Bioengineering News
Quake Elected to National Academy of Sciences
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Bioengineer receives one of nation's highest honors in science. His innovations include a rapid DNA sequencer, a non-invasive prenatal test for Down syndrome and the biological equivalent of the integrated circuit.
Getting CLARITY: Hydrogel process developed at Stanford creates transparent brain
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Stanford bioengineers have transformed an intact, post-mortem mouse brain into a transparent three-dimensional structure that keeps all the fine wiring and molecular structures in place. Known as CLARITY, the technique stands to transform our understanding of the brain and indeed of any biological tissue.
Stanford to collaborate with edX to develop a free, open source online learning platform
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
EdX will be available as an open source learning platform on June 1. In support of that move, Stanford will integrate features of its existing Class2Go open source online learning platform into the edX platform.
President Obama's new $100 million brain research initiative taps several Stanford scientists
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
The Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) project, which calls for initial federal funding of $100 million, will make use of several innovative technologies invented by Stanford scientists.
Biological transistor enables computing within living cells
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
A team of Stanford University bioengineers has taken computing beyond mechanics and electronics into the living realm of biology. They have developed a biological transistor made from genetic material — DNA and RNA. The team calls its invention the “transcriptor.”
Stanford scientist joins call for major brain research project
Monday, March 11, 2013
Stanford Professor Karl Deisseroth joins a super-team of scientists to propose the Brain Activity map, a collaborative initiative akin to the Human Genome Project, to better understand how the brain works.
Covert wins Paul Allen Distinguished Investigator Award
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Bioengineer receives $1.5 million Distinguished Investigator grant from the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation for his work to create computer models of entire cells.
Eight Stanford Engineering Faculty Elected to National Academy of Engineering
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Election to the National Academy of Engineering is among the highest professional distinctions an engineer can receive.
Graduate Fellow Melina Mathur is engineering genetic systems
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Melinda Mathur, a PhD candidate in Bioengineering, says the Vincent V.C. Woo Graduate Fellowship is allowing her to pursue research that tackles big issues.
The 30-year story behind one cancer drug
Monday, January 14, 2013
Vismodegib—also know by its brand name Erivedge—is the first class of drugs that treats inoperable basal cell carcinomas by inhibiting one of the key regulators in human development: the hedgehog molecular signaling pathway. Bioengineer Matthew Scott was a key player in the history of hedgehog gene research.
Big Challenges, Big Ideas: Stanford Engineering Year in Review
Monday, January 7, 2013
Letter from the Dean of Stanford Engineering.
United Technologies Research Center Graduate Research Fellows Named
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
The fellowships aim to advance research in aerospace and sustainable energy.
Bioengineers induce, relieve depression symptoms in mice using light
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Researchers at Stanford have pinpointed well-defined types of neurons within a specific brain region to directly tie them to the control of several symptoms of major depressive illness. Using optogenetics they can turn the symptoms on and off using light. The findings provided a much more detailed understanding of the brain circuitry of depression and could lead to concepts that help people suffering from depression.
Optogenetics illuminates pathways of motivation through brain, study shows
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Researchers Karl Deisseroth and Melissa Warden led a team that used optogenetics to identify the pathways in our brains that prompt us to act. Their findings could help explain how these pathways become dysfunctional in people suffering from major depression.
A leap forward in brain-controlled computer cursors
Sunday, November 18, 2012
Stanford researchers have designed the fastest, most accurate algorithm yet for brain-implantable prosthetic systems that can help disabled people maneuver computer cursors with their thoughts. The algorithm’s speed, accuracy and natural movement approach those of a real arm, doubling performance of existing algorithms.
Researchers develop light-based 'remote control' for proteins inside cells
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Scientists at Stanford have developed an intracellular remote control: a simple way to activate and track proteins, the busiest of cellular machines, using beams of light.
Bioengineer Prakash wins Gates Foundation global health “Explorations” grant
Thursday, November 1, 2012
The $100,000 award goes to develop and field test an ultra-low-cost paper microscope designed for disease diagnostics.
Stanford researchers measure impact of football concussions
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Preventing concussions in football requires first knowing what types of hits cause them. Stanford scientists have developed technologies that will help unlock that mystery.
Identification of microbes in healthy lungs sheds light on cystic fibrosis in new study
Thursday, September 27, 2012
New research from the Stanford School of Medicine and of Engineering and the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital shows that healthy lungs play host to a diverse community of microbes in marked contrast to the bacteria found in the lungs of cystic fibrosis patients. The findings could have wide implications for treatment of cystic fibrosis and other lung diseases.
Stanford Bioengineers Introduce ‘Bi-Fi’ — The Biological Internet
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Using an innocuous bacterial virus, bioengineers have created a biological mechanism to send genetic messages from cell to cell. The system greatly increases the complexity and amount of data that can be communicated between cells and could lead to greater control of biological functions within cell communities.
Bioengineer Karl Deisseroth wins NIH Transformative Research Award
Thursday, September 13, 2012
The Transformative Research Award supports exceptionally innovative or unconventional research projects with the potential to change fundamental paradigms.
Bioengineer Christina Smolke wins NIH Director's Pioneer Award
Thursday, September 13, 2012
The award includes a five-year, $2.5 million grant for highly innovative approaches with the potential to affect biomedical or behavioral research. Smolke studies the use of microbes to produce complex chemicals to advance natural-product drugs.
Video Profile: Brain-like computer chips to control prosthetics
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Bioengineer Kwabena Boahen is working on a new type of computer chip that works more like the human brain. These chips would be ultra-low powered and run cool enough to be implanted in the brain to help amputees control prosthetic limbs with their thoughts.
Stanford scientists use microbes to make 'clean' methane
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Most methane comes from natural gas, a fossil fuel. Stanford and Penn State scientists are taking a greener approach using microbes that can convert renewable electricity into carbon-neutral methane.
