SSM is now on Technorati
By: | Sunday, June 8th, 2008Technorati Profile
Cheers, Jonathan Olsen
Founder, Stanford Scientific Magazine
<a href=”http://technorati.com/claim/7rpgqzsit” rel=”me”>Technorati Profile</a>
Topics: Uncategorized | No Comments »
Robo Sapiens: The Future of Artificial Intelligence?
By: | Sunday, June 8th, 2008Robo Sapiens: The Future of Artificial Intelligence? (PDF) (Fall 2003) by Tania Rojas
Topics: Biology and Chemistry, CompSci, Engineering, and Design, Ethics, Environment, and Society, Volume 2, Issue 1 | No Comments »
Breaking the Mold in Learning Biology: A new experiment in undergraduate education in biology
By: | Sunday, June 8th, 2008Breaking the Mold in Learning Biology: A new experiment in undergraduate education in biology (PDF) (Fall 2003) by Diane Tseng
Breaking the Mold in Learning Biology: A new experiment in undergraduate education in science
by Diane Tseng
A young woman briskly walks up to the second-floor of the Bio-X Clark Center building, swings open the door and takes […]
Topics: Biology and Chemistry, Spotlights, Volume 2, Issue 2 | No Comments »
Keeping Cool: The medical and athletic applications of regulating temperature
By: | Sunday, June 8th, 2008Keeping Cool: The medical and athletic applications of regulating temperature (PDF) (Spring 2004) by Ridhika Zopey and Vivek Agarwal
Topics: Biology and Chemistry, CompSci, Engineering, and Design, Medicine and Health, Volume 2, Issue 2 | No Comments »
Letter from the Editors - Volume 2, Issue 1
By: | Saturday, June 7th, 2008Letter from the Editors - Volume 2, Issue 1 (PDF) (Fall 2003) by JP Schnapper-Casteras and Jonathan Olsen, Editors-in-Chief, Stanford Scientific Magazine
Topics: Uncategorized, Volume 2, Issue 1 | No Comments »
Hot Politics at Jasper Ridge: Is Global Climate Change Really Dangerous?
By: | Saturday, June 7th, 2008Hot Politics at Jasper Ridge
Is global climate change really dangerous?
by Devarati Mitra
What do you do when the political leaders of the most influential nation in the world disagree with the majority of the scientific community about an impending global crisis? This is the question facing ecologists at research institutions throughout the United […]
Topics: Ethics, Environment, and Society, Volume 2, Issue 1 | No Comments »
On Research and Patenting: When Science and Legislation Meet
By: | Saturday, June 7th, 2008On Research and Patenting
When science and legislation meet
by Ben Fohner
Dr. Stanley Cohen co-discovered recombinant DNA.
Just over 30 years ago, during a lull in a bacterial plasmid conference, Dr. Stanley Cohen and Dr. Herbert Boyer, researchers at Stanford and UCSF respectively, were chatting over sandwiches in a Waikiki Beach restaurant. As the conversation turned […]
Topics: Biology and Chemistry, Ethics, Environment, and Society, Volume 2, Issue 1 | No Comments »
Folding Proteins at Home: Computer Users Unlock Medical Miracles
By: | Saturday, June 7th, 2008Folding Proteins at Home
Computer users unlock medical miracles
by Ryan Propper
Folding@Home, a leading research group at the James H. Clark Center, exemplifies the interdisciplinary vision and collaboration of the new Bio-X program through their integration of biomedical science and computer technology. This pioneering team in the field of biomedical computation is offering anyone […]
Topics: Biology and Chemistry, CompSci, Engineering, and Design, Volume 2, Issue 1 | No Comments »
Doomed by Default: Tracing the Loss of Spaceshuttle Columbia
By: | Saturday, June 7th, 2008Doomed by Default
Tracing the loss of Columbia
by Kristine Mak Yu
Only the most ardent of space flight devotees tumbled out of bed to watch the flaring plume streak across the dawn sky that was the space shuttle Columbia reentering the Earth’s atmosphere on February 1, 2003.
A piece of the left wing.
