The five most-read stories on Scope this week were:
Ask Stanford Med: Stanford psychiatrist taking questions on psychological effects of Internet use: Elias Aboujaoude, MD, a Stanford psychiatrist and an expert on compulsive disorders and behavioral addictions, took questions submitted via Twitter and Scope this past week on the problematic effects of excessive Internet use on mental health.
A discussion of the tobacco industry's exploitation of "smoke-free" Olympic Games: A Q&A with Robert Jackler, MD, chair of otolaryngology at Stanford, about the history between the tobacco industry and Olympic Games.
Woman's story of her son's hereditary spherocytosis highlights the importance of blood donation: In a blog post on the Stanford Blood Center's blog Hemoblogin, Sinead Borgersen shares the touching story of her two-year-old son Faelan's hereditary spherocytosis diagnosis and she explains why she is thankful to people who donate blood.
Can yoga help women suffering from fibromyalgia?: A study published in the Journal of Pain Research shows that practicing yoga boosts levels of the stress hormone cortisol and could help ease some symptoms of fibromyalgia such as pain, fatigue, muscle stiffness and depression.
Is standing healthier than sitting? In a recent San Francisco Chronicle story, William Haskell, PhD, a Stanford professor emeritus of medicine, comments on if regular exercise or switching to a standing desk can offset potential health consequences of being sedentary for much of the day.