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September 15, 2025 September 15, 2025 | Published by the Students of Johns Hopkins since 1896

Science & Technology

Metamaterials offer rechargeable solutions

By TONY WU | November 21, 2013

In modern day society, countless wifi, radio and microwave signals are given off from electronic devices such as cell phones. These signals are essential in connecting people to social media and to each other. However, manufacturing signals requires energy that is wasted after they finish transferring their information. In the face of a looming energy crisis, scientists are searching for methods that can convert these signals into usable energy, minimizing the loss of energy when an electronic device is used. A promising method has been discovered recently by a research team led by Steven A. Cummer, an electrical and computer engineering professor at Duke University.

'Comet of the Century' will graze the sun

By SOPHIA GAUTHIER | November 21, 2013

A newcomer named ISON is paying a visit to our inner solar system just in time for this year’s Thanksgiving meal. If your eye has any inclination towards the night sky you might want to set your alarm at an ungodly hour for a chance to glimpse what is to be a spectacular show from outer space.

Recent robots act and look like humans

By TONY WU | November 15, 2013

Robots are the main feature in countless sci-fi movies. They are usually extremely intelligent, resilient and, sometimes, eerily indistinguishable from flesh-and-blood humans. On the contrary, current generations of the robots are crude attempts at imitating those in the movies. Robots in use today are often bulky instruments used for industrial manufacturing. There are some, however, that are being produced which aim to resemble the intelligent machines portrayed on the big screen.

Smokers tend to quit smoking on Monday

By KELLY CARTY | November 15, 2013

Mondays just got better.  According to a study published Oct 28 in JAMA Internal Medicine, smokers are more likely to consider giving up their habit on Monday than any other day of the week.  This conclusion is based on Google search data: the researchers monitored searches on quitting smoking conducted in English, French, Chinese, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish between 2008 and 2012.  Search frequencies were the higher early in the week, Monday being the clear winner. The number of searches on Mondays was 25 percent higher than the combined average of searches on Tuesday through Sunday. The pattern was consistent across all languages.

Two pathways cause rheumatoid arthritis

By ELIZABETH LIU | November 15, 2013

Researchers from Johns Hopkins University and Boston University have identified two biological pathways as the major causes of the initiation of rheumatoid arthritis. The pathways, once activated, lead to a series of events that cause citrullinated proteins to build up, resulting in an autoimmune attack. They hope that this ground-breaking discovery can lead to new ways to stall the progression of and maybe even cure rheumatoid arthritis.

Language gene induces synapse formation

By ELLI TIAN | November 15, 2013

Language is an extremely crucial part of the human culture. It allows us to communicate our feelings, pass on stories, and relay important information to other people. From the moment we are born, we rely on language – both body language and spoken words – to build relationships and develop the skills and knowledge that we need to survive.

Bioethics Corner: Shifts for residents shortened

By SAAD ANJUM | November 15, 2013

In 2011, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) lowered the maximum shift of thirty consecutive hours to sixteen for first year medical residents. Sandra Boodman, writing in Kaiser Health News, highlights several studies that question ACGME’s decision and its consequences.

MERS viral infection found in Saudi Arabian camels

By MICHAEL YAMAKAWA | November 15, 2013

According to Saudi Arabia’s Health Ministry pet camel was found to be infected by MERS — Middle Easter Respiratory Syndrome — a relatively young virus, first reported in 2012. While MERS has not been declared as a pandemic, the WHO has confirmed 149 infections and  63 deaths, as of October 2013. The owner of the camel was also recently hospitalized for MERS, which prompted the investigation of its origin.

Viral structure design used to improve batteries

By CONNIE CHANG | November 15, 2013

Early 2013, scientists at the MIT have developed a new efficient candidate electrode for rechargeable lithium-oxygen batteries, which could potentially change the future of batteries and decrease their overall cost. Li-O2 batteries have been gaining popularity over the years for its high specific energy densities, meaning they can store a relatively large amount of power. During use, the battery undergoes a chemical reaction involving Li+ reacting with oxygen to produce Li2O2 and an electrical current. Then, the batteries can be easily recharged and used again. To recharge, the inverse reaction operates, converting Li2O2 back to Li+ ions. The convenience of Li-O2 batteries has spawned great acceptance of rechargeable batteries all around.