For Stanford […]
Topics: CompSci, Engineering, and Design, Ethics, Environment, and Society, Physics, Volume 2, Issue 1 | No Comments »
Living an Electrifying Future: The Intersection of Bioengineering and Neuroscience at Stanford
By: | Saturday, June 7th, 2008Living an Electrifying Future
by Jazib Zahir
A flash of lightning over a dark and eerie laboratory was a fitting backdrop for the creation of Frankenstein. The electrifying ’spark’ needed to breathe life into an organism has been popularly conceptualized. Only now are we beginning to realize just how critical this spark really […]
Topics: Biology and Chemistry, CompSci, Engineering, and Design, Ethics, Environment, and Society, Medicine and Health, Volume 2, Issue 1 | No Comments »
A Pioneer’s Perspective: An Interview with Nobel Laureate Paul Berg
By: | Saturday, June 7th, 2008A Pioneer’s Perspective
An interview with Nobel Laureate Paul Berg
Spring 2003, Volume 1, Issue 1, Stanford Scientific Magazine
by Jonathan Olsen, Editor-in-Chief
Professor of Biochemistry Paul Berg
Before receiving the 1980 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Paul Berg was compelled to meet another high standard: the scrutiny of a concerned American public. While studying restriction enzymes, which recognize […]
Topics: Biology and Chemistry, Ethics, Environment, and Society, Medicine and Health, Spotlights, Volume 2, Issue 1 | No Comments »
Technology for the Disabled: Who Cares?
By: | Saturday, June 7th, 2008Technology for the Disabled: Who Cares? (PDF) (Spring 2003) by JP Schnapper-Casteras
Topics: CompSci, Engineering, and Design, Ethics, Environment, and Society, Medicine and Health, Physics, Volume 1, Issue 1 | No Comments »
Stemming Controversy: Developing Stanford’s Institute for Cancer / Stem Cell Biology and Medicine
By: | Saturday, June 7th, 2008Stemming Controversy: Developing Stanford’s Institute for Cancer / Stem Cell Biology and Medicine (PDF) (Spring 2003) by Blair Beverly
Topics: Biology and Chemistry, Ethics, Environment, and Society, Medicine and Health, Volume 1, Issue 1 | No Comments »
National Stem Cell Policy Update
By: | Saturday, June 7th, 2008National Stem Cell Policy Update (PDF) (Spring 2003) by Govind Persad
Topics: Biology and Chemistry, Ethics, Environment, and Society, Medicine and Health, Volume 1, Issue 1 | No Comments »
Reconstructing Linus Pauling: Scientist and Peacemaker
By: | Saturday, June 7th, 2008Reconstructing Linus Pauling: Scientist and Peacemaker (PDF) (Spring 2003) by Christine Yu
Topics: Biology and Chemistry, Ethics, Environment, and Society, Spotlights, Volume 1, Issue 1 | No Comments »
Kool Insights: Overcoming the Failure Factor
By: | Saturday, June 7th, 2008Kool Insights: Overcoming the Failure Factor (PDF) (Spring 2003) by Xin Gao
Topics: Biology and Chemistry, Spotlights, Volume 1, Issue 1 | No Comments »
Building Bio-X: Interdisciplinary Laboratories with New Concepts, Old Parts
By: | Saturday, June 7th, 2008Building Bio-X: Interdisciplinary Laboratories with New Concepts, Old Parts (PDF) (Spring 2003) by Darwin Cruz and Ben Wang
Topics: Biology and Chemistry, CompSci, Engineering, and Design, Medicine and Health, Spotlights, Volume 1, Issue 1 | No Comments »
Bioterrorism: New Health and Defense Strategies
By: | Saturday, June 7th, 2008Bioterrorism: New Health and Defense Strategies (PDF) (Spring 2003) by Diane Tseng
Topics: Biology and Chemistry, Ethics, Environment, and Society, Medicine and Health, Volume 1, Issue 1 | No Comments »
Tobacco: Behind the Smokes and Mirrors
By: | Saturday, June 7th, 2008Tobacco: Behind the Smokes and Mirrors (PDF) (Spring 2003) by Devarati Mitra
Topics: Biology and Chemistry, Ethics, Environment, and Society, Volume 1, Issue 1 | No Comments »
The Gravity Probe B Project: Stanford and NASA Put Einstein to the Test
