SUMC in the News (11/07/05)

Print media coverage

San Jose Mercury News, 11/07/05e
Repairing spinal cord injuries: Geron wants to test stem-cell injections (registration required)
Researchers at the company Geron hope to get federal permission to inject embryonic stem cells into damaged spinal cords. Irving Weissman, the Virginia and DK Ludwig Professor for Clinical Investigation and director of the Stanford Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, provides comment in this article.

Sacramento Bee, 11/07/05
Stem cell royalty promise just election ruse?(registration required)
This opinion piece discusses whether Californians will profit from the state's investment in stem cell research. Laurence Baker, associate professor of health research and policy, is quoted here.

Torrance Daily Breeze (Torrance, Calif.), 11/07/05
Turkey amino acid no sleeper
A new Stanford study shows that a by-product of tryptophan - an amino acid found in turkey and other foods - can alleviate multiple sclerosis symptoms in animal models. The findings add to the growing body of evidence indicating that tryptophan plays a pivotal role in the immune system. Lawrence Steinman, professor of neurology and neurological sciences and of pediatrics, is also included in a WebMD story that appears on FoxNews.com.

Stanford Daily, 11/07/05
Students learn meditation
The Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, participated in a medical school symposium during which religious and scientific experts explored how the mind works. William Mobley, the John E. Cahill Family Professor and director of the Neurosciences Institute at Stanford; Dean Philip Pizzo; David Spiegel, the Jack, Lulu and Sam Wilson Professor; and William Newsome, professor of neurobiology, are quoted in this article. Similar articles appear in the San Jose Mercury News, San Francisco Chronicle, San Mateo Times and Contra Costa Times. The San Mateo Times article also appears in the Oakland Tribune.

New York Times, 11/06/05
'Monkeyluv': Primates are people, too (registration required)
This book review discusses a new collection of essays written by Robert Sapolsky, the John A. and Cynthia Fry Gunn Professor. The essays were written during Saposky's time conducting field research on baboons in Kenya.

San Jose Mercury News, 11/06/05
The ticket out of jet lag (registration required)
This article discusses various ways to beat the effects of jet lag. Clete Kushida, associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and director of the Stanford Center for Human Sleep Research, provides comment.

Baton Rouge Advocate (Baton Rouge, La.), 11/06/05
Cell therapy may counter effect of radiation damage (No online version available)
A Bay Area biotech company is working on a stem cell therapy that could be used to help victims survive exposure to radiation from an attack or accident. The article mentions that Janice "Wes" Brown, assistant professor of medicine, pioneered the therapy and is working with the company to develop it.

Edmonton Journal (Canada), 11/06/05
Possible link between bacteria, obesity examined (No online version available)
This article discusses a theory that the bug Helicobacter pylori may be a force behind the epidemic of obesity. Julie Parsonnet, the George DeForest Barnett Professor in Medicine, provides comment in this article, which originally appeared in the Dallas Morning News.

Grand Forks Herald (Grand Forks, N.D.), 11/05/05
Gene drug gives man second chance at survival
This article discusses the use of gene therapy to treat mesothelioma, a cancer that attacks the linings of the chest and abdomen. Mark Kay, the Dennis and Hilary Farrey Professor in Pediatrics, is quoted.

Broadcast media coverage

KNTV-TV, 11/06/05
This segment focused on the Dalai Lama's visit to campus. The medical school symposium was also mentioned on segments on KMAX-TV (Sacramento), KPIX-TV, KRON-TV and KCBS-AM.

KCBS-TV (Los Angeles), 11/05/05
This segment discussed the Stanford study on tryptophan. Similar segments aired on KCAL-TV (Los Angeles) and KPRC-TV (Houston).