As the death last year of neurosurgeon Paul Kalanithi, MD, reminded us all, successful physicians aren't protected from the onslaught of medical maladies that can …
Month: January 2016
Paul Kalanithi’s book will probably make you cry
Just over a year ago, I received a first draft of an article for Stanford Medicine magazine that electrified me. It was gorgeous. It was …
Mouse placental cells contain dozens, even hundreds, of copies of genes key for pregnancy
Peering inside a mouse placental cell is a bit like looking at a fun-house mirror. Rather than the standard two copies of each chromosome (mice …
From whence the big toe? Stanford researchers investigate the genetics of upright walking
A tiny armored fish may seem like an unlikely experimental animal to someone interested in understanding how humans may have evolved to walk on two legs. …
Education reduces anxiety about mammography
My close childhood friend Kelly died from breast cancer when she was only 32 years old. This inspired me to choose a research position at …
The birth of Bio-X: A behind-the-scenes tale from its first director
Welcome to Biomed Bites, a weekly feature that introduces readers to some of Stanford’s most innovative biomedical researchers. Before all things "x", there was Bio-X, Stanford's groundbreaking …
Horse therapy could help people cope with early-onset dementia
As a kid growing up in rural Minnesota, I spent many of my waking hours searching for a reason to be near the five horses …
Pedicure soothes lab mice with serious skin disease
Laboratory mice commonly suffer from a skin problem called ulcerative dermatitis – itchy lesions that spur the animals to repeatedly scratch themselves with their hind …
Aim higher: Dean Lloyd Minor calls for widespread embrace of precision health
Dean Lloyd Minor, MD, calls for President Barack Obama to use next week's State of the Union to embrace precision health. He lays out his thoughts …
Teaching in medical school: Establishing quality standards
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 …
A dye to try: New compound provides improved imaging, safety
A team of Stanford-led researchers has created a dye capable of identifying tumors in a variety of tissues and providing surgeons with real-time video feedback …
Teens need healthy brain food, says Stanford expert
Today, U.S. News and World Report released their 2016 ranking of the best diets. For their story on healthy eating for teenagers, Neville Golden, MD, division chief of …
At the heart of reproducibility lies the problem of transparency
Imagine recreating a recipe — say, your uncle Darryl’s BBQ sauce. Without a detailed recipe — including not only the list of ingredients but how …
Working towards a lifelong, universal flu vaccine
To prepare for holiday socializing, I always roll up my sleeve to get an annual flu shot. I would much rather share food and gifts than a …
Medical schools get an “F” at grading graduates, study suggests
Performance evaluations, an important piece of the medical residency application packet, are often incomprehensible, sometimes useless and, at worse, misleading and unfair, according to a …
Surgery to find your voice: A Q&A with a pediatric otolaryngologist
When we're in a noisy restaurant, it’s really difficult to hear my young niece speak. She can only talk very quietly, because she has a …