Tuberculosis is still killing people at the rate of over one million per year, mostly in the developing world. An untreated TB carrier in whom …
Month: September 2012
Stanford Health Policy Forum on Sept. 14 features former White House policy advisor
While the Affordable Care Act and emerging medical technologies hold the promise of saving many lives, the costs and inefficiencies of the United States' health-care …
New arterial insights portend potential treatments for life-threatening diseases
Some very serious diseases - aortic aneurysm, coronary artery atherosclerosis, and pulmonary hypertension, to name examples - involve pathological changes in the size and structure of the …
Stanford molecular-motor maven Jim Spudich wins Lasker Award
It's not every assignment that hoists a lowly science writer to one degree of separation from both Barack Obama and George W. Bush in a …
Image of the Week: Neurosphere sending out processes
This otherworldy image depicts a neurosphere composed of neural precursor cells as captured by a fluorescent microscope. The photo comes from the California Institute for …
Grand Roundup: Top posts for the week of Sept. 2
The five most-read stories on Scope this week were: Does Pinterest promote unhealthy eating?: A dietician-blogger's take on the popularity of sugary dessert images on …
Stanford filmakers' documentary on rare diseases to air next week on KQED
Next week, KQED will air two showings of RARE, a feature documentary that provides a closer look at the relationships between patients, advocacy groups and …
Whiz Kids: Investigating healing mechanisms in the oral mucosa
Over the past week I've been showing off projects from Stanford's Clinical Anatomy Research Scholars, a program that brought 15 interns to campus this summer to do research …
What's the best way to handle the chronically intoxicated?
The city of San Francisco is proposing a new plan that would take chronically intoxicated people off the street and force them to stay in …
Do placebos provide a mental cue to kickstart the immune system?
British scientists have uncovered some interesting insights into the body's healing process that could help explain the placebo effect. In a new study (subscription required), researchers developed …
Stanford Hospital to host free panel discussion about prostate cancer on Saturday
On Saturday, a panel of Stanford Hospital & Clinics physicians will participate in a free panel discussion about the latest information on diagnosing and treating …
Whiz Kids: Developing a program for "young anatomists"
As regular readers have seen over the last week, I've been highlighting projects from the the Clinical Anatomy Research Scholars (CARS) program at Stanford. That …
Stanford experts argue need for health care, not sick care
Discussions about U.S. health-care reform have largely focused on broadening insurance coverage. That's unfortunate, says a Stanford researcher, because we should spend more time looking …
New federal nutrition standards mean healthier school lunches
Good news for children's health: With the start of the 2012-13 school year, kids across the country are eating healthier school meals. That's because the …
Countdown to Medicine X: Mobile gardening game promotes healthy eating
Obesity rates among children in the United States have more than tripled in the past three decades. Researchers around the country are working to develop …
Scientists announce the completion of the ENCODE project, a massive genome encyclopedia
Updated 11:30 AM: Nature has provided a very interesting interactive graphic of the research that includes a link to each of the relevant papers and …