The five most-read stories this week on Scope were:
“Sleep drunkenness” more prevalent than previously thought: A phenomenon known as “sleep drunkenness” may be more prevalent than previously thought, affecting as many as 1 in 7 adults, Stanford researchers report in a new study.
Our aging immune systems are still in business, but increasingly thrown out of balance: With advancing age, people grow increasingly vulnerable to infection, autoimmune disease and cancer. New research published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggests why that may come about.
New painkiller could tackle pain, without risk of addiction: A new pain-reliever may soon be on the scene that lacks the “high” of opioids and the cardiac-risk of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAIDs) drugs such as aspirin. A paper on the development was published this week in Science Translational Medicine.
Civilization and its dietary (dis)contents: Do modern diets starve our gut-microbial community?: In a review paper published last week in Cell Metabolism, Stanford married-microbiologist couple Justin Sonnenburg, PhD, and Erica Sonnenburg, PhD, warn that modern civilization and its dietary contents may be putting our microbial gut communities, and our health, at risk.
Biodesign fellows take on night terrors in children: Stanford's Biodesign Program trains researchers, clinicians and engineers to be medical-technology innovators during its year-long fellowship. This piece highlights the work of several clinicians who have developed and are now testing a clinical method to treat night terrors in children.
And still going strong – the most popular post from the past:
What are the consequences of sleep deprivation?: Brandon Peters, MD, an adjunct clinical faculty member at the Stanford Center for Sleep Sciences and Medicine, explains how lack of sleep can negatively affect a person’s well-being in this Huffington Post piece.
