Research Spotlights A look at what’s going on at Stanford

Science Meets Spirituality

Dalai Lama Discusses Human Experience with Neuroscientists

S eeking insight into the factors governing human emotion and

perception, neuroscientists, Buddhist scholars, and the Dalai Lama
himself, Tenzin Gyatso, met for a panel discussion in November 2005.
addictions, can have more potent consequences. In contrast to the
neurological explanation, Buddhists only define detrimental desires,
and not beneficial ones, as cravings. The neuroscientists and Buddhists
Taking place on the second day agreed that, in order to reach a more complete understanding of human
of the Dalai Lama’s two-day perception, scientific and religious authorities must ensure that they
visit to Stanford, the event was use the same terms to define the same concepts.
co-sponsored by the Stanford Another point discussed was the extent to which one can voluntarily
Office for Religious Life, the generate certain emotions. Buddhists believe that meditation can
Aurora Forum, the Center heighten one’s empathy and benevolence. This assertion has been
for Buddhist Studies, and the supported by several different experiments in which scientists have
Stanford Medical School. studied brain activity during meditation. However, many scientists
A central topic during the remain unconvinced that these results could be extended to combat
dialogue was the definition conditions like depression; instead, they advocate more clinical
and origin of cravings. To approaches, such as medication.
neuroscientists, a craving can Buddhist scholar Alan Wallace and the Dalai Lama expressed strong
be either harmful or beneficial. support for scholarly exploration of meditation. Additionally, despite
For example, a craving for http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/05 a petition of 500 neuroscientists who claimed that discussing medicine
pizza during an all-night study /images/20010523-3.jpg in a spiritual context might undermine objectivity, Stanford Medical
session might lead you to eat School dean Dr. Phillip Pizzo noted that the discussion’s purpose was
^ The Dalai Lama gestures greeting,
more than you actually need. prayer, and adoration. to discuss “boundaries [of human experience] and where they overlap
On the other hand, a craving and connect.” The panel affirmed that neither science nor spirituality
for a four-hour nap following that all-nighter may give your body the alone encompasses the complexities of the human mind, but that each
sleep it needs very much. Other cravings, such as drug and alcohol approach can richly inform the other. -Amanda Marshall

Thinking Away Pain

The catchphrase “think positively” may very well be more
than hackneyed advice for improving one’s attitude. For Dr. Sean
Mackey, assistant professor of anesthesia at the Stanford University
Medical Center, it may also be a strategy to control the intensity and
unpleasantness of pain. Mackey, who coauthored a study published
last December in the online Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences, has found evidence that a new technique called neuroimaging
therapy can help people who experience pain control their discomfort.
Neuroimaging therapy utilizes real-time functional magnetic
resonance imaging (rtf-MRI) to gather a visual timeline of the activity
of a patient’s rostral anterior cingulated cortex, the portion of the
brain which processes pain. The patient is then instructed to watch
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/imagegallery/press/3dmri.gif
these images and employ a mental tactic, such as replacing painful
thoughts with pleasant ones. The technique may prove to be a viable
^ A real-time functional magnetic resonance imaging (rtf-MRI) scan of the brain.
alternative to drugs and surgery. But whether it becomes popular or
not, neuroimaging therapy shows that there may be new solutions to
the age-old problem of pain. -Jennifer Ladd

6 Stanford Scientific
 Research Spotlights

http:// www.lbl.gov/.../2005/Jun-15/Q-dot_colors.jpg

Quantum Dot Imaging

http://www.qdots.com/live/images/BPAE_giantin_actin.jpg

^ Three colors from the quantum dot spectrum in action. ^ Six colors of the spectrum that have been engineered.

T he last fifty years have seen leaps and bounds being made in used to provide high-resolution images of molecules within cells or
the field of biological imaging. From the fine-tuning of X-ray on cell surfaces.
technology to the advent of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and Recent research has shown that the qdots can be targeted to specific
positron emission tomography (PET), we now have the ability to cells simply by tagging them with DNA or antibodies. If each tag is
obtain information essential for the prompt and pertinent treatment coupled with its own fluorescent color code, then a single injection of
of disease. Well now it appears that qdots can be used to gain a multitude of

http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/Shuttle/USML2/gifs/cr_flight.gif
medical imaging technology may information about a cancer; for example,
make another great leap in the near the different cell-surface markers it has or
future, a quantum leap to be precise. which proteins its cells express. Currently,
In a 2005 review in Science doctors must perform a battery of blood
magazine, Dr. Sanjiv Sam Gambhir, tests, scans and biopsies to obtain this
the head of the Stanford School detailed level of knowledge about a
of Medicine’s molecular imaging particular cancer. All of these techniques
program, along with researchers inevitably place undue strain on patients.
at UCLA, discussed the exciting The future holds exciting possibilities
potential of new-generation quantum for this technology. The qdots may one
dots or qdots, nano-scale crystals day be used to diagnose and treat cancers
which can be injected directly into the in two-steps: first, imaging and detailed
body. The qdot crystals are engineered molecular analysis of the cancer, and then
from semi-conductor materials and ^ Zeolite crystals used to engineer quantum dots. targeted therapies, delivered by the qdots
are able to fluoresce when stimulated themselves. Another possible use is real-
with light. With their ability to fluoresce in several different colors, time imaging for surgeries where doctors could label all tumor cells in
qdots offer a unique opportunity to view many different cell processes a body, and make them fluoresce so that they can be more efficiently
or cell types at once. The crystals are in fact so small that they can be removed. -Erandi De Silva

Nano... satellites?
Dr. Robert Twiggs, head of the Stanford Space Systems Development
Lab (SSDL), has invented an incredibly small yet powerful satellite
technology called CubeSat. A CubeSat is a nanosatellite, a small device
that can be sent into space as a secondary payload on any large rocket.
While many current satellites cost millions of dollars to maintain, the
price of CubeSat missions hover just above tens of thousands of dollars.
QuakeSat1, a CubeSat used to detect warning signs of earthquakes, has
pre-deployment dimensions no larger than those of a shoebox and tips
the scale at a few kilograms. In glaring contrast, the Hubble Space
Telescope is almost 45 feet long and weighs over 12 tons.
The CubeSat design program offers students at several American
universities firsthand experience in building satellites while providing an
environment where trial-and-error is part of the bumpy path to success.
All functional CubeSat projects are sent to California Polytechnic State
http://ipac.jpl.nasa.gov/media_images/screen_jpg/sirtf/SIRTF_ir_3asmall.jpg
University San Luis Obispo, and are then deployed on decommissioned
Russian rockets. These tiny machines may one day decipher many of the
^ Infrared view of Spitzer looking towards the Rho Ophiuchi nebula complex.
mysterious workings of the larger world. -Jennifer Ladd

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