By: | Saturday, June 7th, 2008The Gravity Probe B Project: Stanford and NASA Put Einstein to the Test by Greg Hochmuth (PDF) (Spring 2003) Volume 1, Issue 1, Stanford Scientific Magazine
Topics: Physics, Volume 1, Issue 1 | No Comments »
Letter from the Editor - First Issue
By: | Saturday, June 7th, 2008Letter from the Editor - First Issue (PDF) (Spring 2003) by Jonathan Olsen, Founder, Stanford Scientific Magazine (founded April 2002)
Topics: Biology and Chemistry, CompSci, Engineering, and Design, Ethics, Environment, and Society, Medicine and Health, Physics, Reviewed Books, Spotlights, Uncategorized, Volume 1, Issue 1 | No Comments »
Voyage to the Moon: Stanford Researchers Compete for the Lunar X PRIZE
By: | Saturday, March 1st, 2008By: Shelby Martin
There was no Cardinal red flag billowing behind Neil Armstrong during the moon landing of 1969. Stanford University may have missed out on that lunar landing, but Stanford researchers are not about to let it happen again; in 36 months, they hope to land a rover on the moon.
The venture is part […]
Topics: CompSci, Engineering, and Design, Volume 6, Issue 2 | No Comments »
Microfluidic Isolation Chambers: Capturing the Genetic Makeup of Elusive Bacteria with a Novel Microfluidic Chip
By: | Saturday, March 1st, 2008By: Shinjini Kundu
Do you feel a lack of self-esteem because of the way your breath smells?
If so, you may have larger concerns than bad breath. Halitosis, the term given to persistent bad breath, is a common symptom of chronic periodontitis. An estimated 66 percent of young adults and 50 percent of adolescents are afflicted […]
Topics: CompSci, Engineering, and Design, Volume 6, Issue 2 | No Comments »
Cancer Therapy using Carbon Nanotubes: Targeted Delivery of Drugs
By: | Saturday, March 1st, 2008By: Qicong Russell Hu
Can atomically-thin sheets of carbon rolled into nanotubes be used as safe and efficient vehicles for delivering cancer drugs?
It seems likely according to a new study by Dr. Hongjie Dai, Professor of Chemistry, and his research group at Stanford.
In the August 2007 issue of ACS Nano, Zhuang Liu, a fourth year graduate […]
Topics: CompSci, Engineering, and Design, Volume 6, Issue 2 | 2 Comments »
Vowel Play with Algorithms: Helping Humans and Computers Learn Baby Talk
By: | Saturday, March 1st, 2008By: Nik Sawe
Few milestones stand out in a parent’s memory as clearly as his or her child’s first words. Those simple sounds are the fruition of thousands of hours of a parent’s instinctive tutoring. Constantly nurtured with “baby talk,” infants are introduced to their native tongue in a simple, accessible form – the high notes […]
Topics: CompSci, Engineering, and Design, Volume 6, Issue 2 | No Comments »
Breaking the Secret of the Quantum Computer: Blueprints for an Ultrafast, Optically-Controlled Quantum Computer
By: | Saturday, March 1st, 2008By: Geoffrey Woo
Computers, from room-sized contraptions full of vacuum tubes and punch cards to the hip and portable Apple MacBook Pro, are all based on the same paradigm conceptualized by Alan Turing, the father of computer science. Like many other human technologies, computers have greatly improved in performance over time; the purely mechanical system […]
Topics: Physics, Volume 6, Issue 2 | No Comments »
Robots Take to the Streets: Junior and the DARPA Urban Challenge
By: | Saturday, March 1st, 2008By: Christopher Anelli
Imagine a future in which having an automatic onboard navigation system is just as standard as climate control or audio systems. With the press of a button, your car will drive itself – independently calculating the fastest route, merging seamlessly in and out of traffic, keeping a safe distance from other cars and […]
Topics: CompSci, Engineering, and Design, Volume 6, Issue 2 | 1 Comment »
The Future of Research Universities: Are institutions such as Stanford keeping pace with today’s changing economy?
