School of Medicine Professor Stefan Heller, MD, PhD, was a guest on NPR's Science Friday today to discuss how he and researchers in his lab …
Category: Biomedical research
New associations between diabetes, environmental factors found by Stanford researchers
Sometimes the best ideas come from looking at things just a little differently. Bioinformatics expert Atul Butte, MD, PhD, and graduate student Chirag Patel did …
Genetic testing companies under scrutiny; UC Berkeley to test frosh genes
Three private genetic testing companies are under federal investigation after one company, Pathway, attempted to sell one of its test kits as a medical test without FDA review. Meanwhile, UC Berkeley is asking freshman for their DNA for confidential testing of genes relating to nutrition.
Reprogramming cells in the brain to repair damage from stroke or injury
A team of German researchers have developed a technique for transforming support cells in the brain called astroglia into functioning neurons, according to a study …
Biomedical Indiana Jones travels the world collecting venom for medical research
Zoltan Takacs, PhD, an assistant professor at the University of Chicago Medical Center, has carved out a fascinating career as scientist-adventurer - a biomedical Indiana …
What role do genetics play in athletic performance?
Growing up playing soccer, I found it infuriating, and a little bit unfair, that some teammates effortlessly mastered new ball-handling techniques, passed fitness tests and …
Some experts not keen on genetic testing for mental illness
Genetic tests have been in the news a lot lately, and The Big Money took a recent look at the "tricky territory" of genetic testing …
Image of the Week: Dopaminergic neurons derived from human embryonic stem cells
This week's image is from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine's Flickr photo stream. According to CIRM, this is an image of "human embryonic stem …
Growing new inner-ear cells: a step toward a cure for deafness
Stanford researchers have successfully used mouse stem cells and fibroblasts to re-create the creature's inner ear cells - right down to the tiny hairs that sense vibrations. The breakthrough could pave the way to the development of therapies for human hearing loss.
Thanks, mom: A biologist's Mother's Day song
Adam Cole's sweet, folky tune has lyrics that biologists and moms (and especially biologists who are moms) will find irresistible, even though it's a little …
Hispanic and Latino genetic background diverse, yet telling
Population geneticist Carlos Bustamante, PhD, doesn't have a time machine. But even without one he's managed to peek into the genetic pasts of various ethnic …
Birth control pill may lead to sexual problems for women
The results of a new study on contraception use and sex drive caught my attention yesterday. The research, which looked at 1,086 sexually active German …
Functional magnetic resonance imaging could serve as lie-detector test in civil trial
UPDATE 05-06-10: The judge in this case has ruled to exclude fMRI evidence in the trial. *** In a move that could have serious consequences …
New DARPA-funded program aims to develop technology, therapies for brain trauma
Armed with a nearly $15 million grant from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (no pun intended), a four-university research team has launched an effort …
"GREAT" Stanford tool to help researchers worldwide
Stanford researchers have developed a new, publicly available algorithm to help researchers more fully utilize the extraordinary wealth of information piling up as a result …
Pondering the future of vaccines
There's a rather interesting entry on Science Life today about the future of vaccines. Rob Mitchum writes: A revolution in the scientific approach to creating …