We’re going to need a bigger bookcase.
In July, we shared a story about Leigh Newman, ’93, who selects books for Oprah to consider for her book club. We also asked you what you like to read (apparently everything), and what book you’d recommend. Here are two dozen titles, suggested by your fellow alums.
Feel like you suddenly got old? You did.
If you thought your body was done with rapid physical change after your teens, professor of genetics Michael Snyder has some news that will blow your molecules. Snyder and his team studied 108 adults between the ages of 25 and 75 and found that abrupt, rapid molecular changes occur twice in our adult lives, biologically aging us. The shifts cluster around ages 44 and 60, and involve molecules related to skin and muscle, cardiovascular disease, and the metabolism of caffeine, along with some changes unique to each shift (such as being in your 40s and no longer able to knock back a couple of drinks without suffering the next day). Snyder points out that the reason these molecular changes cluster around certain ages is still unclear. Regardless, he recommends paying particular attention to your health in those decades. And if you’re a late-night, carb-eating, think-I’ll-randomly-go-for-a-run-today exercising 20-something who wouldn’t know a lower-back stretch if it hit you in the espresso martini . . . the Loop implores you to please, please enjoy it all. But as a more responsible elder, Snyder says it might not hurt to ease up a little on alcohol and work on some healthy habits. “I’m a big believer that we should try to adjust our lifestyles while we’re still healthy,” he told Stanford Medicine.
New year, new coats.
Photo: Paul Sakuma
On August 23, 90 new medical students and 29 students in the physician assistant master’s programs marked the start of their training with white coat ceremonies. Each student received a stethoscope and a coat, embroidered with their name, and all recited the Stanford Affirmation, vowing to devote their lives to the service of humanity.
Inside out.
It is estimated that one in four people has a neurological or psychiatric disorder. Sergiu Pașca, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, has found a way to watch brains develop in real time, revealing the mechanics of brain function and dysfunction—and, he hopes, ways to treat disorders. He makes pea-size brain organoids (spheres of human neurons that mimic specific sections of the brain, including the cerebral cortex), coaxes multiple organoids to fuse together, and transplants them into the brains of young rats to provide a whole-brain environment. Thanks to these increasingly complex models, Pașca is on the cusp of a treatment for a rare and life-threatening genetic disorder called Timothy syndrome, which he says is a Rosetta stone into understanding and treating other, more common conditions, including autism spectrum disorder, epilepsy, and schizophrenia. “My plan now is to make therapies that help patients,” Pașca told Stanford magazine.
But wait, there’s more.
Defensive wheelchair rugby standout Jeff Butler, MBA ’23, took home his third Paralympic medal last week when the U.S. team nabbed silver. Meanwhile, the Paralympic tandem cycling duo of Skyler Espinoza, MA ’18, and Hannah Chadwick described their teamwork to the New York Times.
As Tony Tong, ’94, prepared to send his son off to Stanford, he felt “an overwhelming urge to punch him in the face with advice.” He spent months imparting every piece of wisdom he could muster. Yet when he finally dropped him off, Tong says in an essay, it was his son who offered wise words.
“Kangaroo care,” or skin-to-skin cuddling, can be tricky to achieve with premature infants—who are often connected to tubes and wires—but a new Stanford study shows that even small increases in skin-to-skin time were linked to measurable differences in babies’ neurologic development in their first year.
If you’re 44 or 60 (or have a mom who is) . . . pickleball isn’t just the low-impact love child of tennis and table tennis. Last year, 19,000 U.S. players racked up pickleball-associated injuries and medical bills. Professor of orthopaedic surgery Michael Fredericson has tips for avoiding injury. Cutthroat athletes take time to stretch, folks.
Gel isn’t just for Dr. Scholl’s inserts and Guy Fieri’s hair. Stanford Engineering researchers have developed a sprayable, longer-lasting, environmentally safe hydrogel that has the potential to shield homes and other structures from wildfires.
When Stanford Medicine magazine asked scientists on the Farm to pick their favorite cell (the most Stanford question ever), a list of alter egos emerged: the magician; the foot soldier; the . . . sperm with a skirt?
In a previous Loop, we neglected to name three of Stanford’s 2024 Olympic gold medalists. Soccer players Tierna Davidson, ’20, Naomi Girma, ’22, and Sophia Smith, ’22, won gold with Team USA.
Note: The Loop sometimes links to articles outside of Stanford that may require a subscription to view.