By: | Saturday, March 1st, 2008By: Zachary Nevin
In 1998, the Boyer Commission on Educating Undergraduates in the Research University published a report examining the merits of research-based education. In the report, the commission outlined ten means of “reinventing undergraduate education” focused around the model of research universities. Since then, the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching […]
Topics: Ethics, Environment, and Society, Volume 6, Issue 2 | No Comments »
Is Your Weight the Government’s Business?: The Call for Government Regulations in Preventing Obesity
By: | Saturday, March 1st, 2008By: Yin Yin Wu
Americans are fatter than ever. According to a study at Johns Hopkins University, 75% of all Americans will be overweight by 2015.
With the proliferation of 24-hour McDonalds’ and cheap doughnuts, it is easy to see why.
Although the health risks associated with obesity are constantly reported in the news, the ubiquity of […]
Topics: Ethics, Environment, and Society, Volume 6, Issue 2 | No Comments »
The Nuclear Board Game: Terrorists in the Nuclear Era
By: | Saturday, March 1st, 2008By: Pedro A. Hernández
The birth of the nuclear bomb changed the world in a permanent and fundamental way. The horrendous events of Hiroshima and Nagasaki forced both governments and political scientists to grapple with the new reality created by this technological monster. During the Cold War, millions feared that they were on […]
Topics: Ethics, Environment, and Society, Volume 6, Issue 2 | No Comments »
The Building Blocks of Climate Science: Stanford’s Multidisciplinary Team of Researchers Collaborate with the IPCC
By: | Saturday, March 1st, 2008By: Kaylin Pennington
Over the past several decades, climatology has arguably flown under the radar as a requisite science. The recent emergence of global warming as topic of public interest has spurred a sensationalist approach to sustainability and “green” economics, leading many to believe that climate change has only now climbed to the top of […]
Topics: Ethics, Environment, and Society, Volume 6, Issue 2 | No Comments »
Common Ground between Fishermen and Environmentalists: The Implementation of California’s Marine Life Protection Act
By: | Saturday, March 1st, 2008By: Julia Guth
It is not difficult to imagine why a fisherman community would be skeptical of legislation that protects areas of the California coast and promotes the restoration of marine ecosystems. After all, the livelihoods of commercial fishermen depend entirely on the fish they catch and thus free access to the ocean. Yet […]
Topics: Ethics, Environment, and Society, Volume 6, Issue 2 | No Comments »
Standing Up for Children: Stanford Pediatricians Advocate the State Children’s Health Insurance Program
By: | Friday, February 29th, 2008By: Christian Torres
While Democrats and Republicans battle in Washington over the continuation of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), pediatricians across the nation are rallying forces of their own. The SCHIP program, which is strongly supported by those professionals who witness its benefits firsthand, came under threat of collapse when President Bush vetoed […]
Topics: Ethics, Environment, and Society, Volume 6, Issue 2 | No Comments »
To Allow or Deny?: Opposing Views on Access to Experimental Drugs
By: | Saturday, February 23rd, 2008By: Annie Peterson
Imagine you have been diagnosed with late-stage metastatic cancer, and you have six months to live. Finding a cure in that short amount of time seems hopeless.
Now imagine that your doctor reveals the existence of what appears to be a “miracle drug,” a treatment in its earliest stage of development, […]
Topics: Ethics, Environment, and Society, Volume 6, Issue 2 | No Comments »
Principles of Educational Resource Distribution: Adequacy versus Equity
By: | Saturday, February 23rd, 2008By: Aleya Dhanji
What constitutes justice in the distribution of educational resources? Is it fair and satisfactory for the state to provide everyone with a basic level of education or does the state also have to consider relative disparities between school districts?
These questions are at the heart of the adequacy versus equity debate in school finance. […]
Topics: Ethics, Environment, and Society, Volume 6, Issue 2 | No Comments »
The Irony in Charitable Giving: Tax Policy Effects on Two Nearby School Districts
By: | Saturday, February 23rd, 2008By: Adrienne Bryan
Two school districts lie within only a half-hour drive of each other, but the gap in their educational resources is miles-wide. Although both school districts are taxpayer-supported, one offers technology and arts programs while the other lacks funds for a public address system and clocks.
