Last year Stanford launched the new Stanford Neurosciences Institute, led by visionary neurobiologist William Newsome, PhD. Part of his job over the past year has …
Month: September 2014
"Frankenfoods" just like natural counterparts, health-wise (at least if you're a farm animal)
More than a hundred billion farm animals have voted with their feet (or their hoofs, as the case may be). And the returns are in: …
Pediatrics group issues new recommendations for building strong bones in kids
Our bones function as retirement-savings accounts for calcium: We deposit the mineral into our bones when we're young, then draw on the stores as we …
For group of Stanford doctors, writing helps them "make sense" of their experiences
At a Stanford Pegasus Physician Writers Forum last week, psychiatrist Shaili Jain, MD, told the 40-or-so attendees that writing and practicing medicine are synergistic. Medicine and motherhood: …
Stanford scientists strive to solve centuries-old puzzle: Why are young children so vulnerable to disease?
Several months ago, Stanford immunologist Mark Davis, PhD, went for a stroll in Union Cemetery in Redwood City, Calif. (not far from the Stanford campus). …
Stanford physicians and engineers showcase innovative health-care solutions
A "breathalyzer" that noninvasively determines if patients have unsafe levels of ammonia in their blood. The discovery of a previously approved drug that also fights …
Stanford experts skeptical about motives behind e-cigarette health warnings
Quotes can sometimes make or break a news article. I was skimming a New York Times article on new, harsh health warnings from tobacco companies …
Video of Stanford Ebola panel now available
Last week, a group of Stanford and CDC experts came together to address the health, governance, security and ethical dimensions of Ebola, the virus that is …
Stanford researcher details structure of sugar transporter called SWEET
Sugar fuels life. But to power our cells, sugar molecules have to slip in and out of cells. And in humans, the sugar sometimes needs …
Grand Roundup: Top posts for the week of Sept. 21
The five most-read stories this week on Scope were: Study: Pregnancy causes surprising changes in how the immune system responds to the flu: New Stanford …
The importance of human connection as part of the patient experience
When I first heard Tim Engberg describe the feeling of intense loneliness and separation from humanity he felt as he was being wheeled on a …
Blond ambition: Delving into the work of Stanford biologist David Kingsley
Thanks to a tiny fish called the stickleback, Stanford developmental biologist David Kingsley, PhD, and his team uncovered the genetic basis for blond hair earlier …
National Cancer Institute looking for "Exceptional Responders"
Hope is a powerful force in cancer treatment. For patients and their families, the hope is that, no matter how unlikely, the treatment plan will …
Q&A about enterovirus-D68 with Stanford/Packard infectious disease expert
Today's New York Times features a story on the accelerating spread of enterovirus-D68, a virus that is causing severe respiratory illness in children across the …
The benefits and costs for scientists of communicating with the public
Today’s researchers are under immense pressure to produce scientific results in the form of peer-reviewed journal articles—and do it on tighter and tighter budgets. And …
Treating an infection to prevent a cancer: H. pylori and stomach cancer
The number of newly diagnosed stomach cancer cases in the United States is less than a tenth of the number of prostate cancer cases or …