news-features

Experts question FDA’s approval of new opioid

By ISAAC CHEN | November 14, 2018

The opioid epidemic has become one of the greatest concerns in the U.S., with an estimated 29,000 deaths from overdose of fentanyl and other synthetic drugs last year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. On average, 115 Americans pass away due to an opioid overdose every day. 

Bitcoin’s electric demand may fuel global warming

By CINDY JIANG | November 15, 2018

Bitcoin is a form of cryptocurrency that shot to fame in 2017 due to its surge in price from below $1,000 to nearly $20,000 on the CoinDesk Bitcoin Price Index (BPI). The spike was good news for those involved with the cryptocurrency and left those who weren’t involved curious. As of today, one bitcoin equals 5,586.01 United States dollars. 

PUBLIC DOMAIN Maintaining the Bitcoin platform requires a lot of electricity input.

The gradual evolution of today’s contact lenses

By ALLISON CHEN | November 14, 2018

Contact lenses are the sort of everyday object that have become so commonplace to us, it is hard to appreciate just how strange they are in concept. How exactly did we arrive at putting small pieces of glass or plastic on our eyes to improve vision?

COURTESY OF ROLLIN HU Though voter turnout in midterm elections is typically low, this year, a record 113 million voters cast their ballots, compared to 83 million in 2014.

Hopkins reflects on the midterm election results

By DIVA PAREKH and RUDY MALCOM | November 8, 2018

Two years into Donald Trump’s presidency, a reported record 113 million voters turned out for the 2018 midterm elections on Tuesday. Nationally, Republicans maintained a majority in the Senate, while Democrats took control of the House of Representatives. 

Letter to the Editor 11/8/18

By THEODORE KUPFER | November 8, 2018

The News-Letter editorial, “How can we fight the rising tide of hate in our country?” includes many useful thoughts, especially on the evils of anti-Semitism and its incubation on social-media platforms such as Gab. But it also relies on a misreading of the First Amendment’s fighting-words exemption to argue that “hate speech” is constitutionally “unprotected.” 

Wrap up: the latest in technology...

By WILLIAM XIE | November 8, 2018

The new iPad Pro is the best tablet on the market  Apple recently released the new Macbook Air and iPad Pro in Brooklyn, N.Y. The highly anticipated new iPad Pro model did not disappoint. It is all around better than its predecessor with huge upgrades. Weighing in at one pound for the 11 inch and 1.4 pounds for the 12.9-inch model, Apple’s new iPad Pro has gotten lighter. 

adam jones/ CC BY-SA 2.0 Western beauty standards have influenced aesthetics in other cultures.

Unpacking the influence of Western beauty standards

By CARMEN SCHAFER | November 8, 2018

Growing up, my family visited China twice a year. If you have ever turned on a television in China, then you’re most likely familiar with the skin care commercials: Glowing women with pearl-like complexions, basking in the whitening magic of Olay.

Post-breakup, relearning the love language of food

By FRANK GUERRIERO | November 8, 2018

It’s strange to date seriously in college. To emotionally commit yourself to another person — or just to spend so much of your time with them — seems risky, almost inadvisable in such a formative moment in your life. It follows, then, that it’s even stranger to break up.

JEFFREYW/CC BY 2.0 Guerriero explores how food became a language of self-love after a breakup.
When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it. (59).png

Finding common ground beyond microaggressions

By SANIYA RAMCHANDANI | November 12, 2018

It is said that familiarity breeds contempt. Eating, studying, hanging out and maybe even sleeping with the same people makes you pretty familiar, I would say. And regardless of the fact that you may only have known them for a couple of months, constant close quarters may mean that they have granted themselves explicit permission to comment and advise you — without being prompted — on matters ranging from the trivial to the all-too personal.

Book talk highlights hate crimes in U.S.

By TED TAK | November 8, 2018

Arjun Singh Sethi, an adjunct professor of law at Georgetown University and Vanderbilt University, read from his new book, American Hate: Survivors Speak Out, at Red Emma’s Bookstore on Wednesday. 

Arjun Singh Sethi explored how U.S. politics have increased hateful speech.

Mathematicians shed new light on spectral gaps

By TARA ABRISHAMI | November 8, 2018

In physics, the spectral gap is the difference in energy between a material in the ground state and in the first excited energy state. A material is known as “gapped” if the difference in energy can be bounded below — in other words, if the difference is large — and “gapless” if the difference is small. 

Rocky Acosta / CC BY 3.0  A common math problem is whether a Turing machine will complete a program in a finite time.
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Five women who changed the field of medicine

By LAUREN PADILLA | November 8, 2018

Women physicians encounter discrimination from both inside and outside the medical field. A Medscape survey of over 60,000 doctors revealed that 2017 salaries for women physicians were nearly 30 percent less than those of their male colleagues. In some areas of the country, such as Charleston, S.C., the annual pay disparity approached closer to 40 percent. The percentage of women deans of American medical schools remains under 20 percent.

Noninvasive biomarker could identify autism

By ISAAC CHEN | November 8, 2018

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by restricted interests and impaired social interaction and communication. Currently the diagnosis of ASD primarily relies on behavioral assessments, including the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders V (DSM-V) and the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS). 

Tareq Salahuddin / CC by 2.0 Annually, 2,000 donor kidneys are thrown away when many are still viable.

Changing guidelines would increase viable kidneys

By LAURA WADSTEN | November 8, 2018

At this moment in time, there are 95,307 people on the waiting list for a kidney transplant in the United States.  This number is especially harrowing when considered in combination with the fact that in 2017, a meager 15,218 kidneys were donated in the U.S. According to the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network, an average of 3,000 new patients are added to the kidney waiting list each month, and 4,761 patients died while waiting for a kidney transplant in 2014 alone. 

How does the U.S. help young voters?

By ALEX WALINSKAS | November 7, 2018

In the weeks leading up to the 2018 midterm elections, Hopkins has been surprisingly full of “get out the vote” energy. But do the courts and legislatures care as much about our vote as we do? In the midst of the midterms, I look at how America’s voter policies support — or suppress — the youngest voters.

FILE PHOTO Before the midterms, Hopkins rolled out many voter engagement initiatives.
AlejandroLinaresGarcia/ CC BY-SA 4.0 When he was young, Farrar saw appeal in a career as a dump truck man.

Learning to redefine success on my own terms

By SAMUEL FARRAR | November 7, 2018

When I was young, I wanted to be a “dump truck man.” Maybe my five-year-old brain wasn’t taking the negatives of the job into account, but the appeals are obvious. First, I wouldn’t have to go to school anymore, that would be pretty sick. Adults always say they want to travel more, and on the truck I’d be traveling all day long! And do you realize how fun it would be to ride on the back of the truck? It’s like you’re getting paid to ride a roller coaster; a very stinky roller coaster. I went to the dump with my dad sometimes, so I had all the qualifications. I was ready to start immediately.