With rising health care costs threatening U.S. global competitiveness, Arnold Milstein, MD, urges physicians to focus their efforts on more efficient and effective ways of …
Month: December 2012
Researchers identify potential drug target in ulcer bug that infects half the world's population
Scientists have used powerful X-rays at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory at Stanford to reveal a potential way to combat the common stomach bacterium Helicobacter pylori. …
Stanford forum on how food policies affect our nation’s obesity rates posted online
Two weeks ago, the Stanford Health Policy Forum hosted an event examining the reasons why we get fat and how different diet trends and food policies affect our nation’s …
Defying a diagnosis and continuing to dance
We’ve partnered with Inspire, a company that builds and manages online support communities for patients and caregivers, to launch a patient-focused series here on Scope. …
Challenging scientists to better communicate their ideas to the public
There's an interesting Q&A in Science Insider today with actor Alan Alda about his involvement in founding the Center for Communicating Science and the center's …
Using your cell phone to test for food allergens
Ingredient labels often come with a disclaimer saying the "product may contain nuts" or that it was "processed in a plant that uses peanuts or …
New research sheds light on connection between dopamine and depression symptoms
A team of researchers at Stanford have successfully induced and relieved depression-like deficiencies in both pleasure and motivation in mice by controlling a region of …
Overcoming immune response to stem cells essential for therapies, say Stanford researchers
Stanford cardiologist and stem cell researcher Joseph Wu, MD, PhD, and his colleagues have published an interesting perspective piece (subscription required) in today's Science Translational Medicine about …
Nutrition and fitness programs help East Palo Alto turn the tide on childhood obesity
A recent Peninsula Press story highlights the success of Stanford GOALS and other East Palo Alto, Calif.-based programs in helping promote healthier lifestyles and reduce …
Telemedicine takes root in the Midwest
Earlier this year, first-year medical student Bonnie Chien and classmates visited the Rosebud reservation in South Dakota as part of their Rural and American Indian …
Porcupine’s quills inspire new types of adhesives, needles
Drawing inspiration from the mechanical features of porcupine quills, researchers at MIT and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston are developing less-painful needles for injections and adhesives that …
Are we less suspicious as we age?
Years ago, I helped my mother clean up some old file drawers in a cabinet in her long-term care facility. There I found reams of letters …
Researchers show infants' sophisticated ability to process faces
If you're a parent, chances are good that you spent many hours staring at your baby - and having your baby stare right back. Some new research …
Video of Brian Kobilka’s Nobel lecture
Today, Brian Kobilka, MD, chair of molecular and cellular physiology at Stanford, was honored at a banquet in Stockholm for receiving the 2012 Nobel Prize …
Using social media to fight cholera
I quite enjoyed this entry, on the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation blog Impatient Optimists, about a public-health specialist reluctantly embracing social media. Helen Matzger, who …
A discussion on going gluten-free
Growing up, I was plagued by a painful, itchy rash that covered large swaths of my legs and arms and made me a frequent visitor …