Explore Stanford Medicine
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No survival benefit with new cancer drug
Cisplatin chemotherapy can bring lasting adverse health effects, but a new, presumably less-toxic alternative is not as effective at promoting survival, according to a large, Stanford-led trial.
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Farming linked to gut microbiome changes
Researchers at Stanford and several other institutions have linked the gut ecosystems of four Himalayan groups to the extent of each group’s departure from a hunter-gatherer lifestyle.
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Gun laws and child gun deaths
States with strict gun laws have lower rates of gun deaths among children and teenagers, and laws to keep guns away from minors are linked with fewer gun suicides in this age group, a Stanford study found.
Precision Health
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A Legacy of Innovation
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First synthesis of biologically active DNA in test tube
Nobel laureate Arthur Kornberg creates a strand of biologically active DNA, paving the way for studies of genetics.
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First adult human heart transplant in the United States
Norman Shumway successfully transplants a heart into 54-year-old steelworker Mike Kasperak, who survives for 14 days.
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First expression of a foreign gene implanted in bacteria by recombinant DNA methods
Geneticist Stanely Cohen transfers a foreign gene into bacterial cells, which then express the gene.
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First successful human combined heart/lung transplant in the world (fourth attempted worldwide)
Mary Gohlke receives the world's first combined heart and lung transplant in a landmark operation led by surgeon Bruce Reitz.
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Isolation of a gene coding for part of the T-cell receptor, a key to the immune system’s function
Immunologist Mark Davis characterizes the T-cell receptor, believed to regulate the body's response to infectious agents and cancerous diseases.
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Isolation of pure hematopoietic stem cells from mice
Pathologist Irving Weissman isolates a rare mouse cell, known as the hematopoetic stem cell, which gives rise to all the cells of the blood and immune systems.
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First use of gene expression profiling to predict cancer outcomes
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Application and expansion of optogenetics, a technique to control brain cell activity with light
Bioengineer Karl Deisseroth and his team develop a technique known as optogenetics that allows them to genetically alter brain cell activity in mice with light.