Who hasn’t dreamt of a time when cars drive themselves and adjust themselves to fit all needs? In the days of The Jetsons and Back to the Future, these new technologies might have seemed to be something of the very distant future. But now, with the introduction of even tinier computers and even more efficient fuel technologies, even companies like Google have ventured into changing the future of driving.
The Great Barrier Reef, which sprawls 1,430 miles along Australia’s east coast, is the largest living organism on the planet. It is also one of the most intricate natural ecosystems in the world, home to 600 species of corals, 3,000 types of mollusks, 1,625 varieties of fish and more than 30 species of marine mammals.
Think back to the last action movie you watched. Was it Captain America, The Hunger Games, or maybe 22 Jump Street? Odds are that you remember the basic plot pretty well or at least the chase scenes that had you holding your breath and refusing to blink so that you wouldn’t miss a second. Now, think of what you were eating during the movie. Can you remember the exact snack that you had, whether that small popcorn that looked like an extra large, or those King Size Twizzlers? Do you think the movie you were watching had any relationship with how much of your snack you consumed?
As President Barack Obama attempts to assemble an international coalition to go after the Islamic militant group that calls itself the Islamic State, we are reminded that the threat of global terrorism is still an ever-present reality. But since our declared war on terrorism shortly after 9/11, are we any safer from a coordinated attack against the United States than we were on that fatal day 13 years ago? The answer to the question is complicated and subjective. Preparing against a terrorist plot is akin to preparing for the next viral outbreak. The threat is global, diffuse, and constantly evolving in unpredictable ways. Natural selection almost guarantees that even our best defenses will eventually be outmaneuvered. As a result, we are forced to be reactionary with our goals, focusing on identification, containment and future prevention of threats.
If you have been online any time this past week, you most likely know by now that Labor Day weekend was host to a massive leak of celebrity nudes that were stolen from iCloud accounts. Though clearly an illegal and immoral breach of privacy, events like this occur quite often. However, what made this one shake up the internet so badly was the sheer massiveness and breadth of the image cache — hundreds of nude, semi-nude and revealing photos of celebrities, ranging from actresses, to fashion models, to Olympians, were disclosed by an anonymous user and posted on the infamous web forum 4Chan.
With a few shocks to the brain, scientists have made it possible to never forget a friend’s birthday, lose track of keys or have to deal with uncomfortable encounter of forgetting an acquaintance’s name. A research team at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine has used this knowledge for more than just key tracking but for enhancing the retention network of memory-impaired individuals.
GECS major or not, you are probably familiar with hydrothermal vents, which are commonly found in the waters around the Galapagos Islands and known for the incredible diversity of organisms that live near them and rely on their significant chemical processes. Vents are typically close in proximity to active volcanoes and are above slowly shifting tectonic plates. A common example is the hot springs that thousands of tourists visit every year at Yellowstone National Park.
To some people, allergies are an annoyance that they have to deal with every spring. To others, allergies are a life-threatening illness that could strike if they eat the wrong food. Regardless of their severity, the prevalence of allergies as a whole has increased rapidly around the globe.
This summer, many people became aware of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, as their Facebook and Youtube newsfeeds were filled with videos of the Ice Bucket Challenge. The premise of the challenge was simple and fun: Dump a bucket of ice-cold water on your head, and nominate three of your friends to do the same. If they fail to comply within 24 hours, they must donate $100 to the ALS Association.
Those of us who are drivers have all heard the question, “Do you want to be an organ donor?” If a deceased person is an organ donor, a hospital can remove their organs and transplant them into a patient who is in critical need. By having drivers sign up as donors, our health system is creating a supply of organs needed to save lives.
We’ve made many discoveries here on Earth, but space still remains largely a mystery. Partly to blame are the vast distances involved; it’s easier to journey to the bottom of the ocean than to the nearest planet. NASA, however, doesn’t back down from a challenge. Their New Horizons spacecraft aims to travel not to the nearest planet, but to the one farthest away from us; a few days ago the craft began a historic journey to Pluto.
Just like Miley Cyrus came in like a wrecking ball, cancer often comes in the same way, wanting only to break your walls. Although Miley never hit so hard in love, cancer has been hitting the human body hard since the beginning of time. But a year and a day after Miley closed her eyes and swung, a team of researchers published a study online in Genome Medicine that could leave cancer cells crashing in a blazing fall and lamenting “all you ever did was wreck me; yeah, you, you wreck me!”
If there’s one thing that paleontologists can say for certain about human evolution, it’s that we evolved from hominids who lived millions of years ago. We’ve all heard about the Neanderthals, Homo erectus and Homo sapiens, but can we ever be sure which of these species evolved from which? Which major species are we really descended from? And most importantly, what does evolution really show about the differences between modern humans and their ancestors, and what characteristics we can truly call “human?”
Who knew that professional and collegiate basketball players are instinctual physicists? Many physics professors agree that it is not easy to shoot a three-pointer – there are many factors that come into play on the court in order to make that perfect shot.
A study from the Bloomberg School of Public Health revealed a rise in prevalence of diabetes over the past two decades. It was estimated that the total cases of confirmed diabetes increased from 5.5% in the time from 1988 to 1994 to 9.3% in the time from 2005 to 2010. This represents a nearly two fold increase in cases of diabetes since 1988.
Aided by sophisticated imaging techniques and abetted by rapid information channels, modern physicians appear to be well-equipped for the accurate diagnosis of diseases and disorders. The human body, however, cannot be separated into isolated parts that can be immediately identified with specific conditions, and is instead comprised of numerous interacting systems that complicate the process of evaluation.
Modern human energy consumption can be compared to Sesame Street’s Cookie Monster. Just like Cookie Monster is always hungry for cookies, humans are always hungry for energy. Since Cookie Monster eats more and more cookies everyday, eventually, all the cookies will be gone. Likewise, as nonrenewable energy sources are quickly being depleted in nearly every corner of the world, scientists across the globe have been hunting for new materials and methods to generate clean and sustainable energy from renewable resources.
This past Saturday marks the 11th annual physics fair, an event put on by physics graduate students as well as undergrads showcasing physics to the Baltimore community. The atmosphere was lively – food was served while families and children enjoyed great weather and fun activities. Through the use of live demos, games, and interactive activities the physics fair aimed at getting kids to associate math and science with positive experiences, not just the challenges that are associated with learning it.
While Hopkins may be considered a small campus by many students, sometimes it’s a drag to travel from Bloomberg to Olin (those unfortunate souls in discrete math may know the pain). If only getting around campus could be easier! Bikes are an obvious solution to the excruciating walks. However, currently, the university does not offer a bike rental program. For the majority of us who don’t have a bike—or don’t want to pay for one—there is a shining beacon of hope on the horizon. A group of students on Homewood have decided to create an organization called Jay Bikes.
Have you ever seen Breaking Bad? If not, here’s the premise: Man finds out he has cancer. Man cannot pay for cancer and does not want to leave his family in debt if he is going to die. Man turns to making crystal meth to make big cash. It’s a slippery slope from there.
