Science & Technology

PUBLIC DOMAIN Sponges are one of the simplest multicellular organisms found on Earth.

Scientists discover traces of world’s oldest sponge

By JAEMIE BENNETT | October 31, 2018

From a cloud of dust came a planet, and on that planet came life. Life leaves its mark on Earth in the form of traditional fossils and trace fossils such as organic material, allowing scientists to study organisms that have been extinct for millions of years. A recent study has found evidence of multicellular life thriving on Earth up to 660 million years ago, 60 million years before what scientists previously believed.

United Nations releases climate change report

By CHRIS REINHARDT | October 25, 2018

The discussions surrounding climate change have been heating up, so to speak. A recent report from United Nations (UN) scientists predicts that current efforts to curb global warming are not enough to prevent climate change from reaching dangerous levels. Only drastic action might be able to prevent a global crisis that may occur as early as 2040. 

PUBLIC DOMAIN The UN predicts that current efforts cannot curb effects of climate change.

CRISPR technology can be used to relocalize DNA

By SHIRLEY MARINO LEE | October 25, 2018

At first sight, a cell’s DNA may look like a jumbled piece of string; however, it is actually highly organized. Through the use of clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR), a gene-editing tool, researchers have discovered that the location of DNA is as vital as the sequence of base pairs in regards to how parts of the genome work.

Genetic ancestry sites may help solve crimes

By LAURA WADSTEN | October 25, 2018

Your Ancestry.com DNA report could help put your delinquent brother behind bars. The ability to utilize data in genetic ancestry databases to determine the identities of criminals is no longer something of science fiction. Investigators recently used DNA from a free online ancestry database to track down the infamous Golden State Killer, the man who killed 12 people and raped 45 women across California between 1976 and 1986.

COURTESY OF CHAZ FIRESTONE Chaz Firestone is the head of the Perception and Mind Lab at Hopkins.

Professor uses Tetris to study human vision

By ELIZABETH IM | October 25, 2018

There is an old saying in Korea: If your body is worth a thousand, your eyes are worth nine hundred.  As this phrase implies, visual perception is a very important part of our daily lives, even more than we may know. Vision dominates how we perceive the world, taking up more parts of our brain than any other human function. Chaz Firestone, an assistant professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Hopkins, studies vision in the Perception and Mind Lab.

PUBLIC DOMAIN Mosasaurs lived in the same time period as tyranosaurus.

Orca whales may hunt the same way mosasaurs did

By JAEMIE BENNETT | October 25, 2018

Until Jurassic World brought the mosasaur back to life on the big screen, the gigantic sea predator had been extinct for 65 million years, since the Cretaceous period. Mosasaurs were once the apex predators of the sea, and a recent study shows they may have hunted like the modern-day apex predator, the orca whale.

Wrap up: the latest in technology...

By WILLIAM XIE | October 25, 2018

Google Maps supports real-time route sharing  The top app for navigation on the App Store, Google Maps recently added live location sharing support for iOS. You can now use your iPhone to reveal live location, estimated time of arrival and route with select contacts. These new functions are also available in third-party apps such as Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and Apple’s native Messages, among others.

Ultra-stripped stars lead to binary neutron stars

By CINDY JIANG | October 25, 2018

Over the past few decades, there has been an explosion of interest in what lies beyond our planet, our solar system and even our galaxy. What we know is that there is a plethora of phenomena that occur outside our limits of exploration for which we have no explanations.

PUBLIC DOMAIN Supernovas are formed from the abrupt collapse of stars in the universe.
  PUBLIC DOMAIN Once only available for children and young adults, Gardasil 9 is now approved for older ages.

HPV vaccine is approved for a greater age range

By WILL EDMONDS | October 18, 2018

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the prevalence of genital HPV for adults aged 18-59 is 45.2 percent, making it the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States. Certain high-risk strains of these viruses are responsible for almost all cases of cervical cancer and 95 percent of anal cancers. 

 PUBLIC DOMAIN Therapeutic cancer vaccine is a commonly used treatment at BKI.

Scientists develop new immunotherapy

By SHIRLEY MARINO LEE | October 18, 2018

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to James P. Allison from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and Tasuku Honjo from Kyoto University for their discovery of the inhibition of negative immune regulation to aid in cancer therapy. 

The experimentation of growing plants on Mars

By JAEMIE BENNETT | October 17, 2018

It feels like this horse has long since been beaten to death — when are we going to finally land humans on Mars? It’s been a lifetime since the idea was first entertained, but so far the closest we’ve gotten is Matt Damon celebrating potatoes in The Martian. 

PUBLIC DOMAIN  The soil composition on Mars is different from what is found on Earth.

Three women who battled environmental issues

By LAUREN PADILLA | October 17, 2018

Throughout history, women have played a critical role in confronting environmental crises. Many had to fight tirelessly to highlight the environmental problems they studied, often enduring gender-based critiques of both their personal and professional lives.

Evolutionary chemists win Nobel Prize

By ELAINE CHIAO | October 18, 2018

Darwin’s theory of evolution has been around for nearly 200 years, but its influence does not appear to subside with time. Not only is the topic of evolution a required biology curriculum in schools across the world, but it has also been cited in numerous research studies and papers. Today, it is still driving the forefront of molecular research. In fact, research conducted on the basis of Darwin’s theory of natural selection has recently led scientists to claim the 2018 Nobel Chemistry Prize.

PUBLIC DOMAIN  Darwin’s theory of natural selection inspires novel chemical research.

Students present projects at Research Symposium

By ISAAC CHEN | October 18, 2018

The annual Undergraduate Research Symposium (URS), sponsored by both the Hopkins Undergraduate Society for Neuroscience (Nu Rho Psi) and the Hopkins Office for Undergraduate Research (HOUR), took place last week on Oct. 8. 

How the germ theory of disease developed

By ALLISON CHEN | October 24, 2018

In the 19th century, polished white rice was increasingly sought after in Japan. Advances in technology allowed grains to be mechanically milled rather than processed by hand, with the outer and inner husks removed and the remainder polished to a glossy white. This rice was easy to store, lasted longer than its predecessors and, to some, probably tasted better. 

When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it. (46).png

Antibody therapy can suppress HIV infections

By CINDY JIANG | October 11, 2018

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus capable of infecting vital organs and CD4 cells, a type of lymphocyte, that comprise the human immune system. Once transmitted, the virus grows and progresses in the absence of antiretroviral therapy (ART), which is a drug therapy that either prevents HIV infection or slows down the spread of the virus. These antiretrovirals include several types of inhibitors.