In a new study, researchers report progress toward perfecting a radical new method of producing vaccines using genetically modified corn. The approach could lead to an oral hepatitis B vaccine that requires no refrigeration and costs less than $1 per dose to manufacture.
An international team of more than 18 research groups has demonstrated that the compounds they developed can safely prevent harmful protein aggregation in preliminary tests using animals. The findings raise hope that a new class of drugs may be on the horizon for the more than 30 diseases and conditions that involve protein aggregation, including diabetes, cancer, spinal cord injury, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
Many urban and suburban areas have high levels of ground-level ozone, an air pollutant that can adversely affect lung and heart health. New research in mice suggests breathing high levels of ozone could also affect women’s ability to conceive.
A nation-wide analysis of grocery purchases reveals that highly processed foods make up more than 60 percent of the calories in food we buy, and these items tend to have more fat, sugar and salt than less-processed foods.
In most people, any liver damage that might occur from drinking alcohol is reversible. However, in 25 to 30 percent of alcoholics what begins as accumulation of fat in the liver progresses to inflammation, fibrosis and ultimately irreversible cirrhosis, for which the only treatment is a liver transplant. A new study indicates that specific gene mutations might predispose some people to irreversible liver cirrhosis.
The obesity epidemic among children has caused alarm throughout the United States and Canada. Achieving healthy energy intake among this age group is a widespread health concern. A new method of appetite regulation in children was recently investigated by graduate student Megan Hume from University of Calgary.
Masashi Yanagisawa, MD, PhD, Babette B. LaMarca, PhD and Jennifer S. Pollock, PhD to be awarded prestigious APS honors at Experimental Biology 2015.
Imaging tests like mammograms or CT scans can detect tumors, but figuring out whether a growth is or isn’t cancer usually requires a biopsy to study cells directly. Now results of a Johns Hopkins study suggest that MRI could one day make biopsies more effective or even replace them altogether by noninvasively detecting telltale sugar molecules shed by the outer membranes of cancerous cells.
APS President David M. Pollock, PhD, has organized a dynamic President’s Symposium Series for EB 2015. Focused on the theme “Physiology: Answers to Big Questions,” experts will discuss how physiology can uncover solutions for diabetes, obesity and hypertension. The series is anchored by Nobel Laureate Robert J. Lefkowitz, PhD.
The motion of coins in a “Penny Pusher” carnival game is similar to the movement of cells in the eye’s lens, as described in a new study published in Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science (IOVS). This new insight may help scientists understand how the eye maintains its precise shape — critical for clear vision — and how cataracts develop.
The Federal Reserve could help create even more jobs by keeping interest rates near zero and tolerating a little inflation, an economist argues.
Using a novel approach that homes in on rare families severely affected by autism, a Johns Hopkins-led team of researchers has identified a new genetic cause of the disease. The rare genetic variant offers important insights into the root causes of autism, the researchers say. And, they suggest, their unconventional method can be used to identify other genetic causes of autism and other complex genetic conditions.
An analysis conducted by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future (CLF) found that the risks of drinking raw (unpasteurized) cow’s milk are significant. The researchers determined that raw milk was associated with over half of all milk-related foodborne illness.
A new analysis of surgical outcomes nationwide concludes that more use of minimally invasive surgery for certain common procedures can dramatically reduce post-operative complications and shave hundreds of millions of dollars off the nation’s health care bill.
Six scientific societies will hold their joint scientific sessions and annual meetings, known as Experimental Biology (EB), from March 28 – April 1, 2015, in Boston. This meeting, EB 2015, brings together the leading researchers from dozens of life-science disciplines. The societies represented at the meeting will be: the American Association of Anatomists (AAA), the American Physiological Society (APS), the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB), the American Society for Investigative Pathology (ASIP), the American Society for Nutrition (ASN) and the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET). Below are some programming highlights. For full releases or abstracts, email [email protected].
The newest gene editing tool - called CRISPR-Cas9 - is leading to new research possibilities in cell biology and neuroscience. This includes the ability to make transgenic animal models more quickly, which helps researchers better study diseases that affect thousands of people each year. Using CRISPR-Cas 9 technology, transgenic mouse models- which are models that contain DNA isolated from one organism transferred into a different organism- are created in a matter of three weeks versus six months.
Amidst fears that global warming could zap a vital source of protein that has sustained humans for centuries, bean breeders with the CGIAR global agriculture research partnership announced today the discovery of 30 new types, or lines as plant breeders refer to them, of “heat-beater” beans that could keep production from crashing in large swaths of bean-dependent Latin America and Africa.
