Focus: Hidden - Maryland

• share
• favorite_border

In the Journal of Applied Physics, a group of researchers from Durham University in the U.K. and the University of São Paulo-USP in Brazil describes using single-walled carbon nanotube composites (SWCNTs) as a material in “unconventional” computing. By studying the mechanical and electrical properties of the materials, they discovered a correlation between SWCNT concentration/viscosity/conductivity and the computational capability of the composite.

• share
• favorite_border

In a bid to help physicians guide obese and overweight patients who want to try a commercial weight-loss program, a team of Johns Hopkins researchers reviewed 4,200 studies for solid evidence of their effectiveness but concluded only a few dozen of the studies met the scientific gold standard of reliability.

• share
• favorite_border

NASA and the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) have announced the selection of the 2015 Hubble Fellows who will conduct research related to NASA's Cosmic Origins program.

• share
• favorite_border

Genetic studies in humans, zebrafish and mice have revealed how two different types of genetic variations team up to cause a rare condition called Hirschsprung’s disease. The findings add to an increasingly clear picture of how flaws in early nerve development lead to poor colon function, which must often be surgically corrected. The study also provides a window into normal nerve development and the genes that direct it.

• share
• favorite_border

When managing, assigning each task to a specialist is often the most efficient strategy. Most researchers regard the brain as working similarly, with each region specialized to a given task. But Johns Hopkins neuroscientists have found, in rats, that the brain's primary visual cortex not only portrays the visual world but can also drive the timing of actions.

• share
• favorite_border

Johns Hopkins Nursing magazine (Spring 2015) tackles the translation on big data, nurse-patient communication across cultures, showing new students the ropes, and more

• share
• favorite_border

• share
• favorite_border

Mercy Medical Center has received a $50,000 grant from Ovarian Cancer Research Fund (OCRF) to establish “Woman to Woman,” a patient support program that pairs new gynecologic cancer patients with trained and supervised survivor volunteers to provide mentoring and support.

• share
• favorite_border

• share
• favorite_border

A molecular pathway known to suppress tumors appears to also be a major player in clearing cells of damaged proteins implicated in neurodegenerative diseases such as ALS and certain types of dementia, new research in roundworms and human cells suggests.

• share
• favorite_border

Infants have innate knowledge about the world and learn best when their expectations are defied.

• share
• favorite_border

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has photographed a set of wispy, goblin-green objects that are the ephemeral ghosts of quasars that flickered to life and then faded. The eight unusual looped structures may offer insights into the puzzling behaviors of galaxies with energetic cores. Join Hubble scientists for a live Hubble Hangout at 3pm EDT on Thurs., April 2, to learn more. Visit http://hbbl.us/y6c .

• share
• favorite_border

The annual incidence rates of heat stroke, exertional rhabdomyolysis and exertional hyponatremia among service members in the active component rose slightly in 2014, according to newly released health surveillance reports.

• share
• favorite_border

Giving fewer antibiotic injections to young infants in the developing world with severe infections such as pneumonia and sepsis is just as safe and effective as the standard course of twice daily injections over the course of a week, according to new Johns Hopkins School of Public Health research conducted in Bangladesh.

• share
• favorite_border

University of Maryland School of Medicine Dean E. Albert Reece, MD, PhD, MBA, announced today that the School of Medicine (UM SOM) plans to establish a major new Institute for Global Health (IGH), bringing together decades of UM SOM research, treatment and vaccine development around the world, and expanding the School’s platform as the premier, leading center for global health research, treatment and prevention. The new Institute will focus on vaccine development and malaria research, and will house the UM SOM’s reconfigured Center for Vaccine Development (CVD) as well as a newly-formed Center for Malaria Research (CMR).

• share
• favorite_border

J. Tilak Ratnanather, an expert in brain mapping and a champion of people with hearing loss, is a recipient of the Presidential Award of Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring.

• share
• favorite_border

A new genomic analysis of tissue from patients with prostate cancer has added more evidence that cells within metastases from such tumors can migrate to other body parts and form new sites of spread on their own.

