http://www.physorg.com/ en-us Physorg.com internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. A couple of months ago, during the swine flu scare, Stanford Hospital & Clinics had a preview of what a real pandemic might look like: Hundreds of people, fearing they might be sick with the H1N1 virus, showed up at the emergency department looking for help. Hospital officials scrambled fast, converting some space overnight into an infection-controlled triage area. http://www.physorg.com/news164080368.html Medicine & Health Sat, 13 Jun 2009 02:54:43 EST news164080368 In a collaborative study with the World Health Organization and seven other laboratories, researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have compiled a list of 93 common mutations of the AIDS virus associated with drug resistance that will be used to track future resistance trends throughout the world. http://www.physorg.com/news155558471.html Medicine & Health Fri, 06 Mar 2009 10:41:53 EST news155558471 Metaphors cannot be taught, asserted the great philosopher Aristotle. "It is the one thing that cannot be learnt from others." But a computer scientist and literary historian say he's wrong. http://www.physorg.com/news155311912.html Technology Tue, 03 Mar 2009 14:13:16 EST news155311912 Scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine have identified a protein complex important in controlling whether embryonic stem cells retain their ability to become any cell in the body - a quality called pluripotency - or instead embark on a pathway of maturation and specialization. The finding is an important advance in the quest by scientists to harness the unique abilities of embryonic stem cells to treat disease and generate replacement tissue for the body. http://www.physorg.com/news155236964.html Medicine & Health Mon, 02 Mar 2009 17:23:38 EST news155236964 Stem cells can thrive in segments of well-vascularized tissue temporarily removed from laboratory animals, say researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine. Once the cells have nestled into the tissue's nooks and crannies, the so-called "bioscaffold" can then be seamlessly reconnected to the animal's circulatory system. http://www.physorg.com/news155225793.html Medicine & Health Mon, 02 Mar 2009 14:17:48 EST news155225793 More than 40 percent of women ages 18-59 experience sexual dysfunction, with lack of sexual interest - hypoactive sexual desire disorder, or HSDD - being the most commonly reported complaint, according to medical researchers. While some question the validity of this diagnosis, a multidisciplinary team from the Stanford University School of Medicine is devoted to objective investigation of such problems. http://www.physorg.com/news155225336.html Medicine & Health Mon, 02 Mar 2009 14:14:51 EST news155225336 By now, most people have read stories about how to "grow your own organs" using stem cells is just a breakthrough away. Despite the hype, this breakthrough has been elusive. A new report published in the March 2009 issue of The FASEB Journal brings bioengineered organs a step closer, as scientists from Stanford and New York University Langone Medical Center describe how they were able to use a "scaffolding" material extracted from the groin area of mice on which stem cells from blood, fat, and bone marrow grew. This advance clears two major hurdles to bioengineered replacement organs, namely a matrix on which stem cells can form a 3-dimensional organ and transplant rejection. http://www.physorg.com/news154869287.html Biology Thu, 26 Feb 2009 11:15:10 EST news154869287 This is your brain. This is your brain on Facebook. http://www.physorg.com/news154807389.html Medicine & Health Wed, 25 Feb 2009 18:03:42 EST news154807389 From hair color to the ancestral line of parasitic bacteria, scientists can glean a lot from genes. But imagine if genes also revealed where you lived or who you spent time with. It turns out they do, if you know where and how to look. http://www.physorg.com/news154786845.html Biology Wed, 25 Feb 2009 12:25:31 EST news154786845 (PhysOrg.com) -- Let's say a white student and a black student both score 1020 on their SATs. They're performing right around the national average, so based on their scores it stands to reason they're both typical students with the same level of potential, right? http://www.physorg.com/news154713676.html Medicine & Health Tue, 24 Feb 2009 16:02:17 EST news154713676 Scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital have devised a new way to decode the immune signals that cause slow, chronic rejection of all transplanted kidneys. They've created an immune-system "atlas" that will improve doctors' ability to monitor transplanted organs and shed light on the mechanisms of gradual, cumulative kidney malfunction after transplant. http://www.physorg.com/news154632423.html Medicine & Health Mon, 23 Feb 2009 17:27:47 EST news154632423 Scientists at Stanford University School of Medicine have discovered that a commonly available non-addictive drug can prevent symptoms of withdrawal from opioids with little likelihood of serious side effects. The drug, ondansetron, which is already approved to treat nausea and vomiting, appears to avoid some of the problems that accompany existing treatments for addiction to these powerful painkillers, the scientists said. http://www.physorg.com/news154121670.html Medicine & Health Tue, 17 Feb 2009 19:35:13 EST news154121670 (PhysOrg.com) -- About 150 million years ago, an evolutionarily hybrid creature, a dinosaur on its way to becoming a bird, died in what is now Germany, and become fossilized in limestone. http://www.physorg.com/news153919451.html Physics Sun, 15 Feb 2009 11:25:31 EST news153919451 Current treatments for diseases like cancer typically destroy nasty malignant cells, while also hammering the healthy ones. Using new advances in synthetic biology, researchers are designing molecules intelligent enough to recognize diseased cells, leaving the healthy cells alone. http://www.physorg.com/news153761508.html Medicine & Health Fri, 13 Feb 2009 15:32:27 EST news153761508 Status Update: Mom and Dad want to join Facebook. And, like much else about Silicon Valley parenting, they're enlisting experts to learn how. http://www.physorg.com/news153599314.html Technology Wed, 11 Feb 2009 18:29:12 EST news153599314 Postmenopausal women who take combined estrogen plus progestin menopausal hormone therapy for at least five years double their annual risk of breast cancer, according to new analyses from a major study that clearly establishes a link between hormone use and breast cancer, Stanford researchers say. The multi-center study also found that women on hormones can quickly