Oxytocin, a veritable pipsqueak of a protein (or "peptide" in science-speak) punches well beyond its weight. If you're a woman, oxytocin induces uterine contractions leading to …
Month: September 2013
A reminder to those who write about research: "Candor is essential, but so is perspective"
I'm a few days late to this, but a recent Health News Review blog entry shares the views of a cancer survivor who took issue with the headline …
What's the going rate? Examining variations in private payments to physicians
When a U.S. physician sees a patient - either for a routine visit or to administer some sort of treatment - there's a good chance …
Ask Stanford Med: Cheri Mah taking questions on sleep and athletic performance
It's football season and back-to-school time, which means evening routines in households across the country may be changing to accommodate homework, practice, dinner, and perhaps …
Stanford team awarded NIH Human Microbiome Project grant
As part of the second phase of the Human Microbiome Project, begun in 2007, the National Institutes of Health has awarded three grants for research projects over …
Discussing "urgent" matters in medical paperwork
Apparently writers aren't the only ones repelled by exclamation points: In an essay on NEJM Journal Watch, the blog's editor-in-chief Paul Sax, MD, describes in bullet …
Stanford's largest medical class ever starts school
The newest class of Stanford medical students started school late last month as the largest ever to don white coats and step into their first anatomy class. …
Examining end-of-life practices and Katy Butler's "Knocking on Heaven's Door"
How long is too long to hang on when the end of life calls? Abraham Verghese, MD, Stanford physician and best-selling author, discusses the emotional …
Stanford molecular neuroscientist Thomas Südhof wins coveted Lasker Award
Stanford molecular neuroscientist Tom Südhof, MD, has been named a winner of the 2013 Lasker Basic Medical Research Award. The prize, often referred to as …
Image of the Week: Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Holiday Art Contest
For the young - or the young at heart - it may seem like the holiday season can't come fast enough. If you are among …
Grand Roundup: Top posts for the week of September 1
The five most-read stories on Scope this week were: Ask Stanford Med: Director of Female Sexual Medicine Program responds to questions on sexual health: In …
Advances in anesthesia make it possible for patients to remain awake and watch TV during surgery
Tired of hearing negative stories about the mind-numbing effects of television? Take heart, and read this BBC News story about the increasing number of patients that are …
Door dings and DNA – connecting behavior and the environment to your health
Sitting most of the day? Eating poorly? Not sleeping well? Stressed out? These behaviors could be affecting your health—and your DNA. Think of your body …
Possible predictors of longer-term recovery from eating disorders
Are we there yet? For people on the road to recovery from a psychiatric illness, such as the eating disorder anorexia nervosa, this can be a difficult question to …
What's in your urine? Study finds thousands of chemical compounds
Scientists at the University of Alberta have determined that urine comprises roughly 3,000 chemical compounds, or "metabolites." PopSci reports on the scale of this seven-year …
Making iPS cells safer for use in humans through the study of a cellular odd fellow
Induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPS cells, are a hot commodity right now in biology. The cells, which are created when non-stem cells are reprogrammed …