• share
• favorite_border

The following articles are freely available online from Physics Today (www.physicstoday.org), the world's most influential and closely followed magazine devoted to physics and the physical science community.

• share
• favorite_border

• share
• favorite_border

Lung diseases like emphysema and pulmonary fibrosis are common among people with malfunctioning telomeres, the “caps” or ends of chromosomes. Now, researchers from Johns Hopkins say they have discovered what goes wrong and why.

• share
• favorite_border

Research by Johns Hopkins scientists suggests that having a short series of phone conversations with trained counselors can substantially boost recovery and reduce pain in patients after spinal surgery.

• share
• favorite_border

A new study out of West Virginia University suggests antioxidants may play a key role in reducing the long-term effects of concussions and could potentially offer a unique new approach for treatment.

• share
• favorite_border

A study conducted in rats measuring risk factors that contribute to alcohol abuse suggests females are particularly sensitive to alcohol-related cues and stress which elicits a “craving” response.

• share
• favorite_border

Astronaut-scientists from the 1998 NASA STS-90 Neurolab space mission will discuss what they learned about how the brain and nervous system work without gravity. The panel will take place at the 2015 Experimental Biology Meeting in Boston on Wednesday, April 1.

• share
• favorite_border

Johns Hopkins environmental scientists are collaborating with researchers from Dolphin Island at Resorts World Sentosa, Singapore, to learn more about how and where mercury accumulates in the bodies of Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins.

• share
• favorite_border

Nathan Mitchell, a graduate student at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio wanted to know why the therapeutic benefit afforded by SSRIs was so limited in children and teenagers. If researchers can uncover the biological mechanisms preventing available treatments from producing antidepressant effects, scientists can then target those mechanisms to develop new antidepressants that will treat childhood and adolescent depression more effectively.

• share
• favorite_border

Coronary heart disease and stroke, two of the leading causes of death in the United States, are diseases associated with heightened platelet reactivity. A new study in humans suggests an underlying reason for the variability in the risk of clotting is due to a genetic variation in a receptor on the surface of the platelet.

• share
• favorite_border

Most often on Twitter, those we engage with are like-minded, and the ensuing electronic maelstrom of 140-character missives serves to reinforce, pulling us and them further along in the direction we were already trending toward. All that sound and fury can signify something, however: researchers in Spain have recently developed a model to detect the extent to which a conversation on Twitter -- and thus the actual offline argument and political climate -- is polarized.

• share
• favorite_border

The endangered desert pupfish has made itself at home in the harsh, hot environment of Death Valley hot springs by using a surprising evolutionary adaptation: They can go for up to five hours without oxygen. Research will be presented at the 2015 Experimental Biology Meeting in Boston on Tuesday, March 31.

• share
• favorite_border

During prenatal development, the brains of most animals, including humans, develop specifically male or female characteristics. But scientists have known little about the details of how this differentiation occurs. Now, a new study by researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine has illuminated details about this process.

• share
• favorite_border

Babies receiving poor nutrition in the womb tend to be smaller at birth, which has been linked to the development of obesity and other health problems later in life. Researchers continue to discover other consequences related to undernutrition during pregnancy. A new study examines how poor fetal nutrition affects protein expression in the fat tissue of adult rats, revealing key differences between males and females.

• share
• favorite_border

The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has named Arturo Casadevall, MD, PhD, MS, as the new Alfred and Jill Sommer Professor and Chair of the W. Harry Feinstone Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology. In addition, Casadevall has also been awarded a Bloomberg Distinguished Professorship, funded by Michael R. Bloomberg to enable Johns Hopkins to assemble world-class faculty from diverse fields to promote interdisciplinary scholarship.

• share
• favorite_border

A team of engineers and biologists reports new progress in using computer modeling and 3D shape analysis to understand how the unique grasping tails of seahorses evolved. These prehensile tails combine the seemingly contradictory characteristics of flexibility and rigidity, and knowing how seahorses accomplish this feat could help engineers create devices that are both flexible and strong.

• share
• favorite_border

Eating mostly protein in your diet? A new study suggests a diet rich in eggs, fish and meats can lead to memory loss. Research will be presented at the 2015 Experimental Biology Meeting in Boston on Tuesday, March 31, 2015.

