforts to improve the credibility of medical research
One of the world’s foremost experts on the credibility of medical research, John Ioannidis, MD, DSc, has made a career out of challenging the framework …
Do electronic health records improve health? It's complicated
When I started writing our article about a new paper by Randall Stafford, MD, PhD, on electronic health records, I thought the message was as …
Are Happy Meals illegal? A public health lawyer says, yes
San Francisco recently enacted strict nutrient guidelines for meals sold with toys, essentially banning McDonald's Happy Meals from the city. Though the actual legislation is …
The indefatigable Jack LaLanne
Almost three years ago, I did an interview (there's an audio clip, too) with fitness guru Jack LaLanne for an issue of Stanford Medicine magazine …
Stanford Magazine examines the social and psychological consequences of the digital revolution
Computer scientists at Stanford played a prominent role in the rise of the digital age and continue to be a driving force in developing the …
Why social media doesn't threaten the peer-review process
Last week we wrote about a Nature editorial that explored how social media may change the peer-review process. Richard Grant, PhD, taking a different position …
Become a blood donor
Do you know your blood type? I was surprised when many of my friends and family members said they didn't know theirs. But here's an …
Image of the Week: Immersive learning
This week's image is a candid taken at Stanford's Center for Immersive and Simulation-based Learning. The center, which is one of the largest such facilities …
Grand Roundup: Top posts for the week of Jan. 17
The five most-read posts on Scope this week were: Genetics study could lead to development of better wine, table grapes: Researchers have completed the most …
KQED health program focuses on baby boomers and the future of medicare
This month the first wave of baby boomers started turning 65, raising concerns that the flood of applications for Medicare could have serious economic and …