News Digest News Digest (May 04, 2005)

Stanford makes strides in diabetes cure

Stanford University researchers may have gotten one step closer to finding a cure for diabetes, according to university spokeswoman Amy Adams.

Researchers were able to transform stem cells from the brain into insulin-producing cells that can mimic those cells missing from people suffering from diabetes. Adams said although the procedure is not yet ready for humans, it could potentially provide a cure for the disease.

In the past, Stanford biology professors have been able to manipulate embryonic stem cells in mice to transform into insulin-producing cells.

Once the new cells are transplanted into the mice they effectively replace lost insulin-producing cells in the pancreas, called islet cells.

However embryonic stem cells are difficult to work with and can't be transplanted into humans.

Adams said researchers discovered that fetal neural stem cells would avert the transplant problem and even could transform into other types of cells, something that was initially thought to be impossible in humans.

Working with the cells in a lab dish, researchers added the right sequence of chemicals to turn the stem cells into insulin producing cells.

The cells would respond to increases in sugar by producing insulin, thus possibly averting the need for humans to inject themselves with insulin.

--Bay City News Service

Slight gain for Stanford women faculty

The number of Stanford University women faculty members increased slightly in the last year, from 394 to 410 percent, as of last Sept. 1. The modest gain was called "somewhat disappointing" by Vice Provost for Faculty Development Pat Jones in an interview with the Stanford Daily.

For the last decade or so, Stanford been has tracking its gains and losses in women and minority faculty members. The annual report was released this week.

Of the university's 1,785 faculty members, 23 percent are women, up 0.4 percent from 2003.

The number of Hispanic faculty increased from 49 to 61, the number of Asian faculty increased significantly from 143 to 198, and the number of black faculty held steady at 45 -- all in the last year. The number of Native Americans held steady at three.

The disparity between men and women tenured faculty is greater than among all faculty. Among Stanford's 952 tenured faculty, 165, or 17.3 percent, are women. That was an increase in one faculty member from 2003.
Creek flood control study green-lighted

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has approved moving ahead on a feasibility study for flood reduction of San Francisquito Creek. The approval is key to later obtaining federal funding for the study.

"Now the hard work begins," said Janice Lera-Chan, project manager for the Corps San Francisco District. "The Corps and the (San Francisquito Creek Joint Powers Authority) will evaluate the flooding and habitat problems that plague the creek and evaluate alternatives. Our goal is to develop a cost-effective, eco-friendly solution that everyone can support."

Members of the creek JPA include Palo Alto, Menlo Park, East Palo Alto, the Santa Clara Valley Water District and the San Mateo County Flood Control District.

Stanford launches international initiative

Stanford University President John Hennessy Thursday announced the launch of the International Initiative, supported by $94 million in gifts. The effort is aimed at attempting to solve global problems.

"The world's problems -- international peace and security, global health, poverty --present themselves in the form of challenges that defy traditional rubrics," Hennessy said. "By unifying and strengthening our efforts in the area of international affairs, we affirm that Stanford has a special role to play in addressing these issues and providing real-world solutions."

The gifts Stanford has received to support the effort will fund up to 10 interdisciplinary professorships and endow the directorship of the Stanford Institute for International Studies. The gifts will also create a $3 million intellectual capital-venture fund to support research and teaching in international studies at Stanford.

The lead gift was $50 million from Stanford alumni Bradford Freeman and Ronald Spogli, partners in the Los Angeles-based investment firm Freeman Spogli & Co.

E-mail a friend a link to this story.