• share
• favorite_border

Although stroke, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and traumatic brain injury each affect the central nervous system differently, a new study finds that they share common defects in the blood-brain barrier that can be traced to a single set of genes. The findings could yield new approaches for treating brain diseases.

• share
• favorite_border

By studying the morphology and physiology of plants with tiny conical “hairs” or microfibers on the surface of their leaves, such as tomatoes, balsam pears and the flowers Berkheya purpea and Lychnis sieboldii, a team of researchers in Japan uncovered water collection-and-release secrets that may, in turn, one day soon “bioinspire” a technology to pull fresh water from the air to help alleviate global water shortages.

• share
• favorite_border

Cholesterol-lowering statins have transformed the treatment of heart disease. But while the decision to use the drugs in patients with a history of heart attacks and strokes is mostly clear-cut, that choice can be a far trickier proposition for the tens of millions of Americans with high cholesterol but no overt disease.

• share
• favorite_border

An estimated eight million adults in the U.S. suffer from binge eating disorder. Now, researchers have shown that compulsive binging on foods that are high in fat and sugar can trigger specific molecular changes that can lead to high blood pressure (hypertension). While others have studied the effects of binge eating on the brain, this study is the first to look at its molecular effects on the expression of certain proteins in the body.

• share
• favorite_border

Roughly 8 percent of people in the US suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). SSRIs, such as Zoloft and Paxil, are the only currently-approved therapy, but their effectiveness is marginal. LSU researchers have found that blueberries could be an effective treatment. Research will be presented at the 2015 Experimental Biology Meeting on Monday, 3/30.

• share
• favorite_border

Does icing a serious bruise actually speed recovery time and assist in muscle repair? Researchers say no. Study results to be presented at the 2015 Experimental Biology Meeting in Boston on Monday, March 30.

• share
• favorite_border

Women are more likely to have irritable bowel syndrome and other gastrointestinal disorders than men. A new study suggests that it’s because the intestine’s nerve cells are more sluggish in women.

• share
• favorite_border

Losing several hours of sleep can slow the body’s metabolism, but what about losing only a few hours? A new study finds that metabolic effects are seen even when sleep is shortened by two hours. Research will be presented at the 2015 Experimental Biology Meeting on Monday, March 30.

• share
• favorite_border

Scientists have recently discovered a link between inflammation and depression, which affects approximately 148 million people in the United States. A new study finds that resveratrol — a natural anti-inflammatory agent found in the skin of red grapes — can prevent inflammation as well as depression-related behaviors in rodents exposed to a social stress.

• share
• favorite_border

The American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP), the College of American Pathologists (CAP), the Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP), and the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) today released a draft of a clinical practice guideline on the use of molecular marker testing for patients with primary or metastatic colorectal carcinoma. This evidence-based guideline will help establish standard molecular marker testing, guide targeted therapies, and advance personalized care for these patients.

• share
• favorite_border

Something as easy as adding more spinach, kale, collards and mustard greens to your diet could help slow cognitive decline, according to new research. The study also examined the nutrients responsible for the effect, linking vitamin K consumption to slower cognitive decline for the first time.

• share
• favorite_border

A study of peanut consumption showed that including them as a part of a high fat meal improved the post-meal triglyceride response and preserved endothelial function.

• share
• favorite_border

To better understand the variety of Salmonella species harbored by captive reptiles, Staten Island Zoo has teamed up with the microbiology department at Wagner College.

• share
• favorite_border

There is burgeoning research showing that co-consuming cooked whole eggs with your veggies can increase carotenoids absorption. With the recent scientific report from the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee lessening past concern over cholesterol in eggs, this is particularly good news.

• share
• favorite_border

In a new study, the extract from rosehips — the fruit of the rose plant — significantly reduced the growth and migration of cells from a type of breast cancer known as triple negative. This particularly aggressive form of cancer does not respond to most available treatments and tends to affect young women as well as those who are African-American or Hispanic.

• share
• favorite_border

These data indicate that TG2 is a possible chemotherapeutic target for Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM) treatment.