As demonstrated by the Foldscope, the uber-affordable microscope developed by Stanford bioengineer Manu Prakash, PhD -- there is real fervor for bringing easy, do-it-yourself science …
Category: Bioengineering
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 …
Fast-forwarding evolution to select suitable proteins
Nature churns out new versions of proteins in response to environment changes or random mutations. Sometimes the new versions work better than old. Other times, …
Brain radio: Switching nerve circuit’s firing frequency radically alters alertness levels in animal models
It's a kick to consider that a part of the brain could act like a radio, with different stations operating at different frequencies, playing different …
Stanford’s Karl Deisseroth talks about the work he was “destined to do”
Earlier this week we announced the exciting news that Stanford bioengineer Karl Deisseroth, MD, PhD, had won a $3 million 2016 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences. Before he …
A new way to scan for plastic explosives could someday detect cancerous tumors
Sci-fi shows and superhero films are full of gadgets and beings that have the power to remotely scan their environment for hidden things. For us …
Stanford bioengineer Karl Deisseroth wins 2016 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences
Updated 11-9-15: Lloyd Minor, MD, dean of Stanford's medical school, provided comment last evening on Karl Deisseroth's win. “The human brain has been called the most …
Stanford engineers create artificial skin that can signal pressure sensation to brain
A hand without a sense of touch doesn’t really feel like a hand, many amputees describe. It’s more like a pliers that can be …
Stanford scientists co-opt viral machinery to create medical delivery system
Stanford engineering researcher James Swartz, PhD, and his colleagues have remodeled a hepatitis B virus to turn it into a microscopic taxi for medical therapies. The …
Cancer drug produced in common plant
I knew that many of the drugs we use today were first identified in plants. What I didn’t know was in how many cases those …
New Stanford-developed technology bypasses “virtual reality sickness”
Researchers in the Stanford Computational Imaging Group have developed a new virtual reality headset that takes into account how the human eye focuses and processes depth. Current display …
Stanford team develops technique to magnetically levitate single cells
Remember the levitating frog? That feat — the levitation of a live frog using a powerful magnet — was awarded the 2000 Ig Nobel Prize. …
Stanford-India Biodesign co-founder: “You can become a millionaire, but also make a difference”
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 …
From brains to computers: How do we reverse-engineer the most mysterious organ?
So let's say you want to make a piece of electronics that works just like the brain. Where would you start? That's the question neuroscientist Bill …
Success breeds success: Early innovators in India created a sense of possibility
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 …
National Geographic: “Emerging Explorer” Manu Prakash helping “lead a new age of discovery”
As I've gotten busier, and my life has moved online, I've let most of my magazine subscriptions lapse. All except for National Geographic, which both …