Though hypothetical, this scenario does, in fact, […]
Topics: Ethics, Environment, and Society, Volume 6, Issue 2 | No Comments »
Accelerating Genetic Analysis from Two Weeks to Two Hours - Microfluidic Digital PCR as a Method for Prenatal Aneuploidy Detection
By: | Sunday, February 17th, 2008By: Ramya Parameswaran
Prenatal diagnosis of aneuploidy, a condition characterized by extra or missing chromosomes, can be a lengthy process. Parents often wait two or three weeks for an accurate diagnosis of this condition which is the cause of such disorders as Down Syndrome. Stanford Professor of Bioengineering, Dr. Stephen Quake, and graduate student Christina […]
Topics: Biology and Chemistry, Volume 6, Issue 2 | No Comments »
The Exaggerated Recovery of Gray Whales - Modern DNA provides a New Perspective on Historical Population Estimates
By: | Sunday, February 17th, 2008By: Rachel Adams
Conservationists often strive to restore population sizes of diminishing species to their historic levels, but how do you know how abundant a species was before human impact?
This is the problem tackled by Elizabeth Alter, a graduate student at Stanford’s Hopkins Marine Station, along with her adviser, Dr. Stephen Palumbi, and a colleague […]
Topics: Biology and Chemistry, Volume 6, Issue 2 | No Comments »
The Wonderful World of Cilia - A Role as Tiny Pressure Sensors for Bone
By: | Sunday, February 17th, 2008By: Lisandra West
You may not have spent much time thinking about cilia or flagella, the tiny oblong appendages protruding from a multitude of cell surfaces, but perhaps you should.
In fact, your very existence depends on cilia. The cilium (also called a flagellum) of a sperm cell enables it to swim to a fertile egg, […]
Topics: Biology and Chemistry, Volume 6, Issue 2 | No Comments »
A New Future for Cancer Diagnosis - The Development of a Protease-Specific Fluorescent Probe
By: | Sunday, February 17th, 2008By: Jennifer Huang
Surgeons tasked with excising malignant tumors face a difficult decision: how much tissue should be removed?
According to the National Cancer Institute, over 1.4 million new cases of cancer will be diagnosed by the end of 2007 alone, and many of these new patients will opt to undergo surgery to remove cancerous tissue. […]
Topics: Medicine and Health, Volume 6, Issue 2 | No Comments »
Creating a Dreamscape - Lucid Dreams Shed Light on Human Consciousness
By: | Sunday, February 17th, 2008By: Hyunseung Kang
As we doze off into dreams, flying clowns and talking cars appear completely normal. We are not aware that we are dreaming, and it feels like an acceptable version of reality. However, in a lucid dream, we are able to differentiate between the dream and reality. In other words, we know that […]
Topics: Biology and Chemistry, Volume 6, Issue 2 | No Comments »
Allergy or Anti-Allergy? - Novel Functions of Mast Cells
By: | Sunday, February 17th, 2008By: Helen Lian
Are you periodically a victim to sneezing? Red, itchy eyes? Swelling?
Allergies affect more than half the United States population, making it the fifth leading chronic disease among Americans today. The main culprit behind many allergic reactions is the mast cell, which produces histamine and other chemicals that cause the typical […]
Topics: Medicine and Health, Volume 6, Issue 2 | No Comments »
Mapping the Brain’s Response to Music - fMRI Studies of Musical Expectations
By: | Sunday, February 17th, 2008By: Angela Castellanos
At any given moment, torrents of unorganized information about sights, smells and sounds bombard our brains. How do we process this relentless stream of stimuli? How can a person listen to one conversation in a crowded room full of noise and distraction? Neuroscientists have made great efforts to tackle these complex questions, […]
Topics: Biology and Chemistry, Volume 6, Issue 2 | No Comments »
A Synergistic View of the Genetics Behind Liver Cancer
By: | Sunday, February 17th, 2008By: Mehwish Ismaily
Death is around the corner for the great majority of those diagnosed with liver cancer. According to the World Health Organization, there are more than half a million liver cancer cases reported per year. Furthermore, cancer registries for the United States and developing countries indicate slim survival rates of three to […]
Topics: Biology and Chemistry, Spotlights, Volume 6, Issue 2 | No Comments »
Hannah Landecker’s Culturing Life: How Cells Became Technologies
By: | Sunday, February 17th, 2008By: Marja Mullings
Have you ever wondered why stem cells and other related technologies have become such a hot topic in science?
