Stanford University news stories on Newser

Harvard Loses Top Spot in College Rankings

Kevin Spak — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 12:23:28 CDT

Hang your head in shame, Crimson alums: After eight years on top, Harvard sank to a lowly second on the Times Higher Education ’s list of the world’s top 400 universities. Harvard was displaced by the California Institute of Technology (aka Caltech), thanks to its “consistent results across the indicators...

20K Patients’ Health Data Exposed Online

Matt Cantor — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 12:38:05 CDT

Confidential medical records of some 20,000 patients at a top hospital were posted online where anyone could see them—for almost a year. Somehow, data for Stanford Hospital’s ER patients moved from the hands of a billing contractor onto a Web site devoted to schoolwork help. The information was...

Virtual Stanford Class Goes Viral, 58K Sign Up

Evann Gastaldo — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 10:05:50 CDT

Last year, Stanford's Introduction to Artificial Intelligence class drew 177 students. This year, a free online course on artificial intelligence will boast 58,000—almost four times the size of the prestigious university's entire student body. The course is one of three being offered by Stanford's computer science department in...

The Douchiest Colleges of 2011

Sarah Whitmire — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 15:22:05 CDT

For those who felt like you went to school with a high quota of douchebags, here's your confirmation: The Rogers & Littleton Guide to America’s Douchiest Colleges is the new authoritative guide to institutions of high education where a sheepskin amounts to a certificate in lifelong douchebaggery. The top five,...

Stanford Drops Secret 'Jock Class' List

Mary Papenfuss — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 06:30:00 CST

Stanford University has dropped a secret list of classes widely regarded as easy and aimed at helping star athletes get through school. Classes on the list, which has existed for 11 years, were "always chock-full of athletes and very easy A's," a soccer player tells the San Francisco Chronicle . University...

Ranking America's Most Stressful Schools

Kevin Spak — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 13:41:00 CDT

This month, lots of high school overachievers will be anxiously awaiting acceptances from the halls of Ivy—even as concerns mount that these schools might not be great for your mental health. Cornell University, for example, had two suicides in as many days last month. So the Daily Beast decided...

1 in 3 Fear Being 'One of Those iPhone People'

Caroline Miller — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 11:19:00 CST

It's “dangerously alluring,” but the iPhone makes most Stanford students so giddy that they don’t really care. About a third of respondents in a recent study said they worried about becoming addicted to the gadget. But the torrid affair is far from over—roughly three-quarters said that it makes them...

Scientists Create Brain Cells From Skin Cells

NxBigmouthery — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 08:46:09 CST

In what's being heralded as "a huge leap forward," Stanford researchers have successfully turned mouse skin cells into fully functioning brain cells. The process, which took less than a week, upends thinking on how cells develop specialized roles, and could help minimize the controversial role of embryonic stem cells in...

Chinese Cyberspying Targets Stanford Student's Gmail

Harry Kimball — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 11:46:08 CST

A Tibetan human rights proponent and Stanford undergrad is the first activist identified as a target of the recent Chinese cyberattack on Google. “That the long arm of Chinese security could reach all the way to my home here at Stanford is something I never would have suspected,” Tenzin Seldon...