Tennis puns were lobbed.
On June 18, the university awarded 1,580 bachelor’s degrees, 2,503 master’s degrees, and 1,075 doctoral degrees. Many of the graduates were enrolled at Stanford when the COVID-19 pandemic began—including undergraduates, most of whom left campus before spring quarter of their frosh year, only to return as juniors. Tennis legend, author, and actor John McEnroe, the featured speaker at the university’s 132nd Commencement, noted how that experience could fortify them in unexpected ways. “You pivoted to virtual options, maybe you took a gap year, found other ways to connect with your peers and your teachers—but the point is, you kept moving forward, coming out a little stronger on the other side,” said McEnroe, ’81. “Life doesn’t always go as planned,” he said, advising graduates to shift gears when necessary and to redefine victory.
The Huberman Effect.
In hindsight, it’s clear that celebrity science podcaster Andrew Huberman’s deepest love—since grade school—has been biology. But during his teenage years, he was more skateboarder-truant than future neurobiology professor. Today, he shares, with millions of followers, how and why healthy habits can put you on a new trajectory. One example: If you wait 90 to 120 minutes after waking to drink caffeine, you can avoid the afternoon crash in energy so many people otherwise experience. It’s that kind of practical talk that has made Huberman Lab the hottest podcast in science.
Yes, your allergies are worse.
Seasonal spring allergies have been a doozy this year. Increasing temperatures and storms—and in California this year, subsequent super blooms—are contributing to record-breaking pollen counts, sending many noses a-running. (Even in June. You’re not imagining it.)
To keep your sniffles at bay, Carlos Andres Salgado, a clinical assistant professor of pediatrics and allergy expert, recommends avoiding triggers: Limit outdoor activity and keep windows closed. When you head outdoors, you can go full 2020, donning your trusty N95 mask and showering as soon as you get home. Over-the-counter meds may help, and clinical assistant professor of medicine Jyothi Tirumalasetty says keeping a diary could help you narrow down what exactly is causing your watery eyes and fatigue. If you’re not sure whether it’s allergies or a virus, consider your allergy history as well as additional symptoms: If you’ve got GI issues or a high fever, it’s probably not the ragweed.
One person’s discarded viral plaque assays are another person’s artistic treasure.
Photo: Katie Han, ’23
A new sculpture in the lobby of the School of Medicine’s Biomedical Innovations Building was designed to get its viewers thinking about their use of plastic. Plastic Planet is a lavender sphere made from viral plaque assays. It stands on a 7-by-10-foot base of blue, green, and violet plastic—mostly discarded pipette tip boxes. The sculpture was a collaboration between Desiree LaBeaud, a professor of pediatrics, and Jean Shin, a New York artist. “For me, it highlights a paradox,” Shin said. “The scientific community is driven to find solutions for our health, but in doing their work, the medical research labs and hospitals are increasingly dependent on single-use plastic, which is harming the planet.”
If you give a mouse a burger . . .
You know that eating a Big Mac and fries won’t win you points with your doctor, but now scientists say it could be the DNA in that meal that contributes to cancer later on. A portion of the foods you eat are made up of the originating organism’s DNA—bovine, potato, or otherwise. Chemistry professor Eric Kool boiled (212 degrees Fahrenheit) and roasted (430 degrees Fahrenheit) ground beef, ground pork, and potatoes, and found that higher temperatures almost always increased DNA damage in the food.
After extracted DNA from the heated foods was fed to mice, researchers found that more cells in the lining of the rodents’ small intestines contained prominent DNA damage. And the higher the temps of the food, the more damage to the consumer. Nucleotides in the DNA are made available through normal breakdown that happens during digestion, suggesting a significant pathway for damaged food to impair gene functioning and foster mutations that could lead to cancer. “Our study raises a lot of questions about an entirely unexplored, yet possibly substantial chronic health risk from eating foods that are grilled, fried, or otherwise prepared with high heat,” said Kool. More research is needed before we all start crying over fried chicken. But it’s worth noting that the potato fared better than either meat. Veggie burger, anyone?
But wait, there’s more.
Lina Hidalgo, ’13, is the county judge of Harris County, Texas, which includes the city of Houston. As the county’s chief executive, she oversees a multibillion-dollar budget, coordinates emergency responses to natural disasters, and presides over the Harris County Commissioners Court, where she listens to the feedback and concerns of ordinary Texans. “I’m an immigrant who was elected five years after becoming a U.S. citizen,” Hidalgo told Vogue. “I’m a woman who’s 5’2” on a good day, and I don’t straighten my hair, and I was elected at 27. All that means someone else—someone from whatever background—can do whatever it is they want to do.”
At 20, Tyrell Terry was drafted into the NBA. At 22, he had a $1.8 million salary from the Dallas Mavericks. But late last year, he gave it all up, citing intrusive thoughts and anxiety. Terry, ’23, is now back at Stanford with plans to major in science, technology, and society, trading a life on the court for a life on campus.
What was it like to read a biblical text in the 13th century? Students and faculty found out at the Manuscripts by Candlelight event, where they were able to read by (battery-operated) candlelight in Green Library’s Hohbach Hall, turning the pages of books that were hundreds of years old—after washing their hands, of course.
In a New York Times opinion essay, Richard Meyer, a professor of art and art history and Andy Warhol scholar, argues that the Supreme Court “got it wrong” when they ruled against the pop art icon’s foundation in a recent copyright case. Fair use analysis, he says, hardly begins to explain the artist who “dismantled the idea of originality.”
If fruit salad were a tree, it would be the new art installation near Stanford’s Rodin Sculpture Garden. The Tree of 40 Fruit—a commentary on food insecurity born of a passion for horticulture—is a single tree with grafted branches capable of producing 40 different fruits, including peaches, plums, apricots, nectarines, and cherries.
The murder of David Breaux, ’95, in Davis, Calif., shook a community that had grown to cherish him. Known locally as the Compassion Guy, Breaux, who was often unhoused, inspired the city to build its Compassion Bench and spent the past 14 years inviting passersby to add their own definitions of compassion to his notebook.
Five former Cardinal soccer players are among those selected to represent the United States at the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand this summer. Alana Cook, ’19, Naomi Girma, ’22, Sophia Smith, ’22, and Andi Sullivan, ’18, will make their World Cup debuts. It will be the fourth World Cup for Kelley O'Hara, ’10.
In the Loop's roundup of spring NCAA champs, we neglected to include women’s rowing, which took the crown in May for the first time since 2009.
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