Published by the Students of Johns Hopkins since 1896
November 30, 2023

Science & Technology



TRAVIS S. / CC BY-NC 2.0
The U.S. government has distributed $115 million to tribal nations across the Pacific Northwest to prepare for the growing threat of climate change. Read more about this and other science news in our weekly recap. 

Science news in review: Dec. 8

As we approach the end of the semester, take a moment to read the latest news in science! News from this past week includes building a new U.S. tribal climate policy, an aquatic dinosaur and the use of technology in both military and police settings.


RICCARDO MARIA MANTERO /  CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Climate change has the potential to affect how different areas of the world look. 

On being an imperfect environmentalist

Only a couple of weeks ago, the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP27, convened to discuss major issues around climate change. While these big conversations are great, it is important that smaller conversations on a community or individual scale happen as well. Starting to discuss climate change is undoubtedly difficult. 


COURTESY OF MOLLY GAHAGEN
Students can drop in at the office of the SDS in Shaffer Hall to meet with SDS coordinators. 

"What now?": Long COVID as a potential disability and its effects on workers

Throughout the semester, my conversations with Hopkins medical professionals about the cognitive, emotional and physical impacts of long COVID often left me wondering about the future. What type of support beyond medical treatment exists for individuals whose daily lives continue to be disrupted by long COVID? How are these individuals maintaining employment or keeping up with the demands of school?


COURTESY OF MARGOT WOHL 
Wohl performs research on mosquito-borne diseases. 

Hopkins post-doc receives L'Oreal Fellowship

Margot Wohl, a postdoctoral fellow at the Bloomberg School of Public Health, was recently laureated by L’Oréal’s 2022 For Women in Science (FWIS) Fellowship as one of this year’s fellows. 


WOODLEYWONDERWORKS / CC-BY-2.0
The Responsible Behavior with Younger Children curriculum highlights the importance of family engagement in increasing knowledge and awareness of sexual acts.

New education intervention fills knowledge gaps on child sexual assault

A group of researchers at the Bloomberg School of Public Health (BSPH) conducted a randomized control trial on a perpetration-focused Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) prevention program among adolescents in Maryland. The new pilot curriculum — Responsible Behavior with Younger Children (RBYC) — was found to be associated with increased knowledge of CSA laws and awareness of avoiding and preventing CSA acts. The study is documented and published in Child Maltreatment.


COURTESY OF NASA, ESA, CSA AND STScI
Measurements taken by the James Webb Space Telescope of the exoplanet WASP-39b revealed water, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, sodium and potassium.

Science news in review: Nov 28

Let’s take a look at the biggest news in science over the past Thanksgiving break! The headlines include the effects of climate change on the immune system, the James Webb Space Telescope’s latest screening and a new phylogenetic branch.


PUBLIC DOMAIN
The use of CRISPR gene editing to treat breast and colon cancer is one of this week's biggest scientific breakthroughs.

Science news in review: Nov. 18

Before heading off for Thanksgiving, take a moment to learn about the amazing science being done around the world. This week’s news features NASA’s Artemis 1 mission to the moon, the COP27 climate conference, groundbreaking usage of gene-editing technology to combat cancer and octopuses throwing shells in the Pacific Ocean.


COURTESY OF IBM Research / CC BY-ND 2.0
Last week, IBM announced the development of a new quantum computer chip that more than tripled the number of qubits of its predecessor.

Science news in review: Nov. 16

From black holes to quantum chips, this week was full of exciting revelations in the science and technology community. As we hit the midpoint of November, take a look at the STEM news shaking the world!



UNITED NATIONS PHOTOS / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Women and children in Afghanistan face unique public health challenges. 

Panel explores public health progress in Afghanistan

“One Year On: The Pervasive Health Challenges in Afghanistan” is a four-part webinar series that invites panelists to talk about the ongoing health crises in Afghanistan after the regime change in 2021. Its second part, which took place on Nov. 8, focused on reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health (RMNCH) in Afghanistan.



COURTESY OF JUSTIN OPFERMANN
The PeriPath allows for safer pediatric cardiac procedures bypassing the need for open-heart surgeries.

PhD student wins grant for device that could make pediatric cardiac surgeries safer

PeriCor, co-founded by Hopkins Mechanical Engineering PhD student Justin Opfermann, won the Phase II Small Business Innovation Research grant from the National Institutes of Health for PeriPath, a novel device that obviates the need for open cardiac procedures in children. This grant will provide around $1.8 million to help the development of the device in order to make it commercially available.



PHILLIP JEFFREY / CC BY-SA 2.0
Levels of 'free range' DNA in the blood can be possible predictors of early dementia. 

Researchers find indicator of early dementia in blood

Dr. Peter Abadir and Dr. Lolita Nidadavolu from the School of Medicine, along with other researchers, recently identified circulating cell-free genomic DNA (ccf-gDNA) as one of the factors that can predict the effects of aging in elderly populations. 


K-STATE RESEARCH AND EXTENSION / CC-BY-2.0
The Opioid Industry Documents Archive aims to document and preserve evidence of the corporate behavior leading to the opioid epidemic.

Hopkins and UCSF archive shines light on the opioid crisis

The Opioid Industry Documents Archive (OIDA) preserves and publicizes over 1.5 million documents related to the stakeholders of the opioid epidemic. The archive — a joint effort by Hopkins and the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) — serves as a consolidation of knowledge containing millions of pages of documents released during litigation between 2011-2022 against manufacturers, wholesalers and pharmacies involved in opioid distribution.


COURTESY OF PROTOCOL SNOW /  CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Hopkins students often have to visit the Pre-Professional Advising Office at some point in their college career if they intend to apply to medical school.

Project MD 2027: Pre-Health Advising at Hopkins

Pranav Samineni, a recent graduate currently working in a stroke lab at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, knew coming into Hopkins that he wanted to be a doctor. After growing up in a multigenerational household and witnessing the impact of diseases such as Alzheimer’s and schizophrenia on his family members and their caregivers, Samineni gained the impression that physical health was one of the biggest things to be thankful for in life. 



BALTIMORE HERITAGE / CC BY 1.0
A team at the School of Medicine has found that changes in extracellular vesicles can be used to monitor the development of postpartum depression.

Study aims to improve methods of predicting risk of postpartum depression

A team of researchers at the School of Medicine led by Sarven Sabunciyan, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, discovered that changes in mRNA communication through extracellular vesicles are connected to postpartum depression. The team’s findings were published in Molecular Psychiatry, which further details their impact on the field.


COURTESY OF JERNEJ FURMAN / CC BY 2.0
Persistent respiratory conditions, including coughing, fatigue, dyspnea and chest pain, constitute a large component of post-COVID symptoms.

A hacking cough or new personality trait: respiratory impacts of long COVID

As the COVID-19 pandemic rages on, respiratory symptoms such as fatigue, dyspnea, chest pain and cough are some of the most common post-COVID symptoms among both hospitalized and non-hospitalized patients. As such, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has been working to improve its identification of symptoms and diagnoses experienced by patients with persistent respiratory conditions post-COVID.