Published by the Students of Johns Hopkins since 1896
September 28, 2026 September 28, 2026 | Published by the Students of Johns Hopkins since 1896

Science & Technology

STEVEN DEPOLO/CC BY 2.0 Cities with PFAS-contaminated water supplies may become entirely reliant on bottled water.

An overview of PFAS and how they impact our environmental health

By SHIRLEY MARINO LEE and SRI POLKAMPALLY | May 2, 2021

According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), most people have been exposed to Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The agency reports that human epidemiological studies have found increased cholesterol levels in exposed populations and instances of low infant birth weights, immunodeficiencies, cancer for Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) and thyroid hormone disruption for Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS).

COURTESY OF JOTHAM SUEZ Jotham Suez moved to Baltimore in January to start a new laboratory at the Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Suez lab explores the human microbiome at Bloomberg

By ELLIE ROSE MATTOON | April 30, 2021

When poet Walt Whitman wrote the famous line “I contain multitudes,” trillions of microbes were probably not what he had in mind. The analogy, however, is fitting for scientists studying the microscopic ecosystem that exists both on human skin and in the gut, referred to as the microbiome. Like fingerprints, every human has a slightly different microbial society taking root inside of them. 

LAKSHAY SOOD/GRAPHICS EDITOR Researchers found that nurses with seasonal allergies benefited the most from wearing masks.

Masks may ward off seasonal allergies

By MEGHANA RAVI | April 24, 2021

A new study could provide relief for seasonal allergy sufferers. The paper, published in The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, suggests that wearing masks may relieve some symptoms of allergic rhinitis, also known as hay fever.

COURTESY OF BAYLEIGH MURRAY Researchers identified cell moving mechanisms, including what occurs when two cells are about to collide. 

New techniques help explain how cells interact in 3D environments

By ELLIE ROSE MATTOON | April 19, 2021

Whether it’s a lab technician staring at a petri dish from above or a Hopkins student taking notes from a PowerPoint, biology is often only studied from a two-dimensional perspective. A team of scientists at Hopkins and Virginia Tech has begun to shift this perspective with a recent paper exploring cell motility, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

FILE PHOTO  Latrobe Hall is home to the Department of Mechanical Engineering.

Engineer things that move with the MechE major

By MUHAMMAD ABIDI | April 17, 2021

“The satisfaction of seeing something on paper and in my head become a reality, and especially when it does something — for example if it moves, or makes sounds... even if it’s something small... that is what I find most rewarding about mechanical engineering.”

MOHAMED HASSAN/PIXABAY Kasamoto reflects on her experiences as a freshman and offers advice for overcoming impostor syndrome. 

Tips for overcoming impostor syndrome

By JESSICA KASAMOTO | April 16, 2021

With the second round of midterms in swing, I hope everyone on campus is officially somewhat oriented with the semi-in-person college experience and has made at least made one midnight trip to UniMini for chicken nuggets and mozzarella sticks. 

The Johns Hopkins Capacity Command Center rises to the challenge

By YANNI GU | April 16, 2021

The Johns Hopkins Capacity Command Center, which was originally launched in 2016, is the first of its kind within the health-care system. The command center’s visual dashboards allow for workers to analyze real-time information, such as occupancies, operating room schedules and emergency department capacitance across the entire hospital. Real-time analytics process data as soon as it comes into the database, helping users make decisions without delay.

NEHA SANGANA/PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR SON Assistant Professor Michelle Patch noted that not everyone can access mass vaccination sites.

Panelists highlight racial inequities in vaccine access and distribution

By MEDHA KALLEM | April 15, 2021

The School of Nursing (SON) held an event titled “COVID Vaccine Equity: Reaching Underserved Communities Locally and Globally” on April 7. The discussion was co-moderated by Angie Chang, manager of the Center for Global Initiatives (CGI), and CGI Director Nancy Reynolds, also co-director of the Collaborating Centre for Nursing Information and Knowledge Management at the World Health Organization (WHO).

LAKSHAY SOOD/LAYOUT EDITOR The team is testing out different messaging styles to see what resonates with people hesitant to be vaccinated. 

Only half of American adults report they will be vaccinated ASAP, study finds

By MEGHANA RAVI | April 11, 2021

According to a study published in Vaccine at the end of March, only half of adults in the U.S. claim they will accept the COVID-19 vaccine as soon as possible. Since the herd immunity threshold for COVID-19 requires that around 90% of adults be vaccinated or immunized through infection, public health experts still must convince a large segment of the population of the vaccines’ effectiveness. 

ROSIE JANG/CARTOON EDITOR Researchers found that from March to June 2020, Republican-led states had lower COVID-19 incidence rates than Democrat-led states. But that trend flipped from June to December 2020.

Researchers calculate association between governors' political ideology and COVID-19 incidence

By TANVI NARVEKAR | April 11, 2021

If you look at a graphic that maps the geographic distribution of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. you will immediately see that the burden of the pandemic differs across state lines. A team of researchers from Hopkins and the Medical University of South Carolina recently investigated these interstate discrepancies and published their findings in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 

COURTESY OF JOHN D’CRUZ Unlike other models which calculate geothermal flux, the model developed by Harihar Rajaram and other researchers accounts for topography.

Model can help improve predictions of melting rate of ice sheets

By RADLEY FAULKNOR | April 11, 2021

The ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica comprise more than 90% of Earth’s freshwater ice. When it comes to glaciology, global warming is often touted as the most important issue. But according to some scientists, there is another issue that is just as important: geothermal heat flux (GHF). 

COURTESY OF TRISHA PARAYIL The archive consists of documents which were already publicly accessible, as well as some which previously required payments to view. 

Researchers create digital repository of documents pertaining to the opioid epidemic

By WILLIAM BLAIR | April 11, 2021

Experts at Hopkins and the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) recently launched the Opioid Industry Documents Archive. The archive consists of a digital repository of publicly disclosed documents from recent judgments, settlements and ongoing lawsuits regarding the opioid crisis. Within the archive, there are 3,300 documents — about 131,000 pages — contained in six collections.

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