This week neuro-linguist Laura Gwilliams breaks down how sound becomes information in the human brain, specifically focusing on how speech is transformed into meaning. Welcome back to "From Our Neurons to Yours," a podcast where we criss-cross scientific disciplines to take you to the cutting edge of brain science. In this episode, we explore how sound becomes information in the human brain, specifically focusing on how speech is transformed…
A first-of-its-kind study by Stanford Medicine researchers lets patients practice letting go of treasured objects in simulations of their own homes. - By Nina Bai Many people who dream of an organized, uncluttered home à la Marie Kondo find it hard to decide what to keep and what to let go. But for those with hoarding disorder — a mental condition estimated to affect 2.5% of the U.S. population —…
Bård Harstad tells his students that every environmental problem is, at its core, an inefficiency problem. “This inefficiency means that, overall, you’re losing something,” he explains. “It means that there is another way to make decisions so that we could potentially all be better off.” Harstad, a professor of political economy at Stanford Graduate School of Business, has spent much of his career as an economist trying to find more…
Stanford University reported returns on its investment portfolio as of June 30, 2023, and the value of its endowment as of the close of its fiscal year, August 31, 2023. Stanford University today announced a 4.4% investment return in its Merged Pool, net of all external and internal costs and fees, for the year ending June 30, 2023. The Merged Pool is the principal investment vehicle for the university’s endowment.…
There are unintended consequences of antitrust regulation, Stanford scholar’s research reveals With the Google antitrust trial well underway, and an Amazon suit soon to follow, Riitta Katila, a professor of management science and engineering, discusses the impacts of anti-competition regulation on innovation. “Big tech platforms often get a bad rap for killing innovation, but our findings show that it’s more nuanced than that.” The last time the Department of…
Until now, identifying charcoal camps believed to be using forced labor has been reliant on tips, many of which are anonymous. With an overwhelming number of tips to process simultaneously, prioritizing which leads to follow becomes a challenge for the authorities. “Tracking down the exact location of these sites can be extremely challenging, and it used to take days to pinpoint them,” Assis said. And even once a camp is…
Cyprus CEO Summary: In the late 1940s, a pivotal debate unfolded between Vannevar Bush and Harley Kilgore regarding science funding and education in America. Bush championed elite university labs and commercializing discoveries, while Kilgore advocated for broader scientific literacy and public officials setting research priorities. The National Science Foundation was established, mainly following Bush's arguments. However, during the pandemic, the importance of public scientific knowledge became evident, challenging Bush's vision.…
Polarization has become the defining feature of the U.S. political landscape, and a common refrain is that social media is to blame. Online echo chambers and filter bubbles spread misinformation, fuel extremism, and stoke antipathy toward those with different beliefs — so the thinking goes. Facebook, in particular, has come under fire for its role in spreading divisive content. Lawmakers have even weighed proposals to regulate the algorithms that determine…
Scientists discover a biomarker in stroke survivors, suggesting that chemical changes after stroke can lead to depression. The findings may pave the way toward treatment. - By Sarah C.P. Williams “We can now look at a stroke survivor’s blood and predict their mood,” Marion Buckwalter said. Earlier this year, Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman checked himself into a hospital for clinical depression after suffering a near-fatal stroke. Fetterman’s case of…
Bad science is a big problem for society, says guest Jonathan Osborne, an expert in science education, but we don’t have to surrender to it. Beating bad science requires young people to learn three skills, Osborne says. First is an ability to size up conflicts of interest. Second, to evaluate a source’s qualifications. And third, to more rigorously question those who go against consensus. The whole goal of science is…
The California Public Utilities Commission recently approved petitions from two taxi companies, Waymo and Cruise, to operate paid robo-taxi services around the clock in San Francisco. The first-of-its-kind move has been widely seen as a major step forward for fully autonomous vehicles and a springboard for similar driverless car rollouts in other cities. Proponents say autonomous taxis are safer and more reliable than manned vehicles and will bring numerous safety,…
For some economists, the answer to world peace is simple: Promote more trade. In the 18th century, French philosopher Charles Montesquieu described commerce as “a cure for the most destructive prejudices.” Buyers and sellers may both profit, the argument goes, but in order to do so, each party must trust that the other will honor their side of the deal. The more they trust each other, the better the trade,…
To improve EV batteries, study them on the road. New research shows adding real-world driving data to battery management software and computer models of battery pack performance can lead to longer-lasting, more reliable batteries. By Mark Shwartz Driving styles, temperature, and charging patterns can affect battery health. (Image credit: Getty Images) Most electric vehicles are equipped with an electronic brain that manages day-to-day battery performance and safety. This battery management…
A team of Stanford Medicine researchers have shown in male mice that a particular neuronal circuit is responsible for sexual arousal and for the actions and pleasure that ensue, opening avenues for treatment in men. The brain’s hardwired housing for male mammalian sex drive, behavior and reward looks to be a one-stop shop. Stanford Medicine investigators have mapped out a dedicated brain circuit in male mice that is tripped off…
As anyone with chronic disease knows, access to health care doesn’t always equate with equitable health care outcomes, says guest Alyce Adams, an expert in innovations in health policy. Too often, care delivery breaks down along racial and socioeconomic lines. Our focus should be on better outcomes for all people, she says. Adams now develops interventions to help communities and health systems improve care delivery — and health equity —…
Before he became an expert on corporate leadership, Charles O’Reilly spent five years in the U.S. Army. There he witnessed the stark divide between good and bad leaders and realized how much influence they had on the people who worked for them. Now a professor of organizational behavior at Stanford Graduate School of Business, O’Reilly says his time in the military sparked his interest in leadership, particularly his fascination with…