reduce their risks of cancer simply by stopping the therapy. http://www.physorg.com/news152993944.html Medicine & Health Wed, 04 Feb 2009 18:19:34 EST news152993944 Much to the dismay of patients and physicians, cancer stem cells - tiny powerhouses that generate and maintain tumor growth in many types of cancers - are relatively resistant to the ionizing radiation often used as therapy for these conditions. Part of the reason, say researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine, is the presence of a protective pathway meant to shield normal stem cells from DNA damage. When the researchers blocked this pathway, the cells became more susceptible to radiation. http://www.physorg.com/news152977118.html Medicine & Health Wed, 04 Feb 2009 13:39:16 EST news152977118 Researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine have identified a protein critical for the growth of pancreatic cancer. Blocking the expression of the protein slowed or prevented tumor growth in mice and made cultured cancer cells vulnerable to the conditions of low oxygen that occur in solid tumors. http://www.physorg.com/news152721466.html Medicine & Health Sun, 01 Feb 2009 14:42:03 EST news152721466 Last week, a presidential limousine shuttled Barack Obama to the most important job in his life. Scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine have now identified a protein that does much the same for the telomerase enzyme - ferrying the critically important clump of proteins around to repair the ends of chromosomes that are lost during normal replication. Without such ongoing maintenance, stem cells would soon cease dividing and embryos would fail to develop. http://www.physorg.com/news152461731.html Medicine & Health Thu, 29 Jan 2009 14:29:33 EST news152461731 (PhysOrg.com) -- Physicists have set a new world record for the smallest writing, with features of letters as small as 0.3 nanometers, or roughly one third of a billionth of a meter. The accomplishment demonstrates that information can be stored more densely than previously thought. The research was conducted at the Stanford Institute for Materials and Energy Sciences (SIMES), a joint institute of Stanford University and the U.S. Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. http://www.physorg.com/news152385929.html Nanotechnology Wed, 28 Jan 2009 17:26:44 EST news152385929 Armies train by marching in step. Religions around the world incorporate many forms of singing and chanting into their rituals. Citizens sing the National Anthem before sporting events. Why do we participate in these various synchronized activities? A new study, published in the January issue of Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, suggests that when people engage in synchronous activity together, they become more likely to cooperate with other group members. http://www.physorg.com/news152383150.html Medicine & Health Wed, 28 Jan 2009 16:39:40 EST news152383150 People with a genetic condition called Williams syndrome are famously gregarious. Scientists, looking carefully at brain function in individuals with Williams syndrome, think they may know why this is so. The researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine showed that parts of a particular brain region known as the amygdala react more powerfully in Williams syndrome patients than in developmentally normal subjects - or in subjects with delays in development not caused by Williams syndrome - when exposed to facial expressions conveying positive emotions. http://www.physorg.com/news152299739.html Medicine & Health Tue, 27 Jan 2009 17:33:05 EST news152299739 Land plants' ability to sprout upward through the air, unsupported except by their own woody tissues, has long been considered one of the characteristics separating them from aquatic plants, which rely on water to support them. http://www.physorg.com/news152273392.html Biology Tue, 27 Jan 2009 10:10:24 EST news152273392 The older the kidney, the worse it works - though exactly how much worse isn't known. But with a mean wait time of over three years for a kidney transplant, even old kidneys are in demand. The challenge for doctors is to determine a kidney's prospects prior to the operation. http://www.physorg.com/news152201256.html Medicine & Health Mon, 26 Jan 2009 14:08:20 EST news152201256 Someone who has momentarily lost confidence in her intelligence is more likely to purchase a pen than a candy bar, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research. The pen helps restore her belief in herself as an intelligent person. http://www.physorg.com/news152194618.html Other Sciences Mon, 26 Jan 2009 12:19:12 EST news152194618 (PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers have found a way to incorporate silicon into the structure of rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, which are used to power a wide variety of portable electronic devices, including digital cameras and cell phones. The group's method, using a nanowire form of silicon, overcomes the roadblocks that have prevented the use of silicon and may help extend the batteries' lifetimes. http://www.physorg.com/news151667477.html Nanotechnology Tue, 20 Jan 2009 09:52:51 EST news151667477 For years researchers have puzzled over whether adaptation plays a major role in human evolution or whether most changes are due to neutral, random selection of genes and traits. http://www.physorg.com/news151319378.html Biology Fri, 16 Jan 2009 09:09:38 EST news151319378 Doctors may be implanting too many artery-opening stents and could improve patient outcomes - and ultimately save lives - if they did more in-depth measurements of blood flow in the vessels to the heart. That's the finding of a study, to be published Jan. 15 in the New England Journal of Medicine, that evaluated the benefits of a new diagnostic tool to measure blood flow and determine whether stenting was the best option. http://www.physorg.com/news151176330.html Medicine & Health Wed, 14 Jan 2009 17:25:30 EST news151176330 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. The $100 million in new funds will enable the hiring of additional faculty and support new graduate students, in addition to the more than $30 million in yearly funding now spent on energy research. http://www.physorg.com/news151078036.html Technology Tue, 13 Jan 2009 14:07:16 EST news151078036 Rapidly warming climate is likely to seriously alter crop yields in the tropics and subtropics by the end of this century and, without adaptation, will leave half the world's population facing serious food shortages, new research shows. http://www.physorg.com/news150646556.html Other Sciences Thu, 08 Jan 2009 14:15:56 EST news150646556