If you would rather not read a dense molecular biology textbook to satisfy your curiosity, consider reading Hannah Landecker’s witty and cleverly distilled Culturing Life: How Cells Became Technologies.
You may find it strange that […]
Topics: Biology and Chemistry, Reviewed Books, Spotlights, Volume 6, Issue 2 | No Comments »
Making the Bay Area HepB Free
By: | Sunday, February 17th, 2008By: Kathleen Jia
What if cancer could be prevented with the point of a needle?
While this idea may seem whimsical, many may be surprised to learn that a preventive vaccine does, in fact, exist for the hepatitis B virus (HBV), a major trigger factor for potentially deadly liver diseases including liver cancer, cirrhosis and liver failure. […]
Topics: Medicine and Health, Spotlights, Volume 6, Issue 2 | No Comments »
A Passion for Service
By: | Sunday, February 17th, 2008By: Julie Boiko
Overcoming barriers. Crossing socioeconomic and cultural lines. Effecting change in communities in the U.S. and around the world. Think you can’t possibly begin to improve the lives of thousands worldwide? Well, think again – such work is being done by Stanford students…and they want you to help too.
At Stanford University School of Medicine’s […]
Topics: Medicine and Health, Spotlights, Volume 6, Issue 2 | No Comments »
Office of Science Outreach Welcomes High School Students and Teachers to Stanford Labs
By: | Sunday, February 17th, 2008By: Harpreet K. Sangha
America’s future prowess in science and technology faces an imminent threat. According to The Science and Engineering Workforce: Realizing America’s Potential report released by the National Science Board in 2003, the number of American science and engineering graduates entering the workforce is likely to decline unless the nation intervenes to […]
Topics: Spotlights, Volume 6, Issue 2 | No Comments »
New Genetic Counseling Program at Stanford School of Medicine
By: | Monday, February 11th, 2008A new generation of genetic counselors will help transfer knowledge from the lab to the patient
by Hahn Nguyen
WhatÕs in your bodyÕs future? Individuals now have the option to discover their disposition for genetic disorders such as cancer even before they develop symptoms. By combining the genetics laboratory with the doctorÕs office, patients are now able […]
Topics: Ethics, Environment, and Society, Medicine and Health, Volume 5, Issue 1 | No Comments »
The Uncertain Fate of the Brazilian Amazon
By: | Monday, February 11th, 2008How Selective Logging Impacts the Sustainability of Rainforests
by Julia Guth
Until recently, the timber industry and conservationists struck a compromise with selective logging - a process that removes certain trees from specific locations in the forest, as opposed to deforestation, the clear-cutting of large regions. Most scientists and environmentalists believed this process was sustainable and not […]
Topics: Ethics, Environment, and Society, Volume 5, Issue 1 | No Comments »
Cellulose Research Paves the Way for New Biofuels
By: | Monday, February 11th, 2008Exploring the world’s most abundant material at a molecular level
by Stacie Nishimoto
It’s remarkable how little we know about the most abundant organic material on the planet. Cellulose is a major component of the clothing we wear, the paper we use, and the plants in our environment, yet many of its molecular properties remain […]
Topics: Biology and Chemistry, Volume 5, Issue 1 | No Comments »
Brain on a Chip
By: | Monday, February 11th, 2008Computer Architecture Branches Out
by Camille Sindhu
The next revolution in computer architecture may not come from research in computer science, but rather from the bench of a biology laboratory. Researchers working at the intersection of neurobiology and electrical engineering are already capable of building artificial analogs of biological sensory systems in silicon, but difficulties arise in […]
Topics: Biology and Chemistry, CompSci, Engineering, and Design, Medicine and Health, Volume 5, Issue 1 | No Comments »
Can the UN Heal the World by 2015?
