Science & Technology

News articles classified as Science & Technology

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SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory —

A new way to stop the spread

Disabling the hinges on coronavirus protein “spikes” could be a good way to prevent or treat a wide range of infections, new research shows.

Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute —

Why sleep keeps us young

Sleep is so critical to our health, we spend a third of our lives unconscious. What happens when we can’t get enough of it?

Stanford Medicine —

Mind in the machine

Stanford bioengineer Kwabena Boahen is on a quest to build computers that function like the brain, which could be the solution for the expense and environmental impact of AI’s high demand for computing power.

Valuing prescribed fire

High-intensity, often catastrophic, wildfires have become increasingly frequent across the Western U.S. Researchers quantified the value of managed low-intensity burning to dramatically reduce the risk of such fires for years at a time.

Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability —

Yi Cui to lead Sustainability Accelerator

Cui will step down as director of the Precourt Institute for Energy to focus on leading the Sustainability Accelerator at the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability. Roland Horne will serve as interim director of Precourt.

Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute —

Collective intelligence

Individually they look like they’re bumbling around without a plan; collectively they accomplish something pretty complex. Here’s what ants can teach us about neurons in the human brain.

How mice choose to eat or to drink

A new Stanford study uses behavioral analysis, neural engineering, electrophysiology, and math to explore how mice decide whether to eat or drink when they are both hungry and thirsty.

Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research —

Regulation and innovation

Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan has a warning for the tech industry: Antitrust enforcers are watching what you do in the race to profit from artificial intelligence.

Stanford Graduate School of Business —

Saving trees with tariffs

As wealthy nations’ appetite for imported agricultural goods has exploded, tropical deforestation has surged. Political economist Bård Harstad has a way around the trade-off between commerce and conservation.

Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence —

Tuning our algorithmic amplifiers

The values built into social media algorithms are highly individualized. Could we reshape our feeds to benefit society?

Stanford Engineering —

The future of computational imaging

From cameras that see around corners to microscopes that peer into individual atoms, computers are changing the face of photography.

Study reveals location of starfish’s head

A new study that combines genetic and molecular techniques helps solve the riddle of starfish body plans, and how starfish start life with bilateral body symmetry – just like humans – but grow up to be adults with fivefold “pentaradial” symmetry.

Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute —

The link between sleep biology and cognitive decline

Researchers discovered a surprising connection between brain cells that produce insulation around nerve fibers, sleep patterns, and neurodegenerative disease.

Stanford Engineering —

Sustainable steel

Engineers hope to decarbonize one of the world’s most carbon-intensive industries by harnessing the nano-chemistry of turning raw iron ore into solid steel.

SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory —

Secretary of Energy celebrates X-ray laser upgrade

Jennifer Granholm and other U.S. Department of Energy officials toured SLAC’s labs last week and joined President Saller in a toast to “first light” at LCLS-II.

Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment —

Urban heat islands

Policy and science experts on why cities get hotter than rural areas and what complicates mitigation efforts. “It’s not necessarily the technology that holds us back.”

Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability —

Climate change’s impacts on wildlife can vary by sex

Research shows that understanding sex-specific responses to temperature fluctuations is key to slowing biodiversity loss. So why do so few environmental studies take these differences into account?

Marine protected areas and climate change

New Stanford-led research offers a way to build climate resilience into the designs of ocean and coastal areas intended to protect marine species. The researchers recommend establishing numerous marine protected areas across political borders, starting with the Southern California Bight.

Stanford King Center on Global Development —

Inside an infectious disease lab

Undergraduates share their experiences studying mosquito-borne viruses. “If it wasn’t for working in this lab, I wouldn’t be inspired to take on or think about big, important issues that affect so many lives worldwide.”

New protein destruction target pathway

Stanford researchers who previously pioneered a new kind of protein degradation have mapped out how the process works, which could lead to new drug therapies for diseases like Alzheimer’s and cancer, and for rare childhood enzyme disorders.

Tool for rapid analysis of flood adaptation options

In a test of their new analysis tool, researchers show where “moving up” or “moving over” may make the most sense for those affected by the 2022 Pakistan flood, and what costs it would entail.

Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability —

Bill Gates wants climate innovations that scale

The entrepreneur and philanthropist emphasized the importance of affordable clean technologies during his visit to campus last week.

Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute —

I hear you

Neuro-linguist Laura Gwilliams breaks down how the brain makes meaning from the sounds of speech on this episode of From Our Neurons to Yours.

Sophisticated human biomechanics from smartphone video

With synchronous video from a pair of smartphones, engineers at Stanford have created an open-source motion-capture app that democratizes the once-exclusive science of human movement – at 1% of the cost.

Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability —

Energy use in U.S. cities to change dramatically by 2050

Extreme heat and population growth will increase the amount of electricity needed to cool urban buildings by at least 20% in some areas, according to Stanford-led research.

Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment —

A turning point for solar development

Stanford-facilitated dialogue resulted in a landmark accord in which industry, environmental, agricultural, and tribal groups have agreed to advance large-scale U.S. solar projects while championing conservation and community.

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