The five most-read stories this week on Scope were:
Breast cancer patients are getting more bilateral mastectomies – but not any survival benefit: The first-ever direct comparison of breast-cancer surgeries shows no survival benefit for women who had both breasts removed compared with women who underwent lumpectomy followed by radiation therapy. In this post, Christina Clarke, PhD, a research scientist and scientific communications advisor for the Cancer Prevention Institute of California, and a member of the Stanford Cancer Institute, discusses the findings and their implications for women.
Can Alzheimer’s damage to the brain be repaired?: Neuroscientist Frank Longo, MD, PhD, director of the Stanford Center for Memory Disorders, has pioneered the development of small-molecule drugs that might be able to restore nerve cells frayed by conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease.
When it comes to weight loss, maintaining a diet is more important than diet type: A meta-analysis of 48 studies on popular weight-loss programs found that if people stick to their diets (no matter the type) they lost weight, but ultimately the “weight-loss differences between individual diets were minimal and largely unimportant.”
Examining the effects of family time, screen time and parenting styles on child behavior: Results of The Learning Habit Study have shown that limiting screen time, increasing family time, and choosing parenting styles that rely on positive reinforcement are among the things that can help children perform better in school.
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.
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.
