India reached a milestone this week with the introduction of a novel rotavirus vaccine, the first vaccine designed entirely in the developing world. The vaccine …
Month: March 2015
Caribbean skeletons hold slave trade secrets
I was excited yesterday to see the Los Angeles Times cover a really neat story out of the laboratory of geneticist Carlos Bustamante, PhD. He …
An introvert in medicine: Taking the plunge
SMS (“Stanford Medical School”) Unplugged is a forum for students to chronicle their experiences in medical school. The student-penned entries appear on Scope once a …
Miniature chemistry kit brings science out of the lab and into the classroom or field
A few months ago, Stanford bioengineer Manu Prakash, PhD, and graduate student George Korir were recognized for an ingenious (to me) contraption built from a …
“Tranceformation:” David Spiegel on how hypnosis can change your brain’s perception of your body
When we think of cognitive function, we usually think of having the power to alter our reasoning, while we passively respond to our perceptions. What if …
March marks National Colon Cancer Awareness Month: The takeaway? It’s preventable
What is the leading, preventable cause of death in the United States? I suppose the headline gave away my punchline, but remembering that colon cancer is …
My dance with dystonia
We've partnered with Inspire, a company that builds and manages online support communities for patients and caregivers, to launch a patient-focused series here on Scope. …
Patients with “invisible illnesses” speak out about challenges in their communities and workplaces
What does a patient with chronic disease look like? Sometimes they look like everyone else, as many diagnosed with "invisible illnesses" are pointing out. In a recent …
Anthropologist discusses Wikipedia’s implications for health information
Many of us turn to Wikipedia for quick answers to medical questions: What's an amniocentesis, or what's the difference between autism and Asperger's? Stanford University …
Stanford launches iPhone app to study heart health
A new, first-of-its-kind iPhone app, designed by Stanford Medicine heart experts as a fun way for users to learn about their own heart health …
Stanford neurosurgeon/cancer patient Paul Kalanithi: “I can’t go on. I will go on.”
This 1:2:1 podcast features Paul Kalanithi, MD, a Stanford physician and author who was dying of lung cancer.
This 1:2:1 podcast features Paul Kalanithi, MD, a Stanford physician and author who was dying of lung cancer.
At Stanford visit, Glenn Beck addresses compassion, change and humility
Until this week, I wouldn't have associated radio personality Glenn Beck with compassion. And when Jim Doty, MD, director of Stanford Medicine's Center for Compassion and …
Asexuality: “That doesn’t mean there is something wrong”
As a scholar with ties in both humanities and medicine, I'm always interested when those realms intersect. Medical understanding of sexuality has been heavily influenced by …
Podcast explores Americans’ use of complementary medicine
Do you do yoga, take probiotics, see a chiropractor, or follow a special diet? If so, you're not alone; roughly 34 percent of Americans make …
Tips for women-entrepreneurs entering the medical technology field
In an article recently published in MedCity News, Kathryn Stecco, MD, a medical device entrepreneur who completed her residency in general surgery at Stanford, offers tips …
Good medical technology starts with patients’ needs
This post is part of the Biodesign's Jugaad series following a group of Stanford Biodesign fellows from India. (Jugaad is a Hindi word that means an inexpensive, …