Scope

Can battling sepsis in a game improve the odds for material world wins?

Sara Wykes — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:04:37 +0000

The first few times I played a new, Web-based and Stanford-designed medical game called Septris, all my patients died. After a few rounds, however, I felt my competitive fire ignite. And with a little more help from the game’s Dr. Sepsis, the better I became at treating sepsis (in the game, anyway), despite a lack [...]

Stanford Medicine X announces Alliance Health ePatient Scholarship Program

Lia Steakley — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 21:07:09 +0000

This fall, the School of Medicine will host Stanford Medicine X, a new conference exploring how emerging technologies will advance the practice of medicine, improve health and empower patients. Today, organizers announced that they have secured a gift from Alliance Health Networks to provide scholarships for ePatients to attend the conference, which will be held [...]

New social network aims to help anxiety sufferers

Robyn Horn — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 19:13:59 +0000

A new social network called AnxietySocialNet aims to help people suffering from anxiety disorders address their symptoms, find information and network with others. Founded by Salomon Ptasevich, a former anxiety sufferer, the site also hopes to attract friends and family members who may be watching a loved one struggle with anxiety who feel helpless or [...]

Tiny wonders: Small World in Motion competition winners bring microscopic activity to life

Lia Steakley — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 17:00:11 +0000

Yesterday, Nikon Instruments announced the winners of its inaugural Small World in Motion Photomicrography Competition. From a selection of more than 200 submissions, judges deemed 13 stunning videos to be the most visually outstanding as well as high-caliber depictions of the intersection of science and art. This time-lapse movie showing the movement of mitochondria in [...]

Students show off science projects at the White House

Margarita Gallardo — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 23:40:43 +0000

Today, President Obama welcomed more than 100 students from across the country for the second annual White House Science Fair, an opportunity that gave the students a chance to show off their research projects. Angela Zhang, a local high school senior who took the top prize at the Siemens Competition in Math, Science and Technology [...]

How imaginary friends benefit children

Michelle Brandt — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 21:18:23 +0000

Since she was a toddler, my five-year-old has been utterly devoted to a mint-green stuffed hippo named, appropriately, Hippo. He/she (the toy’s gender remains undecided) has been a faithful companion to my daughter, accompanying her on vacations, snuggling up with her at naps and bedtime, and serving as a playmate when my other daughter is otherwise engaged. Hippo [...]

A call for a new way to classify gluten-related disorders

Lia Steakley — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 19:50:17 +0000

After a lifelong battle with eczema, I went gluten-free about a year ago on the suggestion of a nutritionist – and my skin condition immediately cleared up. So I was interested to read a Wall Street Journal article on gluten and a panel of experts’ work to develop a new classification system for gluten-related disorders. Melinda Beck writes: [...]

Video: An in-depth (pun intended) look at two meals

John Stafford — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 17:00:41 +0000

Here’s an interesting video from Stefani Bardin, a TEDxManhattan 2011 fellow, and Braden Kuo, MD, a gastroenterology instructor at Harvard. According to their description, the video uses “the M2A and SmartPill devices to look at how the human body responds to processed versus whole foods.” While I’m by no means an expert on this subject, [...]

Is there a connection between consuming mass media and making healthy choices?

Lia Steakley — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 23:51:01 +0000

Indulging in mass media could prompt you to make healthier decisions, according to findings (subscription required) recently published in International Journal of Public Health. Italian researchers examined data from a sample of more than 1,000 people from a large epidemiological study. Participants completed a survey on how often they watched TV or read newspapers, magazines [...]

The influence of medical press releases on news coverage quality

Michelle Brandt — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 23:34:35 +0000

I’m a few days late to this, but a new study (one of particular significance to those of us in the communications field) is demonstrating the important role that press releases can play in getting high-quality, accurate medical information delivered to the public. In a BMJ paper, Dartmouth researchers identified media coverage of studies appearing in five major medical journals and [...]