Published by the Students of Johns Hopkins since 1896
May 1, 2025
May 1, 2025 | Published by the Students of Johns Hopkins since 1896

Science & Technology





COURTESY OF SARAH SZANTON AND DARRELL GASKIN
Szanton (left) and Gaskin (right) are two of 10 Hopkins faculty members elected to the National Academy of Medicine.

Ten Hopkins faculty members elected to the National Academy of Medicine

The National Academy of Medicine (NAM) announced its election of 100 new members on Oct. 18, 10 of whom are Hopkins faculty members. Election to the NAM is considered one of the most significant awards in health and medicine, as it honors individuals for their professional achievements and commitment to service. This class is the NAM’s most diverse to date.



COURTESY OF AMANDA HAYS
Protesters from PETA on Keyser Quad passed out flyers and demonstrated barn owl experiments in costume.

PETA holds fourth protest against Hopkins owl lab, urges state and federal officials to ban lab

Protesters representing People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) gathered on Keyser Quad Nov. 3, the same day that PETA sent letters to state and federal officials in opposition of Shreesh Mysore’s barn owl experiments. This protest marks the thirteenth protest PETA has held at Hopkins, following protests at Commencement in 2020 and 2021 and during Orientation Week this year. 



NASA/CC BY-NC 2.0
As public interest in commercial space travel increases, space travelers’ health has become a greater concern. 

Hopkins study looks at preventing back pain in space travelers

Since Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first space traveler in 1961, space travel has become more and more popular. As more private companies, such as SpaceX and Virgin Galactic, plan on delivering commercial space flights in the future, the health effects of space travel on astronauts and others has become a concern. 


JOHN D'CRUZ/GRAPHICS EDITOR
People’s current trauma can affect the health of their children and grandchildren.

School of Public Health spotlights generational trauma in Indigenous communities

Melissa Walls is an associate professor of American Health at the School of Public Health and director of the Great Lakes Hub for the Center for American Indian Health. Being a direct descendant of Bois Forte and Couchiching First Nation Anishinaabe fueled Walls’ interest in bettering the health of Indigenous communities across North America. 



ROSIE JANG/CARTOONS EDITOR
Student athletes can face both physical and mental challenges due to their lifestyle.

It’s okay not to be okay: athlete perspectives on mental health

Suicide is the second leading cause of death among college students, and 33% of all college students experience significant symptoms of mental illness. Among that group, 30% seek help. Of college athletes with mental health conditions, however, only 10% seek help. Among professional athletes, studies have shown that around 35% of athletes experience a mental health crisis ranging from stress to eating disorders, burnout, depression and anxiety.



EMW/CC BY-SA 3.0
The Lacks family is being represented by Attorney Benjamin Crump, who represented the families of George Floyd and Trayvon Martin. 

Henrietta Lacks' family sues Thermo Fisher

On the 70th anniversary of her death, the family of Henrietta Lacks filed a lawsuit against the biotech company Thermo Fisher Scientific for the commercialization of her now-famous cell line. Lacks’ descendants argue that the company profited from the cell line long after its unethical origins were publicly known.


COURTESY OF JASON FISCHER
Jason Fischer and Sarah Cormiea studied the relationship between the scent of pumpkin spice and memory.

The science behind the appeal of pumpkin spice

Fall bears a distinct signature flavor: pumpkin spice. Pumpkin spice is a mixture of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves and sometimes allspice, ingredients traditionally used to flavor pumpkin pie. Come autumn, its scent permeates coffee shops, cafés and bakeries. The comfort felt by many people while drinking or eating pumpkin-spice-flavored things derives from a complicated network of senses, emotion and memory that make up our perception. 




COURTESY OF LAURA TINGEY
Respecting the Circle of Life is a sexual education program specifically tailored to Native youths.

Hopkins Center for American Indian Health launches sex education program for Native teens

Native American teens have the highest birth rate across all races and ethnicities in the U.S. at 29.2 teen births per 1,000 girls. After a Native American tribe in Arizona approached the Hopkins Center for American Indian Health (CAIH) seeking an intervention program for Native youth, researchers developed a comprehensive sex education program tailored to Native communities. 


NASA/CC BY-SA 2.0
Hurricane Ida pictured as a Category 2 storm from the International Space Station as it orbited 263 miles above the Gulf of Mexico.

Hopkins scientist uses risk modeling to study Hurricane Ida

Hurricane relief has been a pressing topic ever since Hurricane Katrina blew through the city of New Orleans toward the end of August 2005. Since then, the extent of hurricane damage has grown milder, but the effects of Hurricane Ida this past August devastated the country again. 



COURTESY OF WILLIAM BLAIR
National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins discussed the current state of the pandemic, along with booster shots, COVID-19 variants and vaccine hesitancy.

NIH director offers advice amid COVID-19 crisis

As part of Bloomberg Philanthropies’ efforts concerning public health awareness and the fight against the COVID-19 crisis, Dr. Kelly Henning, the current head of Bloomberg Philanthropies Public Health,  interviewed Dr. Francis Collins, the current director of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md. and a global leader on gene discourse and discovery.


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