Intestinal tissue repair fosters bacteria growth

When you feel sick after a meal, it could be due to your own body’s tissue-repair mechanism. Scientists at the University of California Davis School of Medicine have discovered that certain microorganisms known as enteric pathogens, located in the digestive tract of humans, can cause harm to our bodies, instead of repairing the damages due to a food-borne illness.

Georgetown professor breaks down the brain

Maximilian Riesenhuber, a professor of Neuroscience at the Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington, D.C., spoke about hierarchical processing involved in object recognition and deep learning in the brain as well as their implications for Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology on Sept. 25 in Krieger Hall.

MedHacks unites a community of hackers

The University hosted its second-annual student-run medical hackathon MedHacks this past weekend at the Bloomberg Center for Physics and Astronomy. The event brought together over 350 student hackers from the Hopkins community and beyond to discuss solutions for pressing health care issues.

Harmless bacteria used to treat MRSA infections

A recent collaborative study at Forsyth Institute and Texas Tech University has proven the effect of using a harmless bacteria species to protect humans from life-threatening MRSA infections. The study shows how the nonmalignant strain Corynebacterium interacts with the Staphylococcus aureus (S.aureus) strain that causes the MRSA infection by inhibiting the harmful bacteria. Furthermore, researchers have found that the interactions between S. aureus and other benign, ingrown human bacteria can lead to new treatments for other diseases.

Study examines PTSD using neuroimaging

There is a chart titled ‘Causes of Stress’ on the American Psychological Association’s website. It describes the worries of the general public and it includes factors such as money, work, personal health concerns, housing costs, relationships and personal safety. These stress inducers are ubiquitous in American society — even the least prevalent issue, personal safety, is reported to affect 30 percent of the population as of 2010.

Marijuana use in college students is on the rise

Researchers at the University of Michigan have discovered that marijuana use in college has been increasing during the past decade. One of the chief causes for the increase in marijuana use could be the decrease in students’ perception that marijuana use leads to harm.

Bats use head and ear movements to improve echolocation

Your dog does not tilt its head when you talk to it because it is confused or wants to be cute. Thanks to researchers from Hopkins, we now know this behavior, similar to one observed in bats, is not just for show.

Dangers of prestigious scientific journals

Researchers disprove the ‘five-second’ rule

Most people have referred to the “five-second rule” in order to save a tasty morsel that has fallen on the germ-covered ground. However, staunch believers of this popular rule may want to reconsider. Scientists from Rutgers University have conducted an experiment that disproves the widely accepted belief that food that was dropped on the ground is clean as long as it is picked up within five seconds.

Hopkins lab explores epigenetics in cancer

Winston Timp, a professor in the biomedical engineering department here at Hopkins, heads a lab that explores everything from the fiery metabolism of hummingbirds to the causes of colon and pancreatic cancer. Timp’s lab is located in Clark Hall.

Online therapy may help prevent depression

Major depressive disorder (MDD), according to the World Health Organization (WHO), is projected to be one of the three leading causes of premature disability and mortality by 2030. However even if 100 percent of MDD patients utilized currently available evidence-based treatments, two-thirds of the people suffering from the disorder, according to one estimate, would still remain untreated.

Study splits giraffes into four species

An unexpected finding has debunked a once accepted idea that all giraffes are of a single species composed of several subspecies. A recent genetic study done on giraffe relationships shows that the world’s tallest mammalians are not in fact one species, but four distinct species.

New technologies improve clinical assays

Nowadays there is a fever for point-of-care applications to allow physicians easily to assess a patient’s health status. In turn, both academic and industry research teams are looking at engineering principles to automate and scale down clinical assays in a cost-effective manner. Examples include microfluidics, which leverages the high surface to small volume ratio of micro devices to lower assay cost and requires only a prick of blood from the patient, microcontrollers and magnetic-powered technologies.

Diagnostic ultrasound linked to autism severity

Results published in the journal Autism Research by researchers from the University of Washington (UW) School of Medicine, University of Washington Bothell and Seattle Children’s Research Institute found that for children with autism, exposure to diagnostic ultrasound during the first trimester of pregnancy increased the severity of their autism symptoms.

UC San Diego team unearths sequence of M protein

As of now, there is no current vaccine against the M protein, a surface protein of a bacteria cluster called Group A Streptococcus (group A strep). The M protein inhibits the body’s immunity toward this group of bacteria, enabling it to cause detrimental effects on humans. However, a group of researchers headed by Partho Ghosh, chair of University of California San Diego’s (UCSD) Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, has recently been able to unearth unknown sequence patterns of the M protein.

What does Fragile X teach us about autism?

Cardiac surgery research drives recent grad

Cardiac surgery research is something recent Hopkins alumnus Tom Zhang has always wanted to do. Thanks to the Hibino Lab at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institute, his dreams of helping cardiac patients are being realized so soon after graduation.

iPhone 7 release draws controversy

On Sept. 7, Apple held a showcase for the new iPhone 7. However, the presentation was met with controversy. Much of this controversy revolves around the removal of the headphone jack and the functions of the home button.

Antidepressants may increase suicide risk

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a “black box” warning , the most serious type of warning, in Oct. 2004, alerting clinicians about the increased risk of suicidal ideation or suicidal behavior in children and adolescents treated with antidepressants.