Recent news from The Johns Hopkins University
This section contains regularly updated highlights of the news from around The Johns Hopkins
University. Links to the complete news reports from the nine schools,
the Applied Physics Laboratory and other centers and institutes are to
the left, as are links to help news media contact the Johns Hopkins
communications offices.
Johns Hopkins University researchers discovered precisely how spiders build webs by using night vision and artificial intelligence to track and record every movement of all eight legs as spiders worked in the dark.
Their creation of a web-building playbook or algorithm brings new understanding of how creatures with brains a fraction of the size of a human’s are able to create structures of such elegance, complexity and geometric precision. The findings, now available online, are set to publish in the November issue of Current Biology.
November 1, 2021 Tags: Andrew Gordus, artificial intelligence, Johns Hopkins University, machine vision, spider webs, spiders
| Category: biology, Natural Sciences
Johns Hopkins University engineers are the first to use a non-invasive optical probe to understand the complex changes in tumors after immunotherapy, a treatment that harnesses the immune system to fight cancer. Their method combines detailed mapping of the biochemical composition of tumors with machine learning.
October 13, 2021 Tags: bioengineering, cancer research, Immunotherapy, machine learning, Raman spectroscopy
| