When I was a kid, the ghosts and ghouls of Halloween were the scariest things around. Now that I'm older, the terrors of Halloween have …
Month: October 2015
Brains that go bump in the night: Stanford biologist talks about parasomnias
“The witching hour… was a special moment in the middle of the night when every child and every grown-up was in a deep, deep sleep, …
Locking the door on big-data risks to privacy
Until this week, you could have hacked into your rich Uncle Al's account at a popular family tree website, downloaded his genome and then gotten your …
Decisions, Decisions: How mental-health issues alter decision-making
Research in neuroscience, psychology, business and economics tells us that a plethora of influences can alter the decisions we make. The author explored some of these …
The devil you know: Experts discuss the public-health consequences of e-cigarettes
How do we reduce health risk in the face of harm that can’t be eradicated completely? That's the question that the medical school’s dean, Lloyd …
From A to ZZZZs: The trouble with teen sleep
When I recently began working on a story on teen sleep for Stanford Medicine magazine, I was afraid I might not find teens who were …
“We should act now”: Stanford expert calls for more targeted anti-obesity policies
Reality TV shows like “The Biggest Loser” are popular in part because the audience can relate to the participants — more than two-thirds of …
Forget perfection and just cook for your kids, says new book by Stanford author
“Our children are in trouble because we’ve outsourced the job of feeding them,” says Stanford child nutrition expert Maya Adam, MD. To tackle the problem, …
Considering premed? Some things to think about…
Stanford Medicine Unplugged (formerly SMS Unplugged) is a forum for students to chronicle their experiences in medical school. The student-penned entries appear on Scope once a …
Lloyd Minor shares his vision for Stanford Medicine, talks about its “paradigm‑shifting advances”
It's been almost three years since Lloyd B. Minor took helm of Stanford's medical school as dean, and he talks about his time here and …
Decisions, decisions: How emotions alter our decisions
Research in neuroscience, psychology, business and economics tells us that a plethora of influences can alter the decisions we make. The author explored some of these …
Push-button personalized treatment guidance for patients not covered by clinical-trial results
A pediatrician, a cardiologist and a biomedical informaticist walk into a pharmacy. They all look as if they could use some strong medicine. “We want …
Helping newborns through song
Instead of drugs or fancy devices, a small village in India is using dhollak and dafali -- drums traditional to the region -- to spread awareness about …
Limb compression device reduces skin infections caused by lymphedema
Key among the nasty problems caused by lymphedema, a common cardiovascular disease that causes limb and trunk swelling, is the risk of skin infection. Lymphedema …
From bedside to patient: an Ebola survivor’s remarkable journey
When Ian Crozier, MD, volunteered to treat Ebola patients in West Africa last year, he couldn't possibly have imagined that he would become a case …
A new tool to treat atrial fibrillation
The first time Susan Klein’s heart stopped, and then started again, she was very frightened. But she didn't run for the phone to call a doctor. …