A new algorithm developed by Stanford computer scientists can sift through hours of heart rhythm data generated by some wearable monitors to find sometimes life-threatening irregular heartbeats, called arrhythmias. The algorithm, detailed in an arXiv paper, performs better than trained cardiologists, and has the added benefit of being able to sort through data from remote locations where people don’t have routine access to cardiologists.

Researchers combine gecko-inspired adhesives and a custom robotic gripper to create a device for grabbing space debris. They tested their gripper in multiple zero gravity settings, including the International Space Station. Right now, about 500,000 pieces of human-made debris are whizzing around space, orbiting our planet at speeds up to 17,500 miles per hour. This debris poses a threat to satellites, space vehicles and astronauts aboard tho...

More than 70 years after the U.S. tested atomic bombs on a ring of sand in the Pacific Ocean called Bikini Atoll, Stanford researchers are studying how long-term radiation exposure there has affected corals that normally grow for centuries without developing cancer. The researchers’ work is featured in an episode of “Big Pacific,” a five-week PBS series about species, natural phenomena and behaviors of the Pacific Ocean.

In the ongoing hunt to find better treatments for heart disease, the top cause of death globally, new research from Stanford shows promising results using an unusual strategy: photosynthetic bacteria and light. Researchers found that by injecting a type of bacteria into the hearts of anaesthestised rats with cardiac disease, then using light to trigger photosynthesis, they were able to increase the flow of oxygen and improve heart function, ...

High pressure could be the key to making advanced metal mixtures that are lighter, stronger and more heat-resistant than conventional alloys, a study by Stanford researchers suggests. Humans have been blending metals together to create alloys with unique properties for thousands of years. But traditional alloys typically consist of one or two dominant metals with a pinch of other metals or elements thrown in. Classic examples include adding ...

The self-driving car revolution reached a momentous milestone with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s release in September 2016 of its first handbook of rules on autonomous vehicles. Discussions about how the world will change with driverless cars on the roads and how to make that future as ethical and responsible as possible are intensifying. Some of these conversations are taking place at Stanford.

With the current pace of renewable energy deployment and emissions reductions efforts, the world is unlikely to achieve the Paris Climate Agreement’s goal of limiting global warming to 2ºC above pre-industrial levels. This trend puts in doubt efforts to keep climate change damages from sea level rise, heat waves, drought and flooding in check. A potential solution being widely discussed is removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, a...

Plastic objects made by injection molding are abundant and, for many of us, a constant presence in our everyday lives. Your phone case, toothbrush and the keys on your computer are all probably the result of mass production, which involves injecting molten plastic into molds. In an advanced design and manufacturing course, students learn that the ubiquitous plastic objects made by injection molding are deceptively hard to make.

Scientists have tested a new therapy based on oncolytic viruses for the treatment of paediatric gliomas. Used in combination with chemotherapy, it represents a more effective treatment of this malignancy. Childhood brain tumours known as high-grade gliomas (HGGs) pose a great challenge to paediatric oncology with just 10% survival. The current therapeutic choices are limited and cause severe neurologic and cognitive side-effects.

How much could one really figure out about a person from 13 tiny snippets of DNA? At first glance, not much – in the world of genetics, 13 is tiny. But a new study suggests it may be enough to infer hundreds of thousands more markers, potentially revealing a wealth of genetic information, Stanford biologists report in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

For 60 years computers have become smaller, faster and cheaper. But engineers are approaching the limits of how small they can make silicon transistors and how quickly they can push electricity through devices to create digital ones and zeros. That limitation is why Stanford electrical engineering Professor Jelena Vuckovic is looking to quantum computing, which is based on light rather than electricity.

As with coffee or alcohol, the way each person processes medication is unique. One person's perfect dose may be another person's deadly overdose. With such variability, it can be hard to prescribe exactly the right amount of critical drugs, such as chemotherapy or insulin. Now, a team led by Stanford electrical engineer H. Tom Soh and postdoctoral fellow Peter Mage has developed a drug delivery tool that could make it easier for people to ge...

As electronics become increasingly pervasive in our lives – from smart phones to wearable sensors – so too does the ever rising amount of electronic waste they create. A United Nations Environment Program report found that almost 50 million tons of electronic waste were thrown out in 2017—more than 20 percent higher than waste in 2015. Troubled by this mounting waste, Stanford engineer Zhenan Bao and her team are rethinking...

Peering into laboratory glassware, Stanford University School of Medicine researchers have watched stem-cell-derived nerve cells arising in a specific region of the human brain migrate into another brain region. This process recapitulates what's been believed to occur in a developing fetus, but has never previously been viewed in real time. The investigators saw the migrating nerve cells, or neurons, hook up with other neurons in the target ...

  A team of Stanford ChEM-H undergraduates has won the Lemelson-MIT Student Prize for their development of proteins that could combat multidrug-resistant bacteria, which the World Health Organisation has described as one of the most serious public health threats the world faces today.

A wristband-type wearable sweat sensor could transform diagnostics and drug evaluation for cystic fibrosis, diabetes and other diseases. The sensor collects sweat, measures its molecular constituents and then electronically transmits the results for analysis and diagnostics, according to a study led by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine, in collaboration with the University of California-Berkeley.

Research led by a Stanford scientist promises to increase the performance of high-power electrical storage devices, such as car batteries. Electric vehicles plug in to charging stations. New research may accelerate discovery of materials used in electrical storage devices, such as car batteries. In work published in Applied Physics Letters, the researchers describe a mathematical model for designing new materials for storing electricity...

Just like a driver in a car, the brain needs some basic navigational instruments to get around, and it is not an idle analogy. In fact, scientists have found brain cells that are similar to speedometers, compasses, GPS and even collision warning systems. That simple analogy, however, may belie the more complex way our brains actually map out the world, Stanford researchers report in Neuron.

Behind its thick swirling clouds, Venus is hiding a hot surface pelted with sulfuric acid rains. At 480ºC, the planet’s atmosphere would fry any of today’s electronics, posing a challenge to scientists hoping to study this extreme environment. Researchers at the Stanford Extreme Environment Microsystems Laboratory, or the XLab, are on a mission to conquer these conditions.

Satellite images of Earth’s plant life have been valuable for managing crops or detecting deforestation, but current methods are often contaminated by light reflected by other things like clouds, soil and snow. Now, researchers at Stanford and the Carnegie Institution for Science have unlocked the potential of decades-old satellites with a technological tweak to better isolate the signal from plants alone.