A National Alert for Serious Medication Errors has been issued by ASHP and the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP), warning of potentially dangerous mix-ups between two relatively new presentations of older medications, neostigmine injection and phenylephrine injection.
In the Journal of Applied Physics, from AIP Publishing, a team of researchers from Technical University of Denmark report that the elastocaloric effect opens the door to alternative forms of solid-state refrigeration that are direct replacements for vapor compression technology.
Attempting to develop a novel type of permanent magnet, a team of researchers at Trinity College has discovered a new class of magnetic materials based on Mn-Ga alloys. Described as a zero-moment half metal this week in the journal Applied Physics Letters, the new Mn2RuxGa magnetic alloy has some unique properties that give it the potential to revolutionize data storage and significantly increase wireless data transmission speeds.
A collaboration between the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Stanford University may be poised to shake things up in the solar energy world. By exploring ways to create solar cells using low-cost manufacturing methods, the team has developed a novel prototype device that combines perovskite with traditional silicon solar cells into a two-terminal "tandem" device.
Publicly insured Americans who undergo lung transplantation for cystic fibrosis fare markedly worse in the long run than both publicly insured patients in the United Kingdom and privately insured Americans, according to the results of a study conducted by researchers from Johns Hopkins in Baltimore and U.K. colleagues working in that nation’s government-funded National Health Service.
The Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement Executive Committee today named the Honorable Jane Lubchenco, PhD, of Oregon State University, and Madhav Gadgil, PhD, of Goa University, as the recipients of the 2015 Tyler Prize for their leadership and engagement in the development of conservation and sustainability policies in the United States, India and internationally.
Distinguished pediatric surgeon Samuel M. Alaish, M.D., will join the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center to co-lead its newly formed Center for Intestinal Rehab and Cure Using Science (CIRCUS).
Sixteen teams of uniformed medical students will go head-to-head to determine who wins the “Gunpowder Challenge” adventure race at the F. Edward Hebert School of Medicine, part of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. The challenge is part of a two-day medical field practicum to help third-year medical students develop team-based military/medical leadership and communication skills, March 26-27.
AMP urged FDA to focus its attention on helping to ensure the performance characteristics of next generation sequencing (NGS) instruments, reagents, and related software. AMP further recommended that FDA partner with private sector organizations and experts to set standards for FDA-cleared or approved instruments, test kits, and software.
Decreased ability to identify specific odors can predict abnormal neuroimaging results in blast-injured troops, according to a new study by Federal researchers released online in the journal “Neurology,” March 18, 2015.
The National Capital Simulation Consortium, including the Val G. Hemming Simulation Center of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU), was granted 5-year accreditation by the Society for Simulation in Healthcare (SSH). The accreditation is for the Consortium’s Assessment, Research, Teaching/Education, System Integration and Patient Safety programs. This is the first accreditation that the international accrediting body has awarded to the Consortium, which includes USU, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and Fort Belvoir Community Hospital.
The National Capital Simulation Consortium, including the Val G. Hemming Simulation Center of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, has been reaccredited as a Comprehensive Accredited Education Institute (AEI) by the American College of Surgeons.
Both patients and physicians may benefit from a “work flow” system developed at military medical facilities and tested at a Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center clinic, according to results of an efficiency study.
College students from 10 mid-Atlantic schools will defend a virtual mass transportation computer system against full-scale cyberattacks at the 10th Annual National CyberWatch Center Mid-Atlantic Regional Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition (CCDC) at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland.
Former White House Physician and a 1981 graduate of the F. Edward Hébert School of Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU), Eleanor “Connie” Mariano, M.D., has been named as one of 14 members of the newly-formed Department of Veterans Affairs “MyVA” Advisory Committee (MVAC).
MESSENGER will not go gentle into that good night. The mission will end sometime this spring, when the spacecraft runs out of propellant and the force of solar gravity causes it to impact the surface of Mercury. But the team initiated a “hover” observation campaign designed to gather scientific data from the planet at ultra-low altitudes until the last possible moment. Engineers have devised a series of orbit-correction maneuvers (OCMs) over the next five weeks — the first of which was carried out today — designed to delay the inevitable impact a bit longer
A generic version of insulin, the lifesaving diabetes drug used by 6 million people in the United States, has never been available in this country because drug companies have made incremental improvements that kept insulin under patent from 1923 to 2014. As a result, say two Johns Hopkins internist-researchers, many who need insulin to control diabetes can’t afford it, and some end up hospitalized with life-threatening complications, such as kidney failure and diabetic coma
Working with lab animals and human heart cells, scientists from Johns Hopkins and other institutions have identified what they describe as “the long-sought culprit” in the mystery behind a cell-signaling breakdown that triggers heart failure.