Samsung slowly opens up its plans to investors

By JOEL PALLY | November 15, 2013

As the next wave of court hearings over patent disputes between Apple and Samsung rage on, investors are growing tepid over Samsung stock, which lost one fifth of its value from June to to mid-July. But it’s not Samsung’s viability that has some investors worried; the Korean handset maker currently makes 1 out of every 3 phones sold worldwide. It sells more than twice as many as its next closest competitor, Apple.

Tissue engineers create organs with biological ink

By MARK STUCZYNSKI | November 15, 2013

What if you could print your own bandages? Or skin grafts? How about a new liver? Living in the future is a strange and interesting place, and it grows more interesting by the year. Scientists at Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology are advancing the field of tissue engineering—developing biologically-derived tissue replacements—by automating tissue replication through the use of inkjet printers.

Gene enhancers fine-tune craniofacial development

By SAMHITA ILANGO | November 7, 2013

During the search for our doppelgangers in the world, we may miss the question that eludes many of our minds: What exactly makes each face so distinct? It’s common sense that we have eyes, a nose, and a mouth, but how is it possible that we can recognize between hundreds of our friends solely from these features? Geneticist Axel Visel of Berkeley Lab’s Genomics Division has made discoveries in the field that allow us to better answer this question.

The Arctic hasn’t been this warm in centuries

By TONY WU | November 7, 2013

Over the past decade, the scientific community has agreed that the average global temperature is rising. Some attribute this increase to the production of greenhouse gases; others believe that the rising temperatures are part of a bigger cycle, consisting of warm and cold periods. Nevertheless, there is an evident rise in temperatures. Recently, a research team from the University of Colorado Boulder presented convincing evidence that global warming is a result of greenhouse gas emissions.

Oldest galaxy provides Big Bang insights

By MELISSA STALEY | November 7, 2013

Astronomers from the University of California, Riverside, working in collaboration with the University of Texas at Austin, the National Optical Astronomy Observatories, and other institutions nationwide have discovered what they believe to the be farthest known galaxy to date.

Avoid the ‘roid: juicing muscles lasts a lifetime

By REGINA PALATINI | November 7, 2013

The next time you’re watching that baseball player hit a mammoth home run or that defensive linesman crushing the quarterback, or even that cyclist sprinting up an almost vertical hill well ahead of the competition, don’t only wonder if the athlete is on steroids, but also wonder if he or she has ever been on steroids.  A new paper recently published in The Journal of Physiology written by researchers from the University of Oslo suggests that exposure to performing enhancing drugs (PEDs) may have a memory effect, i.e., the drug may produce its intended effect long after it is initially taken. This is in direct contrast to the current thinking that PEDs lose their effects shortly after administration. These findings can have serious implications with regard to drug testing policies.

441 species discovered in Amazon rainforest

By ELIZABETH LIU | November 7, 2013

The Amazon rainforest is filled with the sounds of chirping, buzzing, and howling. However, there is one sound you might not have expected. Purring. From a monkey. This monkey, the Callicebus caquetensis, is one of more than 440 new species discovered in remote parts of the Amazon rainforest, according to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

Bioethics Corner: Organ transplants

By SAAD ANJUM | November 7, 2013

According to the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network, the agency that oversees the allocation of this scarce resource in the United States, the number of waitlist candidates for organs is 118,634 as of 2:47 PM on the 11th of July, 2013. The top three organs on the list: kidneys, livers, and hearts.

Live 3D microscopy reveals secrets of micro-world

By MELANIE LEVINE | November 7, 2013

Researchers at NIH have been tackling problems in biological microscopy with the development of two new microscopes. The new technologies will allow researchers to see fast moving organisms at higher resolutions and to capture three-dimensional images with minimal light damage to the cells.

Lexus car uses art to show speed, rpm and hybridity

By KELLY CARTY | November 7, 2013

What is art?  Tolstoy said it is a means of union among men.  Fellini thought it was autobiography.  Oscar Wilde defined it as the most intense mode of individualism the world has seen.  Lexus, trying its hand at aesthetic philosophy, thinks art is motion.

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