CO2 gets a makeover.
Synthetic biologists at Stanford and Northwestern have built a system that can turn formate—a liquid molecule easily made from carbon dioxide found in the atmosphere—into acetyl‑CoA, a cellular building block used to make many materials. They harnessed the system, called the Reductive Formate Pathway (ReForm), to convert acetyl-CoA into malate, a chemical used in cosmetics, biodegradable plastics, and food (for example, as a natural flavor enhancer). The success could offer a new path for efficient development of green fuels and materials. “We urgently need cost-effective, environmentally sustainable, and energy-efficient ways to deal with the abundance of CO2 in our atmosphere,” said Michael Jewett, MS ’01, PhD ’05, a professor of bioengineering and the study’s senior author. ReForm can also be used with other simple carbon inputs, like methanol and formaldehyde, making it a promising way to turn captured CO2 into sustainable products.
Say cheese.
U.S. health officials have released new dietary guidelines, standards that inform meal planning for schools, hospitals, and prisons. Christopher Gardner, a professor of medicine at the Stanford Prevention Research Center who studies the effect of dietary changes on health, said that the new guidelines got many things right: Americans are encouraged to limit highly processed foods and eat lots of fruits and vegetables. Some things, however, are different, and “the parts that are different aren’t clear,” he said. Recommendations for protein intake have been increased, with a tilt toward red meat. “That goes against decades and decades of evidence and research,” Gardner told NPR. He recommends plant-based sources of protein, including beans, which contain protein but also fiber—something many Americans don’t get enough of. Additionally, red meat is high in saturated fat. Gardner believes this introduces confusion. The new guidelines recommend people limit saturated fat to 10 percent of their daily calories. But the promotion of red meat, full-fat dairy, and cooking with beef tallow and butter makes for a diet that would easily surpass that measure, said Gardner. “They’re saying two different things in the same set of guidelines that are inconsistent.”
Deep learning.
Photo: Cassidy Beach
In Living on the Edge, a one-unit field course offered by Stanford’s department of Earth and planetary sciences, students explore the California coastline, learning about the vast canyons below the ocean’s surface and examining how humans are shaped by the planet’s shifting landscape. “I want them to start thinking in millions of years,” said the course’s instructor, Steve Cole Dobbs, PhD ’22, “and see how the planet changes on those scales.”
Learning from marvels to help mere mortals.
Almost everything we know about health comes from studying disease, says Scott Delp, MS ’87, PhD ’90, a professor of bioengineering and of mechanical engineering. The Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance, led by Delp, flips that script, exploring how elite athletes’ performance can help the rest of us. That includes research into how to improve movement and prevent injuries, restore torn tendons to full strength, understand the effects of the menstrual cycle on female neuromuscular performance, and develop training regimens based on genetic profiles. That would be great for top-tier athletes, but the goal is to aid those all across the fitness spectrum. If the research finds, say, a genetic variant in an enzyme that helps a top performer’s heart contract with extraordinary efficiency, scientists may be able to target that enzyme in hearts that pump poorly.
Venezuela’s political landscape.
In an episode of the Stanford Legal podcast, Allen Weiner, JD ’89, director of the Stanford program in international and comparative law, spoke about the extraction of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and how U.S. law around such operations clashes with international law. Of greater consequence, he said, could be the way that the actions of the U.S. are read by other states, such as Russia and China.
On Friday, Stanford’s Democracy Action Lab assembled a panel of experts to consider potential scenarios for Venezuela’s future. Some cautioned that it’s too early to say whether Venezuela might see a democratic transition. Harold Trinkunas, MA ’93, PhD ’99, deputy director of Stanford’s Center for International Security and Cooperation, noted the possibility of an authoritarian rebalancing. “We have to remember that all of the institutions of power and all of the elected offices in Venezuela below the president are held by supporters of the regime,” he said. Law professor Diego Zambrano, who was raised in Venezuela, said he was “guardedly optimistic” about a democratic transition, acknowledging the apparent international law violation while distinguishing the U.S.’s operation from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine with the aim of annexing territory.
But wait, there’s more . . .
Fourteen former Cardinal football players made it to the NFL playoffs, with eight heading into the divisional round with their teams.
Don’t blame testosterone for aggression—or credit it with ensuring dominance—writes Robert Sapolsky, a professor of biology, of neurology, and of neurosurgery, in a New York Times opinion piece. Look instead at how animals, including humans, confer status.
Measurement and realism, evaluation and reflection: Stanford faculty see 2026 as the year we move past the promise of AI to focus on its usefulness.
The Winter Games start in February, and U.S. Olympic and Paralympic athletes will once again be sporting Ralph Lauren at the opening and closing ceremonies. Richard Thompson Ford, ’88, a professor of law who studies the politics of fashion, discusses the messages woven into Lauren’s designs. Two major threads? Aspen ski lodge and the Ivy League.
Former Cardinal center Jason Collins, ’01, who made headlines as the first openly gay active NBA player, worked with classmate and ESPN journalist Ramona Shelburne, ’01, MA ’01, to tell the story of his Stage 4 glioblastoma diagnosis.
Social Security will deplete its reserves in 2033. See how two economists want to help bring it back from the brink, and let us know what you think of their proposal.
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