Research Roundup: premature babies, lead poisoning, ocean conservation

The Science & Technology desk gathers a weekly digest of impactful and interesting research publications and developments at Stanford. Read the latest in this week’s Research Roundup.

Using AI to predict the health of premature babies

Stanford Medicine researchers have developed an artificial intelligence (AI) tool that can predict how premature babies will fare using blood samples collected shortly after birth. 

The study, which used the newly developed tool, shows that prematurity is not a single medical condition but a collection of distinct biological trajectories helping explain why babies born at the same gestational age can experience very different outcomes. 

“We can’t just throw everybody born early into one ‘premature’ category,” said co-author Nima Aghaeepour, a professor of anesthesiology, perioperative and pain medicine, pediatrics and biomedical data science.

By analyzing blood-spot data from more than 13,000 preterm infants in California, the AI identified metabolic patterns that signal a baby’s risk of developing major complications affecting the brain, lungs, eyes or digestive system. The team created a metabolic health index that, combined with basic clinical information, predicted complications with more than 85% accuracy.

The findings move neonatal care toward more personalized medicine, allowing doctors to anticipate risks, tailor interventions and better guide families through critical early decisions.

Taking on global lead poisoning through ‘Project Unleaded’

Stanford’s Project Unleaded, an initiative that began in 2020 and is expanding thanks to recent funding gifts, is confronting the global lead poisoning crisis by identifying and eliminating major sources of exposure that continue to harm millions of people worldwide. 

Professor of medicine Stephen Luby, the project’s principal investigator, said that despite what many may assume, lead contamination continues to remain a topical issue. “Americans generally think we’ve solved the lead problem,” he said. “This is fundamentally not true.”

One of the initiative’s most impactful efforts took place in Bangladesh, where researchers traced dangerously high blood lead levels to contaminated turmeric. Processors were adding an industrial pigment containing lead to enhance the spice’s color, unaware of the health consequences. 

After researchers worked with the government to strengthen testing and regulation, lead levels in turmeric fell by more than 90% within a year and were later eliminated entirely, saving an estimated 20,000 lives.

The team now investigates other major exposure sources, including informal battery recycling industries, while expanding affordable detection tools and partnerships to drive lasting, global reductions in lead contamination. 

Shaping new model for marine conservation

Stanford researchers are helping shape one of the world’s largest marine protected areas by creating a model that blends environmental conservation with cultural justice and sustainable resettlement. 

The Chagos Archipelago Marine Protected Area, planned by the government of Mauritius, will protect a vast region of the Indian Ocean while supporting the return and livelihoods of the Chagossian people, who were forcibly removed from the region decades ago.

Stanford researchers collaborated with policymakers and displaced community members to develop a framework that integrates traditional knowledge, climate science and ocean governance.  

“We can really use science in an effective way to bring Chagossian knowledge and regional cultural heritage to bear on ocean governance,” said Krish Seetah, project researcher and associate professor of environmental social sciences and oceans in the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability. 

The new plan divides the protected area into zones that include strict conservation areas, spaces for community resettlement and regions allowing limited fishing for subsistence and ceremonial use. The project represents a unique approach to marine protection that prioritizes both ecological sustainability and cultural restoration.

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