Published by the Students of Johns Hopkins since 1896
October 31, 2024

Science & Technology



PUBLIC DOMAIN
Professor Ayzner aims to mimic light-harvesting organelles found in plants.

Chemist studies plants’ light-capturing abilities

The chemistry of how plants absorb light on a sunny day is more complicated than you may have realized.  Those chemical mechanisms were the topic of Alexander Ayzner’s talk titled “Scrambled Eggs and Ladders: Understanding Formation and Exciton Transport of Aqueous inter-Conjugated Polyelectrolyte Complexes,” for the Ephraim and Wilma Shaw Rosemen Colloquium Series at Hopkins. 


Science journalist shares reporting experiences

Effectively communicating important and complex information to the public is not an easy task. However, students and visiting guests were able to learn firsthand from award-winning science journalist Erik Vance how they can use the craft of writing to disseminate scientific information all over the world.




Students share gap year and med school advice

For those who have decided to take a gap year between their undergraduate education and medical school, the question of what to do during that year can be overwhelming. Beta Beta Beta (TriBeta), a collegiate honor society and academic fraternity for students of the biological sciences, hosted a Research & Medicine Gap-Year Student Panel earlier this month. Four Hopkins alum, who are currently on their gap years, shared their experiences on the panel. 


PUBLIC DOMAIN
The Aedes aeqypti species transmits a variety of diseases including Zika.

Study shows how mosquitoes sense human scent

Although most people in the United States perceive mosquitoes as no more than an annoyance, mosquitoes are, in fact, the world’s deadliest animal. About seven million people are infected by mosquitoes each year, resulting in over one million deaths. 







Environmental activists consider policy solutions to climate change

On Nov. 9, Support Her Election, Hopkins Democrats and the Center for Social Concern hosted a policy symposium featuring a panel on climate change. Moderator Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, member at large of the Maryland chapter of the Sierra Club, was joined by panelists Rosa Hance, vice chair of the Maryland Sierra Club’s executive committee, and Allison Vogt, deputy state director of The Nature Conservancy (TNC). 


Hopkins Dining manages and minimizes food waste

Food waste has maintained visibility as an issue across the U.S., with over 35 million tons generated per year, and up to 40 percent of food being discarded. Indirectly, food waste also results in the wasting of resources used to generate and transport food, not to mention unnecessary costs to families who buy food that will never be eaten. It indicates a lack of efficiency in a country where almost one in nine households is still food insecure.


COURTESY OF THE INSTITUTE FOR NANOBIOTECHNOLOGY
Christopher Domalewski, who won Fan Favorite, explains his project to Ahmed Shabana, a postdoctoral fellow. 

INBT hosts symposium for undergrad researchers

The Hopkins Institute for NanoBioTechnology (INBT) brings together the leaders from the diverse fields of medicine, engineering and nanoscience to devise ways to further our society’s knowledge and tools to solve the challenges we face in health care. On Nov. 7 at the INBT Fifth Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium, Hopkins undergraduate students presented posters on the research they conducted. Alanna Farrell, who is part of the INBT Undergraduate Leaders — the student group who helped organize the event — explained that the symposium is one of the ways that the INBT attempts to create a sense of community among student researchers.



Take time to reflect and reset this exam season

With the second round of midterms coming into full swing, I think it’s productive that we stop and do some reflecting on our academic lives. No negative energy here — I know this is Hopkins and this may be difficult for us — but no staunch criticisms, no trash talking our snakey classmates, no self-loathing, no jokes (jokes?) about dropping out of school and joining the circus becoming a traveling ukulele player — just personal reflection.




PUBLIC DOMAIN  
New materials are required for advancements within scientific fields.

Professor discusses the use of TriBeam

The Department of Mechanical Engineering hosted its 25th Annual James F. Bell Memorial Lecture in Continuum Mechanics on Oct. 31. This year, professor Tresa M. Pollock from the Materials Department at the University of California, Santa Barbara, delivered a talk regarding the implications of the new TriBeam technology on characterizing alloys, entitled “At the Crossroads of Additive Manufacturing, Analytics and Advanced Materials.”


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