Published by the Students of Johns Hopkins since 1896
June 28, 2025 June 28, 2025 | Published by the Students of Johns Hopkins since 1896

Science & Technology

John Leszczynski/ CC BY-SA 2.0 Deforestation in cloud forests is causing birds to migrate to higher altitudes.

Birds are losing homes due to deforestation

By CINDY JIANG | September 20, 2018

The cloud forests of Honduras are a sight to behold, as they are characterized by a low-level cloud cover at the canopy level. Also known as a montane rainforest, this region has heavy rainfall and constant condensation in the air, a result of the cooling of moisture-laden air currents deflected upward by the mountains. Moisture is abundant from water vapor, and due to elevation and climate conditions, the ecosystem is fed directly by clouds.

How a military operation led to a cure for malaria

By ALLISON CHEN | September 20, 2018

In the jungles of Vietnam in the 1960s, at the same time as they were fighting one another, American and North Vietnamese forces were both battling drug-resistant malaria. The disease was living up to its storied history of being an absolute pain for military commanders, undeterred by therapies that had lost effectiveness due to widespread and often haphazard use. 

Jack at Wikipedia/ CC BY-SA 2.0 The Gates Foundation recently donated to the Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Gates Foundation donates $20.5M gift to Bloomberg

By JAE CHOI | September 20, 2018

On Sept. 10, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced a $20.5 million gift to the Bloomberg School of Public Health to fund reproductive health services for urban adolescent populations. The grant will specifically go toward funding The Challenge Initiative (TCI), an international program focused on providing sexual and reproductive resources for impoverished urban populations worldwide. 

  Public Domain Once believed uninhabitable, planets covered in water could support life.

Waterworld planets have the potential to host life

By ALYSSA WOODEN | September 13, 2018

For years, astronomers have been exploring the question of whether life exists on planets other than Earth. Advances in technology have allowed for more extensive research into exoplanets, or planets outside our solar system. Water worlds (also known as deep ocean planets) are a specific type of exoplanet that are completely covered by ocean, which can be hundreds of miles deep.

  Courtesy of Emily Burnette 3,000 applicants from over 250 school gather to participant in the annual MedHacks event.

MedHacks hosts annual hackathon “Snow Day”

By ELAINE CHIAO | September 13, 2018

MedHacks, an entirely student-run medical hackathon, kicked off its fourth annual event called “Snow Day” from Sept. 7 to 9 at the School of Medicine. This year the event attracted a total of 3,000 applicants who represented over 250 schools and 100 different majors.

PUBLIC DOMAIN   Blood glutamine levels might reveal patients who are more susceptible to therapy resistance.

Hormone therapy may not effectively treat prostate cancer

By RACHEL HUANG | September 13, 2018

Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed non-skin-related cancer in men and the second leading cause of cancer deaths in American men. With the largest risk factor being age, all men have the risk of developing prostate cancer during their lifetime. 

  Public Domain The moving Target Defense system can protect consumers from hackers.

New cyber technology develops moving target defense

By CHRISTIAN SEREMETIS | September 13, 2018

It seems that every day a new online privacy breach or cyber attack is underway. From Facebook’s scandal with Cambridge Analytica and the proliferation of fake news to the alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election, today’s news demonstrates the destructive power that modern hackers possess. 

Our search for life on Mars

By JAEMIE BENNETT | September 13, 2018

Those funny-looking, little green Martians have captivated human imagination since their first appearance in print in 1877. And maybe the intelligent version of Mars-based life doesn’t exist, but we’ve recently come closer to finding their long-lost cousins, microbes.

PUBLIC DOMAIN   An electrophphoretic neural implant used in mice can control epilepsy.

Novel neural implant controls epilepsy in rodents

By ISAAC CHEN | September 13, 2018

Collaborating researchers from the University of Cambridge in the U.K., the École Nationale Supérieure des Mines in Paris, and the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm) recently engineered an electrophoretic drug delivery method to treat neurological disorders via a neural probe implant in rodents.

PUBLIC DOMAIN Researchers at the Allen Institute have discovered new human neurons called “roseship cells.”

Scientists discover a new uniquely human neuron

By SANJANA PASARI | September 6, 2018

For millennia, scientists and philosophers have pondered what separates man from animal. Whether it was utilizing the mirror recognition test, examining ancient weapons and tools, or even looking into our own choices and decisions, we have always wondered what makes us so different. 

PUBLIC DOMAIN Researchers around the world are trying to stimulate growth of nerve fibers.

Method to regenerate nerve fibers discovered

By ALLISON CHEN | September 6, 2018

Spinal cord injuries are among the most alarming and unpredictable of injuries, carrying the possibility of paralysis. Compounding this fact, since severed nerve fibers in the central nervous system, which comprises the brain and spinal cord, do not regenerate, the paralysis has the potential to be permanent. 

FLOPPY/CC BY 2.0 Researchers at the RIKEN Center for BDR found that two acetylcholine receptors in the brain are linked to dreaming.

Brain receptors govern how much we dream

By ELAINE CHIAO | September 6, 2018

Sleeping is often considered one of the most primitive and mundane aspects of biological existence. Some scientists claim that it is a survival instinct that has evolved for millions of years. However, despite its ancestral roots, sleep is not very well understood. In fact, countless mysteries take place when we sleep: How does the mind create dreams? Do dreams come in colors or black-and-white? Most importantly, how does the brain sustain and maintain high levels of activity during certain periods of the sleep cycle? 

PUBLIC DOMAIN A person’s appearance may greatly affect how others perceive their personality, according to a study from NYU.

Facial appearance is linked to personality traits

By JESSICA KASAMOTO | September 6, 2018

While it may be the norm for one to put great effort into making good first impressions in social situations, recent studies are leading scientists to believe that one may have less control over first impressions than they may believe. 

Chiral molecules found on Murchison meteorite

By JAEMIE BENNETT | September 6, 2018

As the only known planet with life, it makes sense to assume that life began on Earth. Numerous experiments have recreated the environment of the early Earth and determined that biological molecules could have first formed on our planet.

PUBLIC DOMAIN Bone marrow in the skull has been identified to contribute greatly to the migration of immune cells.

Immune cells do not have a homogenous response

By ISAAC CHEN | September 6, 2018

In human diseases and injuries, inflammation is a critical defense and repair mechanism. In response to a physical injury or infection, immune cells are recruited to the site of inflammation to defend against the foreign injury or pathogen. However, immune cells also have destructive properties. Persisting inflammation can create an opposite effect, causing more harm than benefit.

PUBLIC DOMAIN   CDC recently released statistics on increasing STD diagnoses across the nation.

National number of STD cases continues to climb

By CINDY JIANG | September 6, 2018

For the past half-decade, statistics for the number of sexually transmitted disease (STD) diagnoses have shown an upward trend. All together, the numbers for novel cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis total to nearly 2.3 million for 2017 in the United States alone. 

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