By: | Monday, February 11th, 2008Stanford Medical School Hosts Conference on UN Goals
by Victoria Parente
To help bridge the gap in quality of life between developed and underdeveloped nations, leaders from several countries in the United Nations (UN) created the Millennium Development Goals in September 2000 - eight goals aimed at reducing worldwide hunger, poverty, disease and mortality, and promoting childhood […]
Topics: Ethics, Environment, and Society, Medicine and Health, Volume 5, Issue 1 | No Comments »
Ethical Stem Cells
By: | Monday, February 11th, 2008Deriving Human Embryonic Stem Cell Lines without Destroying the Embryo
by Anthony Tuan Nguyen
Every human being begins as a single stem cell. This stem cell has the power of virtually unlimited division and proliferation until it differentiates into a specialized cell, such as a muscle cell. Since human embryonic stem (hES) cells can be cultured to […]
Topics: Biology and Chemistry, Ethics, Environment, and Society, Medicine and Health, Volume 5, Issue 1 | No Comments »
Spying on the Grim Reaper
By: | Monday, February 11th, 2008 How small molecules can be used to monitor cell death
by Alicia B. Berger
Apoptosis is a normal physiological process of programmed cell death or “cell suicide” that eliminates damaged or stressed cells. Errors in apoptosis are involved in approximately 70% of human diseases including cancer, ParkinsonÕs, Alzheimer’s, and the massive cell death that occurs after […]
Topics: Biology and Chemistry, Medicine and Health, Volume 5, Issue 1 | No Comments »
Funding Innovation - Two Stanford Professors Win the NIH Director’s Pioneer Award
By: | Monday, February 11th, 2008By: Erika Williams
Credit: L.A. Cicero
In today’s competitive world of research, grants often favor focused, low-risk, publishable proposals at the exclusion of the more risky and innovative ideas. This approach leaves some of the most cutting-edge research underfunded and some of the most exciting questions unanswered.
To remedy this problem of traditional grants, the National Institutes of […]
Topics: Biology and Chemistry, Medicine and Health, Spotlights, Volume 6, Issue 2 | No Comments »
The New Major in Atmosphere/Energy
By: | Sunday, February 10th, 2008By: Elizabeth Lowell
Still undecided on a major? Trying to find a discipline that actually interests you?
Stanford now offers another option that may settle the debate: the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) hosts an innovative major in Atmosphere/Energy (A/E).
The CEE website (http://cee.stanford.edu) explains the rationale behind the new major, emphasizing that atmospheric and […]
Topics: CompSci, Engineering, and Design, Spotlights, Volume 6, Issue 2 | No Comments »
Science and Policy of Energy and Climate Change
By: | Friday, February 1st, 2008John Marburger, Director, Office of Science and Technology Policy, Executive Office of the President, gave a speech in December 2007 at the American Geophysical Union entitled:
“Reflections on the Science and Policy of Energy and Climate Change”.
In summary, Marburger believes that the most rational path forward in addressing energy and climate change is the following:
1. Every […]
Topics: Uncategorized | No Comments »
Global Warming - Should it be Renamed?
By: | Thursday, January 31st, 2008“It’s freezing! I don’t remember winters here being so cold! When is this global warming coming that they keep talking about?”
Have you heard this quote before? Many in the general public believe what they hear… that “global warming” means that the earth is steadily growing warmer. So when, for example, Bay Area […]
Topics: Uncategorized | No Comments »
Should Nuclear Energy be Revitalized?
By: | Wednesday, August 29th, 2007Waking a S l e e p i n g Giant:Should Nuclear Energy Be Revitalized?by Andy Dow Electricity flows with the flick of a switch, poweringdevices that facilitate our technology-dependentlifestyles. The ease with which we commandelectricity for daily use, however, belies the complexenergy challenge that the world faces: a case of increasingdemand despite environmental and […]
Topics: Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
« Previous Entries