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March 10, 2026 March 10, 2026 | Published by the Students of Johns Hopkins since 1896

Science & Technology

Astronaut embarks on longest space mission

By BARBARA HOLT | April 9, 2015

In August of 1996, U.S. Navy Captain Scott J. Kelly reported to the Johnson Space Center for astronaut training. Nineteen years of service to NASA, three spaceflights and 180 days in the International Space Station (ISS) later, Kelly, 51, begins his most ambitious endeavor yet — a mission to spend an entire year in space. This past Friday, Kelly launched aboard a Soyuz rocket, accompanied by cosmonauts Mikhail Kornienko and Gennady Padalka. Kelly is scheduled to return in March 2016 by which time he will have spent more than 500 days in Earth’s orbit. Unlike his cosmonaut colleagues, however, Kelly will provide NASA with a unique opportunity to monitor the effects of a harsh space environment on the human body by bringing his biological twin U.S. Navy Captain Mark E. Kelly into the equation. Mark retired from service in the U.S. Navy and NASA in 2011. Thus, in a near-perfect case study of the “nature vs. nurture” argument, Scott will orbit the Earth, enduring the effects of extended time in space, while Mark remains on solid ground below. This mission holds more significance than satiating mere scientific curiosity. Data collected through observation of the Kelly twins will contribute to the future of space travel as NASA and other space agencies attempt increasingly longer space voyages. In a few decades, this mission may even serve as the bedrock to NASA’s potential missions to Mars. “All of those things really affect the bodies of astronauts,” Julie A. Robinson, NASA’s chief scientist for the space station, said during a news conference in January. “They push them to something not at all unlike aging on Earth, where their balance is disrupted, their hearts are weaker, their immune system isn’t functioning as well, their muscles are weaker and their bones are being lost.” Scott Kelly’s scientific contribution won’t be without its personal drawbacks. While Kelly looks forward to the space station, he also dislikes the confinement. Kelly said that he’ll miss his friends and family, being able to get away from work and going outside. Ultimately, Scott Kelly’s mission is a potent reminder of both what magic lies ahead of us and behind us as we take to the stars.

Minimally invasive surgery lowers healthcare costs

By MANISH PARANJPE | April 9, 2015

As healthcare costs continue to rise, the U.S. continues to search for ways to provide affordable coverage to all citizens. The Affordable Care Act, Medicare and Medicaid are modern players in the long fight against increasing healthcare costs. However, a new quantitative study may soon change the way we think of hospital costs. The healthcare industry in the U.S., made up of physicians, hospitals and insurance providers, represents a $3.8 trillion dollar industry, according to Forbes. Yet, a McKinsey Study showed that the United States, while spending more on healthcare per capita than any other developed country, does not enjoy higher health outcome measures such as percent obesity and life expectancy. Many theories exist regarding this paradox: the higher cost of medical procedures, an overly bureaucratic administration, increased length of inpatient stay and even a lack of preventative medicine. However, whatever the reason may be, it is clear that a systematic cost reduction is critically needed. Minimally invasive surgery has flourished in the current age of technology-based medicine. Through innovations in biomedical engineering, physicians can perform what were once open surgeries with minimally invasive tools such as laparoscopic devices and robotically controlled instruments. The Mayo Clinic reports that because patients often have just a very small incision, there is lesser chance of painful and life-threatening postoperative infections. Recovery times also increase because less healthy tissue is damaged during the procedure. Surgical procedures represent a substantial single contributor to aggregate healthcare expenses. A new study led a professor of surgery at the Hopkins School of Medicine, Marty Makary, and published in The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Surgery, took a quantitative approach to surgical costs by studying the cost savings and number of postoperative complications avoided by performing minimally invasive surgery versus open surgery. Makary said in the report that minimally invasive surgery is an often-overlooked opportunity to make surgery safer and less costly. For their study, the researchers used the 2010 National Inpatient Sample for patients undergoing an appendectomy (the removal of the appendix), a partial colectomy (removal of part of the colon) or a lung lobectomy (removal of part of the lung). In order to limit the effect of confounding variables, Makary removed instances of emergency surgery and high-risk patients. From this dataset, Markary and his team were able to observe open and minimally invasive surgeries (MIS) with and without postoperative complications. In order to study the cost of postoperative complications associated with open surgery, the researchers considered seven postoperative complications listed in the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s Patient Safety Indicators. The team first built a two-stage regression model for excess cost in cases with and without postoperative complications. From their model, Markary was able to create two simulations in which patients with open surgery instead underwent minimally invasive surgery and from there compute the cost savings, number of complications avoided and number of hospital days avoided. In the first simulation, hospitals that were performing a low number of MIS (i.e., up to the 83rd percentile of hospitals) performed as many MIS as the 83rd percentile. In the second scenario, all hospitals increased their number MIS by 50 percent from the baseline. The investigators found that there was a marked decrease in surgical costs, postoperative complications and hospital stays in both simulations. If hospitals increased their rate of MIS to that of the 83rd percentile, patients could have 169,819 fewer days in the hospital and 4,306 fewer postoperative complications. In total, this would mean a $377 million reduction in annual cost. As Makary concludes, the team’s results indicate that MIS is underutilized and should be a choice given to patients more often. While not applicable in all cases, lower cost, less harmful minimally invasive surgeries may be an effective solution to reducing the fiscal burden of healthcare while also improving patient satisfaction.

