Bacterial plasmids — the freeloading and the heavy-lifters — balance the high price of disease BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Studying self-replicating genetic units, called plasmids, found in one of the world’s widest-ranging pathogenic soil bacteria — the crown-gall-disease-causing microorganism Agrobacterium tumefaciens— Indiana University biologists are showing how freeloading, mutant derivatives of these plasmids benefit while the virulent, […]

Strategy in Action: HIV Testing Innovations Contribute to NHAS Goal With an estimated 20 percent of people living with HIV in the United States unaware of their status, strengthening our HIV testing efforts will be key to achieving the goals of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS). Fortunately, many innovative HIV testing efforts are underway in communities across […]

About Indiana University. Excellence in education and research INDIANA UNIVERSITY HAS EIGHT CAMPUSES, including core campuses in Bloomington and Indianapolis, and regional campuses in Fort Wayne, Gary, Kokomo, New Albany, Richmond, and South Bend. Mission  INDIANA UNIVERSITY is a major multi-campus public research institution, grounded in the liberal arts and sciences, and a world leader in professional, […]

Searching for Answers to Causes of Childhood Depression Over the past decade, scientists have produced a flurry of studies exploring the role of genetic (nature) and environmental factors (nurture) in youth depression, but there has been little consensus on how depression is jointly impacted by specific genes and external factors, such as poverty, abuse, and negative family […]

The ‘diversity problem’ in science. Hammonds calls for continued study in scientific communities. As part of the keynote address delivered at MIT’s Institute Diversity Summit, Harvard College Dean Evelynn M. Hammonds said that “barriers within science have persisted for minority women even as they changed for white women and minority men.”/Jon Chase/Harvard Staff Photographer Opportunities […]

Sharing Traditions, Serving the Spirit Sherifa Ibrahim has a gentleness about her that is instantly apparent. Her voice is soft, warm in tone and soothing, exactly the balm that might be wanted by someone ill in the hospital. Yet talking is not Ibrahim’s first priority. In her work as a volunteer with Stanford Hospital’s Spiritual […]

The Heart of the Matter: Innovation Ahead for Cardiovascular Care Robert Robbins, MD, chair of the Department Cardiothoracic Surgery at Stanford University. To mark American Heart Month, Stanford Hospital & Clinics writer John Sanford sat down with Robert Robbins, MD, chair of the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Stanford University, to discuss innovations in cardiac […]

Wellness after cancer: Stanford opens clinic to address survivors’ needs Someone in my family survived lung cancer six years ago. The treatment didn’t include radiation or chemotherapy, and the tumor was removed neatly by an excellent surgeon. But the surgery scar still interferes with his normal muscle function, and the possibility that the cancer might come […]

Wellness after cancer: Stanford opens clinic to address survivors’ needs Holly Gautier, RN, Program Manager of the Stanford Cancer Institute Supportive Care (left), talks about the Institute’s new Survivorship Clinic with its manager, Kelly Bugos, RN, NP, MS./Photo by Norbert von der Groeben Janelle O’Malley has been cancer-free for eight years, a long time since […]

Future of medical research is at risk, says Stanford medical school dean. The inability of a congressional “super committee” to deliver a budget proposal has endangered the U.S. medical research enterprise and the potential discovery of future treatments, warns School of Medicine Dean Philip Pizzo, MD, in a commentary published in today’s San Jose Mercury News. In the piece, Pizzo discusses […]