Discoveries, ideas and people to watch
Age-related degeneration of tissues, organs and, yes, even facial skin
with which we all struggle is an active, deliberate process rather than
a gradual failure of tired cells, say Stanford researchers. Derailing or slowing this molecular betrayal, although still far in the
future, may enable us to one day tack years onto our lives — or at
least delay the appearance of that next wrinkle.
Tagged: aging, proteins, Human Health, Medicine
Recognizing that energy is at the heart of many of the world's
tribulations—economic, environmental and political—Stanford is
establishing a $100 million research institute to focus intently on
energy issues, President John Hennessy announced today.
Tagged: energy, Environment & Sustainability, On Campus, Earth Sciences, Engineering, Humanities & Sciences
The National Research Council has recommended that President-elect
Barack Obama issue an executive order in January directing the
government to overhaul outdated export and visa controls that harm
national security and economic prosperity.
Tagged: exports, immigration
In a recent article in the New England Journal of Medicine, Abraham Verghese
writes about the School of Medicine's push to emphasize
and improve bedside examination skills while calling for a nationwide change toward this end
in medical education.
Tagged: Human Health, Medicine
Rapidly warming climate is likely to seriously alter crop yields in the
tropics and subtropics by the end of this century and, without
adaptation, leave half of the world’s population facing serious food
shortages, according to a study published in the Jan. 9 edition of the
journal Science.
Tagged: climate change, farming, food, poverty, Environment & Sustainability, International Issues, Earth Sciences
Few things are as tiresome as house hunting and moving. Unfortunately, metastatic cancer cells have the relocation process down pat. Migrating cancer cells plan ahead by first sending molecular emissaries to orchestrate a breach in the body’s natural defenses. Blocking this cascade of events in mice hobbled the cells’ migration and prevented the metastatic cancer that developed in control animals.
Tagged: cancer, Human Health, Medicine
Your grandmother’s habit of hoarding pennies in a jar notwithstanding,
until now there’s been no hard evidence that economic events like the
Great Depression actually change investment behavior. However, a new study demonstrates that
personal experience does matter – and that the economic times we live
through have a significant impact on how we invest our money.
The time has come for immunologists to start shifting from mouse models to human ones in the study of the immune system, writes Mark Davis in a new article.
Tagged: immunology, research, Human Health, Medicine
