A fossil of three babies discovered in central China has shed light on the origins of live birth. Against the prevailing option, this fossil suggests that live birth may have evolved on land rather than in the sea. A team lead by Dr. Ryosuke Motani from the University of California, Davis, recently published this finding in a Plos One paper.
Earwax. We get rid of it, like many of the wastes manufactured by our bodies, without a second thought. However, what seems to be simply a smelly secretion actually contains important identifying information about the individual from which it was produced.
Air pollution antagonizes the body. It can lead to asthma and in extreme cases, lung cancer. While we typically associate its detrimental effects with the respiratory system, air pollution may have even more grave consequences. A recent study, published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, suggests that unclean air may be just as toxic as cigarette smoke for pregnant women.
It’s not very often that a standard medical procedure is called into question. However, due to information recently uncovered by researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Blaustein Pain Treatment Center, this rarity just happened. Pain Medicine.
Consider the following medical scenario:
We are all familiar with the concept of the Freshman Fifteen. Thanks to academic stressors and buffet-style cafeterias, the first year of college is nearly synonymous with weight gain. Even at Hopkins, most students put on a few pounds in the first couple of months.
Darwin’s demon is alive, and her name is Wisdom. This age-defying Laysan albatross, the world’s oldest known bird, just gave birth to a new chick. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Wisdom was seen with her new chick on February 4 at the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge.
Internet trolls: unanimously hated by other web users and virtually unblockable by website administrators. These attention-seeking creatures are a growing problem for websites with commenting platforms. They post inflammatory remarks, for the sole intention of infuriating other users. While seasoned web users have learned to simply ignore these trolls, novice users are victimized by their tactics daily. Who are these mysterious creatures? What are they like in real life, unguarded by the mask of online anonymity?
In genetics, X marks the spot. The X chromosome, one of the two sex-determining chromosomes in humans, has become increasingly popular for scientists studying chromosome inactivation, the mosaic expression of genes in females and the genetics of sex differences. Researchers at the University of Helsinki, joining this wave of X chromosome investigations, have founding a correlation between the X chromosome and human height. This correlation may explain the height difference in females and males.
The Sochi Winter Olympics has finally begun to snowball as Norway takes the lead in gold medals after their outstanding performance in the 15 kilometer biathlon. The excitement pulled the viewers’ attention off of something that concerned many before the events started: security.
The once shy and mellow marijuana plant has been thrust center stage of America’s political arena in the ever-polarizing legalization debate. Everyone and their grandmother is in possession of an opinion; however, the cold hard scientific research with regards to marijuana’s health implications is lacking in comparison to other commonly known recreational drugs. Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai are looking to change that reality.
Go ahead and drink a coffee after your 9 a.m. class. That cup of caffeinated goodness may help you transfer the lecture material from your scrawled notes to your long-term memory.
Could pumping 2,000 oranges’ worth of vitamin C into patients’ bloodstreams be the key to fighting cancer?
Imagine a rapidly spreading disease that kills millions of people with no cure in sight. Families are resigned and yet panicked, alive and yet dying inside.
The cochlear implant is a truly miraculous piece of technology. While drugs can alleviate various medical conditions, the cochlear implant can restore a fully missing sense to the deaf. Such devices for sight may be some time away, but the cochlear implant is an incredible device that has brought new perspective to the hard of hearing.
When disaster strikes, we expect hospitals and first-response units to react quickly and efficiently. This is a pretty lofty expectation. How do hospitals prepare for emergencies, knowing that lives will be on the line? The answer may soon be, “With the help of Johns Hopkins!”
Any amateur baker is familiar with the importance of yeast. This microorganism, which eats sugars and produces carbon dioxide as a byproduct in the process, leavens bread. However, the power of yeast extends far beyond bread-making. Researchers under Hal Alper, an assistant professor in Cockrell School of Engineering of The University of Texas at Austin, have managed to create a new yeast strain that can create enormous amounts of lipid from simple sugars. These lipids can be converted into fuel, potentially alleviating the approaching oil shortage.
When the inhabitants of Tatooine from Star Wars and Gallifrey from Doctor Who look up at the sky, they have a very different view from what we’re used to — they see two suns.
Embryonic stem cells. My mom told me not to treat them like playthings and Bush told me not to use them in my research. Scientifically, embryonic stem cells are the holy grail of developmental biology. These cells are pluripotent, meaning they can adopt any cell type present in an adult organism. This unrestricted potential allows scientists to test developmental processes in ways completely impossible with differentiated cells. Moreover, embryonic stem cells have important medical implications, as they can be used in regenerative medicine.
As I do on most mornings, I lay in my bed with my iPhone locked into portrait view so I can go aimlessly through all my social media apps and maybe even read some light-hearted news without lifting my head.
