Bipolar disorder affects approximately five million Americans, and researchers are continuing to seek out its genetic and molecular source. In order to advance the treatment options available to those suffering from bipolar and other similar disorders, scientists must first uncover more about the disease’s development and cause.
Your dogs may understand more than you give them credit for. A study conducted by researchers from Hungary has found that dogs can understand the meaning and intonation of words using brain regions similar to those that humans use.
Recent studies have shown that Americans are living longer. However, this increased life expectancy may come hand in hand with an increase in years spent living with disability.
Neuromodulation techniques, as opposed to standard pharmacological methods, have enabled the direct and localized revitalization of malfunctioning neuronal circuits. Treatment via neuromodulation has been applied to various conditions including neurological disorders, chronic pain and, as of most recently, in disorders of consciousness.
Proxima Centauri is the closest star to our planet (apart from the sun). It is located a little over four light years from our solar system. Proxima Centauri is invisible to the naked eye as it is not only further but also fainter than the Sun. This red dwarf sits near the Alpha Centauri AB, a binary pair of much brighter stars.
Imagine calling for an Uber only to find that a car pulls up with no driver at the wheel. While such an event may only seem possible in science fiction movies, the project is already underway in Pittsburgh, home of the hotbed for robotics, Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), where Uber has been testing its self-driving technology.
Four Hopkins students are taking major strides in the crusade to cure cancer. Each of the four students was awarded $5,000 and spent eight weeks this summer working on various research projects in the field of pediatric oncology.
Researchers at the U.S. Department of Agriculture have recently been investigating forms of food packaging other than traditional plastic wrap. One alternative they have taken particular interest in is edible, biodegradable packaging made out of casein, a milk protein. Not only is this material insensitive to light, it is up to 500 times better than plastic at keeping oxygen out of the product, according to the American Chemical Society (ACS).
Although the first case of Zika was recorded in 1947, the virus only developed public and scientific interest many years later in 2015 when a pandemic outbreak began in South America. The outbreak spread to multiple regions worldwide. The disease is primarily spread through travelers who have been bitten by mosquitoes contamined by the virus and sexual contact between infected and uninfected people.
While it is a commonly known fact that maintaining a diet rich in vegetables is in our best interest, what is less well known are the energy and environmental costs of growing and transporting vegetables from the farm to our local supermarkets.
It has recently been found that lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) can have an influence on the brain’s connectivity between regions. LSD is a banned psychedelic drug that is derived from a poisonous ergot fungus. The drug can cause severe mood changes and altered states of awareness.
In the past 20 years the list of known mouse lemur species has grown from a measly two recognized species to 24. In fact, in the past year, three species were added to the list.
Recently a team of researchers from Binghamton University have discovered that humans have unique “brainprints,” which can be measured by using an electroencephalogram (EEG) to visualize the unique brain activity that occurs when different individuals are exposed to the same images. The researchers believe that their discovery could replace current security and identification methods such as fingerprint identification, retinal scans and DNA fingerprinting.
Researchers at the Institute of Cancer Research, London and the Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute of the University of Manchester recently published a paper in Cell. It implicated one of the most common mutated genes across all cancers, KRAS, in the acceleration of tumor growth. KRAS shows up in more than 90 percent of pancreatic cancers.
A 7.0 magnitude earthquake hit Japan’s Kyushu region on April 16. There have been a total of 32 reported deaths, according to Kumamoto Prefecture’s disaster management office. Following the earthquake, heavy rains struck the region, making the search for the remaining survivors even more difficult. The quake struck near the city of Kumamoto and turned landmarks into piles of debris, taking down buildings and other structures.
Food as Medicine is a student group at Hopkins focused on improving the health of children attending Baltimore City public schools. According to Maryland’s Department of Education, 87.71 percent of Baltimore City public school students qualified for free or reduced meals for the 2015-2016 school year.
Often regarded as being in the realm of science fiction, due to recent advances in textile fabrication wearable electronics are no longer a distant possibility.
