A Stanford Medicine magazine article on sex differences in the brain remains popular; this article provides additional information.
Author: Bruce Goldman
Why even well-controlled epilepsy can disrupt thinking
New research suggests why people with epilepsy, even when their seizures are well controlled, report lapses in their ability to think, perceive or remember.
Potential diagnostic, hope for a Parkinson’s disease treatment
A new discovery could provide a way of detecting Parkinson's disease in its earliest stages, before symptoms start. And it could accelerate the development of …
Scientists close in on a cure for the common cold
Scientists found a sneaky way to stop cold viruses from replicating in mammalian cells by disabling a protein not in the virus but in the cells they infect.
Our response to flu vaccine may be weakened by antibiotics-induced decimation of our gut microbes
The best time to get a flu shot is when you haven't had antibiotics recently, a new study has found, because healthy gut bacteria protect immunity.
Stanford team induces mice to see specific things that aren’t there
The real question a new study suggests, isn't why some people occasionally experience hallucinations: It's why all of us aren't hallucinating all the time.
Muting an inflammatory loudspeaker on immune cells shrinks acute stroke damage
Selectively subduing a set of cells that migrate to the brain after a stroke occurs could meaningfully treat the stroke even days later.
Yes, it’s inflammatory bowel disease — but what kind? Soon it might be easier to tell
Diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease currently requires an invasive procedure. New research identifies a way to identify the disease using a blood draw.
Pair of pipsqueak proteins punch malaria parasite where it hurts most: its proteasome
The parasite that causes malaria is remarkably adept at developing resistance to the drugs devised to combat it. But new research suggests a solution.
Immune-cell culprits fingered in osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis has traditionally been thought to be an inevitable result of wear and tear. But it's now clear the immune system is playing a leading role.
Molecule on brain blood-vessel walls may contribute to aging-related forgetfulness
Old mice suffered far fewer senior moments on memory tests when Stanford investigators disabled a single molecule dotting the mice’s cerebral blood vessels.
Reservoir bugs: How one bacterial menace makes its home in the human stomach
Helicobacter pylori, a potentially nasty bacteria, somehow lives in one of every two human stomachs -- no mean feat. Here's how the bug pulls it off.
Blocking protein that impairs brain’s clean-up crew improves old mice’s smarts
Brain cells called microglia keep brains young by eliminating accumulations of protein debris. But their garbage-colllection ability fades with age.
“Free lunch” reshapes the brain’s map of space
Each time you get a reward, your brain's internal spatial map warps just a bit in a way that makes it easier for you to get back to wherever you got it.
Partners-in-crime: Bacteria sics its pet virus on our immune cells to make us sick
P. aeruginosa, a type of bacteria, is increasingly drug-resistant, and there's no vaccine against it. But it has a recently discovered Achilles heel.
Mystery novel, prophetic dream, decades of work spur breakthrough in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
One night Jim Spudich knocked off a few chapters of a murder mystery before falling asleep, to awaken with a vision that would solve a medical mystery.