A review of 28 published studies examining U.S. gun policy found that laws and regulations designed to keep firearms from people at risk of committing violence, such as felons and those under restraining orders, are effective and, in some instances, reduce lethal violence.
A new technique to create tissue-engineered bladders has been shown to decrease scarring and significantly increase tissue growth. The bladders are produced using scaffolds coated with anti-inflammatory peptides. Tissue-engineered organs such as supplemental bladders, small arteries, skin grafts, cartilage, and even a full trachea have been implanted in patients, but the procedures are still experimental, very costly, and often fail.
Dr. Thomas J. Swope, Director of The Center for Minimally Invasive Surgery at Mercy, has received certification as an EpiCenter.
Software from the aerospace industry has allowed an interdisciplinary team of U.K. researchers to design Arterio-Venous Fistulae with better, less unnatural flow patterns, which may reduce failure rates and improve clinical outcomes for patients with kidney failure who require dialysis.
Researchers from Canada are developing new methods to mass-produce a material that may help pedestrians get a better grip on slippery surfaces after such storms.
Anesthetics have been used in surgical procedures for more than 150 years, but the mechanisms by which inhaled anesthesia actually work are poorly understood. Now, researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine have discovered that anesthetics bind to and interfere with certain proteins in excitatory neurons, which are necessary for these neurons to transmit signals involved in anesthesia and the perception of pain.
During 2000-12, an average of one football pitch of forest was illegally cleared every two minutes to supply the EU with beef, leather, palm oil and soy used for groceries, animal feed, leather shoes and biofuels, according to a new study released today. It finds that the Netherlands, Italy, Germany, France and the UK are by far the largest consumers of illegally sourced commodities flowing into the EU, which, as a whole, imports 25% of all soy, 18% of all palm oil, 15% of all beef and 31% of all leather in international trade stemming from illegal tropical forest destruction.
A six-hour PBS documentary series about the story of cancer, including research and treatment, billed by its producers as one of the most comprehensive of its kind yet made, will premiere nationwide March 30, 31 and April 1 featuring several patient stories and interviews conducted with clinicians and scientists at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center.
NASA’s MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) mission, now nearing the end of its fourth and final year of orbital operations at Mercury, is well into a low-altitude campaign that is returning images and measurements of the planet’s surface and interior that are unprecedented in their resolution. MESSENGER scientists will discuss new findings from the low-altitude campaign and their implications for Mercury's geological evolution and the planet's geophysical and geochemical characteristics at a press briefing today at the 46th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference. Presentation materials and presenter biographies are available online at http://messenger.jhuapl.edu/news_room/presscon13.html.
Nearly 1,000 scientists from 35 countries will attend the 28th Fungal Genetics Conference organized by the Genetics Society of America (GSA), March 17–22, 2015, at the Asilomar Conference Grounds in Pacific Grove, CA. The conference will feature approximately 900 presentations (including over 200 talks) of cutting-edge fungal genetics research – with a focus on filamentous fungi – on topics including genomics, gene regulation, cell biology and development, evolutionary biology, fungal-host interactions and biotechnology.
Recent years have seen breakneck innovation in the field of radiology, from MRI-guided biopsies, to image-guided stenting, to ways to lower radiation dosage while preserving image quality. Now, a dedicated center at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine is making those innovations available to our four-legged — and even winged — friends.
Astronomers at the Space Telescope Science Institute and the Johns Hopkins University, in Baltimore, Maryland, have created a new master catalog of astronomical objects called the Hubble Source Catalog. The catalog provides one-stop shopping for measurements of objects observed with NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. Join Hubble scientists during a live Hubble Hangout discussion about the Hubble Source Catalog at 3pm (EDT) on Thurs., March 19, to learn more. Visit http://hbbl.us/Fne .
Two new papers from members of the MESSENGER Science Team provide global-scale maps of Mercury’s surface chemistry that reveal previously unrecognized geochemical terranes — large regions that have compositions distinct from their surroundings. The presence of these large terranes has important implications for the history of the planet.
On Saturday (at 9:26:53 to be exact), math lovers and others around the world will celebrate Pi. Experts at the National Institutes of Health share a few reasons why math is important to biomedical research.
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health researchers say that major disruptions in the health care systems in West Africa caused by the Ebola crisis have led to significant decreases in vaccinations for childhood diseases, increasing susceptibility to measles and other vaccine-preventable illnesses.
RSS
Medicine keyboard_arrow_right
Sciencekeyboard_arrow_right
Life keyboard_arrow_right
Business keyboard_arrow_right
Journal News keyboard_arrow_right
By Location keyboard_arrow_right
Meetings, Grants, and Events keyboard_arrow_right