The five most-read stories this week on Scope were:
Knitting as ritual – with potential health benefits?: A piece on The Checkup covers recent research on how activities such as knitting and crocheting may have therapeutic effects in certain populations, including a study in women hospitalized for anorexia.
Stanford bioengineer develops a 50-cent paper microscope: Manu Prakash, PhD, assistant professor of bioengineering, has developed an ultra-low-cost paper microscope to aid disease diagnosis in developing regions. The device is further described in a technical paper.
New Stanford center aims to promote research excellence: The new Meta-Research Innovation Center at Stanford aims to improve the reproducibility, efficiency and quality of scientific investigations. METRICS co-founders Steven Goodman, MD, MHS, PhD, and John Ioannidis, MD, DSc, discuss the center in two videos and a 1:2:1 podcast.
Thoughts light up with new Stanford-designed tool for studying the brain: Bioengineer Michael Lin, MD, PhD, and biologist and applied physicist Mark Schnitzer, PhD, have developed a tool used to watch nerves fire in real time. A Stanford News piece notes that the technique could help in developing therapies for brain diseases.
The state of Alzheimer’s research: A conversation with Stanford neurologist Michael Greicius: In a 1:2:1 podcast, Michael Greicius, MD, discussed the state of Alzheimer's research and his recent study on how the ApoE4 variant doubles the risk of Alzheimer’s for women.
And still going strong – the most popular post from the past:
The mystery surrounding lung-transplant survival rates: A 2012 article in the San Francisco Chronicle offered a look at the challenges facing lung transplant patients and explored why a significant number don’t live beyond the five-year mark, despite improvements in survival rates.