Psoriasis medication reduces patches better

By ALFRED CHIN | April 2, 2015

Characterized by painful red patches on the skin covered with thick silvery scales, psoriasis is a chronic autoimmune skin condition that afflicts roughly 125 million people worldwide. Newly released data from a clinical study shows that Cosentyx, a psoriasis treatment manufactured by Novartis, is 21 percent more effective than the widely administered treatment Stelara.

The Brain Wave: Immune cells lower neuron growth in seizures

By DUY PHAN | April 2, 2015

Seizures are almost like firestorms in the brain, causing neurons to fire uncontrollably and resulting in aberrant motor behavior and the loss of consciousness. Despite their seriousness, we still have no good way to treat them. However, a recent study by Taito Matsuda and colleagues from Japan has uncovered a novel pathway between hippocampal neurogenesis and the immune system, potentially providing a new treatment avenue for epilepsy.

Stars make sounds too high for us to hear

By BARBARA HOLT | April 2, 2015

Just as the elusive dog whistle is beyond our mere human auditory capabilities, there is an entire reality out there full of waves beyond our visual spectrum, patterns beyond our recognition and dimensions beyond our reach.

After Ebola, Africa faces possible measles outbreak

By JESS CARNEY | April 2, 2015

It may seem as though danger from the Ebola epidemic is gone, but new research from the Bloomberg School of Public Health (JHSPH) suggests otherwise. The study, led by Justin Lessler and released in the March 13 issue of Science, found that disruptions to the West African health care, caused by the Ebola crisis, have led to a significant decrease in vaccinations and a consequent increase in susceptibility to a variety of other diseases.

Stricter gun control laws decrease violence

By JOAN YEA | April 2, 2015

In recent decades, studies have investigated the efficacy of certain gun policies in reducing violent crime and preventing high-risk individuals, such as those issued with domestic violence restraining orders or stricken with serious mental illnesses, from gaining access to firearms.

Americans no closer to getting generic insulin

By SUNNY CAI | April 2, 2015

There are 21 million people living with diabetes in the U.S., six million of whom take insulin. Although insulin has been used as the life-saving drug of choice to control diabetes for nearly 100 years, generic insulin has yet to be seen on the market.

Angelina Jolie undergoes surgery to avoid cancer

By SAMHITA ILANGO | March 26, 2015

The recent announcement of Angelina Jolie Pitt’s removal of her ovaries and fallopian tubes after showing early signs of ovarian cancer has women across the nation thinking about genetic testing for cancer. Some doctors describe ovarian cancer as one of the most deadly due to its late-stage discovery, which limits treatment options.

Peanut allergies have a genetic component

By SARAH SUKARDI | March 26, 2015

On every medical form, there is that one box to check off: “allergies.” It’s a question that most people are lucky enough to gloss over, but allergies are a very real problem in the United States and the world, especially among children. It is estimated that between two percent and 10 percent of children in the world are afflicted with food allergies.

A sense of purpose can help you live a longer life

By SUNNY CAI | March 26, 2015

The Japanese believe that everyone has a “reason for being,” or “ikigai.” In Japanese culture, searching for one’s ikigai is regarded as very important, as the discovery of one’s ikigai is believed to bring meaning, direction and satisfaction to life. In fact, National Geographic writer Dan Buettner theorizes that one of the main reasons Okinawans are among the longest-lived people on the planet is because they have a high sense of ikigai.

Europeans gather to watch a solar eclipse

By SARI AMIEL | March 26, 2015

On Friday, a solar eclipse darkened the skies of the North Atlantic for four hours, prompting dramatic photographs for some and disappointment for others in the many countries where cloudy skies unexpectedly blocked the view.

APL finds new way to detect radioactivity

By TONY WU | March 26, 2015

Radioactive decay happens naturally to all materials. However, some elements decay much faster than others, allowing scientists to detect and identify certain materials. The importance of radioactivity detection is not often understated. These detection methods have a variety of uses, including monitoring nuclear power plants and screening cargo for potential terrorist activities. Some methods use helium-3, a material that is traditionally hard to obtain, but a new idea from the Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) may have solved the problem of its rarity.

Flavored alcohol linked to overconsumption

By TONY WU | March 12, 2015

In the past few years, a flood of flavored alcohols has entered the market with the intention of drawing in more consumers. For some who don’t like the taste of beer or vodka, products like hard lemonade offer an appetizing alternative at parties or just relaxing at home.

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