Stanford University
Seaports need a plan for weathering climate change
May 16, 2011 8:14 am | by Donna Hesterman | News | CommentsA warming planet means rising oceans, but seaports are not prepared for the expensive construction they will need to protect themselves, according a global survey of ports conducted by Stanford researchers. But the researchers have created a computer model that will help ports with their planning.
Stanford computing lab imagines the mobile-social future
May 10, 2011 8:07 am | by Andrew Myers | News | CommentsAt the MobiSocial Lab, an engineering research team asks fundamental questions about the marriage of mobile communications and social networking, and begins to design the future of open-source social networking.
The future of farming in America
May 6, 2011 5:34 am | News | CommentsTwo studies published in the journal Science this week look at the big picture of U.S. farming; one offered a warning; the other offered recommendations. Stanford researchers find that the U.S. has dodged some weather bullets recently that have dented global production of wheat. We might not be so lucky in the near future. UC Davis, meanwhile, updates a lengthy 2010 report that says market upheaval is going to be necessary to make needed changes to our agricultural infrastructure.
Stanford's Gravity Probe B confirms two Einstein theories
May 5, 2011 11:38 am | News | CommentsAfter 52 years of conceiving, testing and waiting, one of Stanford's and NASA's longest-running projects comes to a close with a greater understanding of the universe, and a better mastery of global positioning systems. The Gravity Probe B satellites carried four ultra-precise gyroscopes able to detect some of the smallest fluctuations in gravitational force.
Nanopillars yield more precise molecular photography
April 7, 2011 4:49 am | by Andrew Myers | News | CommentsA Stanford research team uses glowing nanopillars to give biologists, neurologists, and other researchers a deeper, more precise look into living cells.
Researchers use freshwater and seawater to generate electricity
March 29, 2011 4:56 am | by Louis Bergeron | News | CommentsStanford researchers have developed a rechargeable battery that uses freshwater and seawater to create electricity. Aided by nanotechnology, the battery employs the difference in salinity between fresh and saltwater to generate a current. A power station might be built wherever a river flows into the ocean.
Engineers put a damper on 'aeroelastic flutter'
March 25, 2011 6:07 am | by Andrew Myers | News | CommentsSetting the aeronautics field aflutter, advanced mathematics outduels supercomputers to quell a deadly aeronautical vibration phenomenon.
Scientists close in on a new phase of matter
March 25, 2011 5:28 am | News | CommentsAttacking one of the stubbornest problems in materials sciences, groups from Berkeley Lab, UC Berkeley, and Stanford have produced the strongest evidence yet that the mysterious pseudogap, hallmark of high-temperature superconductors, is not a gradual transition to the superconducting phase, as long supposed, but instead is a unique and hitherto unknown phase of matter.
First-ever peek inside protein folding chambers may help develop better therapies
March 16, 2011 4:12 am | News | CommentsWhen vital proteins in our bodies are misfolded, debilitating diseases can result. If researchers could see the folding happen, they might be able to design treatments for some of these diseases. Now researchers at Stanford have gotten the first-ever peek inside one of these protein-folding chambers as the folding happened. This peek could help develop better brain disease therapies.
Bioenergy crops could lower surface temperatures
March 11, 2011 5:03 am | News | CommentsConverting large swaths of farmland to perennial grasses for biofuels could lower regional surface temperatures, according to a recent Stanford study.
U.S. Supreme Court to hear arguments in Stanford vs. Roche
February 24, 2011 4:08 am | News | CommentsA Stanford lawsuit that began as a patent infringement case against a drug company has evolved into a dispute over a federal law that promotes the commercialization of government-sponsored research and protects ownership rights of universities to inventions arising from government-sponsored research.
Researchers develop new technology for more efficient solar cells
February 22, 2011 3:19 am | News | CommentsThe sun provides more than enough energy for all our needs, if only we could harness it cheaply and efficiently. Solar energy could provide a clean alternative to fossil fuels, but the high cost of solar cells has been a major barrier to their widespread use. Stanford researchers have found that adding a single layer of organic molecules to a solar cell can increase its efficiency three-fold and could lead to cheaper, more efficient solar panels.
Magma power for geothermal energy?
February 18, 2011 3:20 am | News | CommentsWhen a team of scientists drilling near an Icelandic volcano hit magma in 2009, they had to abandon their planned experiments on geothermal energy. But the mishap could point the way to an alternative source of geothermal power.
Researchers develop wireless technology for faster communication networks
February 15, 2011 4:55 am | News | CommentsA new technology that allows wireless signals to be sent and received simultaneously on a single channel has been developed by Stanford researchers. Their research could help build faster, more efficient communication networks, at least doubling the speed of existing networks.
A world powered by alternative energy in just decades, using today’s technology
January 26, 2011 7:43 am | by Louis Bergeron | News | CommentsIn a new study, Stanford researcher Mark Z. Jacobson and UC-Davis researcher Mark A. Delucchi argue that the technology exists today to transition to an alternative energy economy in 20 to 40 years. Their plan calls for wind and solar power to contribute 90% of needed energy.
New technique sees deep brain neurons for months at a time
January 16, 2011 8:56 am | News | CommentsBecause light microscopy can only penetrate the outermost layer of tissues, any region of the brain deeper than 700 micrometers cannot be reached by traditional microscopy techniques. Researchers at Stanford University have broken through this barrier by placing tiny glass tubes, about half the width of a grain of rice, in the deep brain of an anaesthetized mouse.
Scientists sequence gut microbes of premature infant for first time
January 14, 2011 4:47 am | News | CommentsScientists have for the first time sequenced and reconstructed the genomes of most of the microbes in the gut of a premature newborn and documented how the microbe populations changed over time. Further studies involving more infants could eventually help researchers understand the causes of various intestinal problems that afflict preemies, in particular the sometimes fatal necrotizing enterocolitis.
Using living cells to create biotic video games
January 14, 2011 4:25 am | News | CommentsVideo game designers are always striving to make games more lifelike, but they'll have a hard time topping what Stanford researcher Ingmar Riedel-Kruse is up to. He's introducing life itself into games. Riedel-Kruse and his lab group have developed the first video games in which a player's actions influence the behavior of living microorganisms in real time—while the game is being played.
Spotted: Surprising flares in Crab Nebula
January 6, 2011 12:14 pm | News | CommentsThe Crab Nebula, one of our best-known and most stable neighbors in the winter sky, is shocking scientists with a propensity for fireworks—gamma-ray flares set off by the most energetic particles ever traced to a specific astronomical object. The discovery, reported today by scientists working with two orbiting telescopes, is leading researchers to rethink their ideas of how cosmic particles are accelerated.
Artificial Retinas Dominate In 2009
December 14, 2009 10:48 am | Blogs | CommentsI never really thought about what it would be like to not see well or not at all. The closest I have ever been to blind was while finding my way through the touch tunnel at New Jersey’s Liberty Science Center, which, quite frankly, freaked me out. In fact, upon being given the question of choice, in a game of “Would You Rather”, between losing my hearing or my sight, I chose hearing hands down because any aesthetic pleasure would be taken away from me without being able to see.
To Boldly Do What No Laser Has Done Before
April 23, 2007 10:35 am | Articles | CommentsAbout seven months ago, the Dept. of Energy's (DOE) Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC), Menlo Park, Calif., broke ground for the linear accelerator (LINAC) Coherent Light Source (LCLS).