In a new paper, Stanford University authors, including Stanford Law Associate Professor Julian Nyarko, illuminate how algorithmic decisions based on ‘fairness’ don’t always lead to equitable or desirable outcomes. Algorithms underpin large and small decisions on a massive scale every day: who gets screened for diseases like diabetes, who receives a kidney transplant, how police resources are allocated, who sees ads for housing or employment, how recidivism rates are calculated,…
How to move communities away from flooding risks with minimal harm As sea levels rise and flooding becomes more frequent, many countries are considering a controversial strategy: relocation of communities. A Stanford analysis of planned relocations around the world reveals a blueprint for positive outcomes. By Rob Jordan Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment As sea levels rise and flooding becomes more frequent, many countries are considering a controversial strategy:…
Americans are all in for labor these days. According to an August 2022 Gallup poll, 71 percent of Americans approve of labor unions, up from 64 percent prior to the pandemic and the highest Gallup has recorded since 1965. SLS Professor Emeritus William B. Gould With Hollywood writers and actors on their first coordinated strike in 63 years, thousands of Los Angeles hospitality workers walking their own picket lines, and…
The idea that a leaner body makes for a faster stride is common among distance runners. But it's inaccurate and sets a dangerous ideal, according to Megan Roche, MD, PhD, an ultrarunner and researcher at Stanford Medicine. Runners who are excessively lean are prone to injuries, infectious diseases, mental health problems and loss in bone density, said Michael Fredericson, MD, a professor of orthopaedic surgery who has served for decades…
Peter Belmi, who earned his PhD at Stanford Graduate School of Business in 2015, was the first in his family to attend college. Today he’s a professor at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business. Yet when some of his graduating students who were also “first-gens” asked if they should mention that fact in their job applications, Belmi was hesitant. He talked it over with several colleagues — including…
When Abby Rubin Davisson, MA ’08, MBA ’08, and her then-boyfriend, Ross Davisson, ’01, MBA ’08, were deciding whether to move in together, they wrote a 20-page research paper about it, covering everything from how they would manage finances and divide household tasks to where they would spend holidays. At the time, they were students in Work and Family, a popular course taught by Myra Strober at the Graduate School…
When Stanford University researchers, including Professors Pascaline Dupas and Marcel Fafchamps, set out to test a new way of assessing relative poverty, applying a peer-ranking methodology they devised to data from a large metropolis in Côte d’Ivoire and rural Indonesia, their method worked—in some ways better than other poverty measures. But, in the urban setting, they ran up against a problem: Most people did not know their neighbors well enough…
Stanford Medicine expert discusses the risks of cannabis addiction and how it impacts health, especially in young people. As a longtime psychiatric clinician specializing in substance use disorders and addiction, Stanford Medicine's Smita Das, MD, PhD, has had a front-row seat to the aftershocks of America's cultural about-face on cannabis. She has watched the unintended consequences of marijuana use, ranging from dependency issues to psychosis, sneak up on people. The…
Forests across the United States are major contributors to the fight against climate change, annually removing damaging excess carbon from the atmosphere equivalent to approximately 13 percent of overall U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. According to a new report published today by Stanford Law School’s (SLS) Law and Policy Lab and the Bezos Earth Fund, implementing “climate-smart” forestry practices—such as expanding urban forests, integrating trees into pasture lands, and accelerating reforestation…
Given artificial intelligence’s ability to mimic humans’ problem-solving ability, it’s not surprising that many people are turning to AI-powered wellness coaches to help them plan exercise routines, track their nutrition, and set goals for losing weight. However, in one important aspect, these apps may not be able to match their sentient counterparts. New research finds that a mobile weight loss application that uses artificial intelligence to mine personal data and…
Satisfaction with online dating app depends on what you’re looking for A new study shows that some Tinder users access the the app to cope with negative emotions, but they may not find what they’re looking for. Author Nina BaiPublished on July 6, 2023July 6, 2023 With an estimated 75 million active users each month, Tinder is the most popular dating app in the world. But a new study by…
Neuroscientist Kalanit Grill-Spector studies the physiology of human vision and says that the ways computers and people see are in some ways similar, but in other ways quite different. In fact, she says, rapid advances in computational modeling, such as deep neural networks, applied to brain data and new imaging technologies, like quantitative MRI and diffusion MRI, are revolutionizing our understanding of how the human brain sees. We’re unraveling how…
ChatGPT and other applications that rely on large language models (LLMs) are gaining widespread use and drawing abundant media attention. But a handful of large well-funded tech companies dominate the LLM space because pretraining these models is extremely expensive, with cost estimates starting at $10 million and potentially reaching tens or hundreds of times that. “Large language models are not very accessible to smaller organizations or academic groups,” says Hong…
Understanding Prigozhin’s Mutiny and What Is — and Isn’t — Happening in Russia Scholars at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies offer insight on what Yevgeny Prigozhin’s mutiny may signal about Russia, Putin’s power, and the war in Ukraine. Melissa Morgan Crew onboard a 'Terminator' tank support fighting vehicle during a Victory Day military parade in Red Square marking the 75th anniversary of the victory in World War…
Depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide. Anxiety disorder will affect almost one-third of U.S. adults during their lifetime. Problems of mental health are burdensome and ubiquitous. And while it’s true that AI holds tremendous potential for improving the science and practice of psychotherapy, it remains a definitively high-stakes area. The goal is not simply to increase the efficiency of treatment but also to improve lives — and avoid…
If skulls were transparent, you still wouldn't see much going on in someone else's brain. But Josef Parvizi (Stanford) has ways of peeking into people's heads and finding out what makes us tick. His experiments have pinpointed specific brain regions crucial to capabilities ranging from perceiving faces to recognizing numerals. Ever wonder where in your brain that interesting character called "I" lives? Stanford Medicine physician-scientist Josef Parvizi, MD, PhD, has news of…