Drop into any support group meeting, and you'll likely find that many of the addicts there had a parent who was also an addict. It's …
Month: July 2015
Can food mentions in newspapers predict national obesity rates?
Food words trending in today's newspapers could help predict a country's obesity rates in three years, according to findings recently published in the journal BMC Public …
Linking cancer gene expression with survival rates, Stanford researchers bring “big data” into the clinic
"What's my prognosis?" is a question that's likely on the mind, and lips, of nearly every person newly diagnosed with any form of cancer. But, …
Stanford India Health Policy Initiative fellows are in Mumbai – come follow along
Today, I'm on my way to India to join the 2015 Stanford India Health Policy Initiative fellows. These fellows are part of a program that designs and conducts …
It’s never too early to protect your skin from sun damage
I'm not ashamed to admit that I dork out for Disneyland. I was there a few weeks ago, wearing a Minnie Mouse T-shirt and sprinting …
Water-conscious hospital will debut in 2017 with expansion of Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital
Places where people live and work tend to use a lot of water, and hospitals are no exception. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's …
Discussing patient participation in medical research: “We had to take this into our own hands”
Keynote talks and presentations from the 2015 Big Data in Biomedicine conference at Stanford are now available on the Stanford YouTube channel. To continue the …
Study sheds light on physicians testifying in court that smoking didn’t cause cancer
A small group of board-certified physicians helped defend the tobacco industry in more than 50 cases by providing expert testimony that years of heavy smoking …
Nobelist neuroscientist Tom Südhof still spiraling in on the secrets of the synapse
"History," said Winston Churchill (or was it Arnold Toynbee or Edna St. Vincent Millay?), "is just one damn thing after another." In many respects, so …
“The Mama Sherpas”: Exploring the work of nurse-midwives and their collaborations with doctors
As a doula, I'm pretty tapped into the birth community, and I've definitely noticed a trend toward midwifery care and low-intervention births. Indeed, a 2012 study showed …
Are decisions driven by subconscious desires or shaped by conscious goals?
Throughout our lives, we often encounter perplexing situations involving other individuals or read in the news about someone's seemingly irrational decision and say to ourselves: …
To boldly go into a scar-free future: Stanford researchers tackle wound healing
As I've written about here before, Stanford scientists Michael Longaker, MD, and Irving Weissman, MD, are eager to find a way to minimize the scarring …
No time for a vacation? Take a break without leaving the office
When you're tired, overworked and stressed out, a good vacation can be just what the doctor ordered. The catch is that it's not always easy …
What is big data?
We've written a lot about "big data" and the field of data science here on Scope. But for those readers who are still fuzzy on …
Exploring the link between patient-record fees and doctor switching
Who owns your medical records – you or your doctor? If you answered that you do, you’re like most patients, according to a recent survey. But you …
An anthropologist on the wards
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 …