SPIRAL Center uses artificial intelligence to make solar energy cheaper

The newly launched Synthesis and Processing Informed by Rational Algorithmic Learning (SPIRAL) Center, one of 10 projects receiving Department of Energy funding, aims to use artificial intelligence to optimize the creation of materials needed for solar power.

Bloomberg spotlights maternal mortality research in Sub-Saharan Africa

Childbirth is often associated with joy, but for women, pregnancy is often a time of vulnerability. A pregnant woman or newborn dies around the world every eleven seconds. Around 810 preventable deaths occur every day from pregnancy and childbirth, according to World Health Organization data from 2017. In Sub-Saharan Africa, maternal mortality rates are almost 50 times higher for women compared to in high-income countries. In 2020, Sub-Saharan Africa had a maternal mortality rate of 302 deaths per 100,000 live births, a stark contrast to the United States’ rate of 35 deaths per 100,000 live births. 

Urbanization is impacting the biodiversity of birds

Hopkins researchers suggest that increasing natural spaces and tree canopy while reducing impervious surfaces (hard areas that prohibit water dissipation) has significant effects on improving biodiversity, specifically of birds.

Hopkins receives grant for psychedelic research from NIH

Hopkins Medicine has been given a grant by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to study the potential medicinal properties of psychedelics; specifically, the impact of psilocybin on tobacco addiction.

HYPER-Melt develops new technology for ovarian cancer screening

HYPER-Melt, a biotech startup founded by postdoctoral researcher Chrissy O’Keefe, enables physicians to detect ovarian cancer in early stages, improving patients’ survival rates. The device works through detection of tumor-specific DNA methylation.

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.

Who was the plastic bag ban designed for?

If the rise in canvas totes around campus is any indication, the Baltimore City Comprehensive Bag Reduction Act, better known as the plastic bag ban, has been in full swing for over a month now. 

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. 

Hopkins researchers determine new method of determining immunotherapy eligibility

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. 

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. 

Wilmer Eye Institute establishes Sanford and Susan Greenberg Center to End Blindness

According to a Research!America poll conducted in 2016, 88% of respondents perceived healthy vision as crucial to their life and 47% responded that losing their vision would have a serious impact on their day-to-day lives. 

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.

First-year seminar explores the relationship between physics and poetry

It was a consideration of the intersection between the humanities and sciences as Nobel Laureate and Bloomberg Distinguished Professor Adam Riess from the Department of Physics and Astronomy took the stage with former U.K. Poet Laureate Andrew Motion, a professor in The Writing Seminars department. 

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.

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. 

Five Hopkins students named Siebel Scholars

Five Hopkins doctoral students — four Biomedical Engineering students and one Electrical and Computer Engineering student — were named Siebel Scholars in 2022.

Hopkins scientists appointed to National Cancer Advisory Board

Ashani Weeraratna and Dr. Nilofer Azad, both professors and cancer researchers at Hopkins, were appointed to the National Cancer Advisory Board along with five other clinicians and researchers by President Joe Biden on Sept. 15. 

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.