Science and Technology
For doctors and nurses, simulation drill is for real
Using a high-tech mannequin that bleeds and moans, Stanford Hospital & Clinics has conducted a series of unusual simulation exercises to help prepare its staff for emergencies.
Study of seizure treatments demands split-second decisions
In an effort to compare two treatments for seizure, a national study, including the medical center, will enroll participants who cannot give informed consent.
Study reveals secret tobacco industry deals with Hollywood
A new study debunks the myth that smoking in movies in the 1920s through 1950s simply reflected American tastes of those times, strengthening the case for rating “R” any new movies featuring cigarettes.
Around-the-clock monitors benefit type-1 diabetes patients
Night-and-day glucose tracking helps type-1 diabetes patients stay healthy and safe, according to the first large clinical trial to test a new class of glucose meter.
New technique for controlling protein activity could lead to cancer therapies
Medical school investigators have found a way to quickly and reversibly fine-tune the activity of individual proteins that could enable cancer therapies to be more precisely delivered to tumors.
Use of AIDS test could prolong millions of lives—and save money
A simple test given to HIV/AIDS patients in southern Africa could extend their lives by nearly a year and save health-care costs at the same time.
Pioneer in field of managing large construction projects dies
Civil engineering Professor Emeritus John Fondahl, whose research helped construction companies efficiently schedule the complex activities of large projects, died Sept. 13. He was 83.
Documentary on stress, featuring Robert Sapolsky, airs tonight on KQED-TV
Stress: Portrait of a Killer, a co-production of National Geographic and Stanford University, is scheduled to premier tonight, Sept. 24, on PBS. (KQED Channel 9 is scheduled to broadcast the documentary at 8 p.m.) Robert Sapolsky, a professor of biology and of neurology and neurological sciences at Stanford, is featured. Sapolsky has spent years studying stress in humans and baboons.
NIH promotes risk-taking research with new awards
Five scientists at the medical school received the 2008 NIH Pioneer and Innovator Awards, which aim to encourage unusual avenues of research that may have a greater risk of not succeeding.
Scientists confirm existence of elusive muscle stem cell
Stanford scientists are the first to confirm the existence of a muscle stem cell, which could have profound therapeutic implications for muscular dystrophy, age-related muscle wasting and a variety of other disorders.
Heads up: DNA study taps into evolution of beer yeasts
New research from medical school geneticists indicates that lager—the type of beer that accounts for the majority of commercial beer production worldwide—owes its existence to an unlikely pairing between two species of yeast, one of which has been used for thousands of years to make ale.
Researchers find enzyme that could prevent tissue damage
Scientists at the School of Medicine say they may have found ways to combat tissue damage after discovering an important cog in the body’s molecular detoxification machinery.
Rogue molecular signal tied to some leukemias
Cancer researchers at the School of Medicine have discovered a promising new chemotherapy target for a deadly form of leukemia.
Bacteriologist wins Lasker Award
A Lasker Award, sometimes referred to as America’s Nobel Prize, will be given Sept. 26 to Stanley Falkow in recognition of a lifetime advancing the understanding of how bacteria cause human disease.
Three professors named to lead neuroscience programs
Leadership changes at three Stanford hubs of neuroscience research aim to extend a pattern, already well established at Stanford, of collaboration and interaction across disciplines and school boundaries.
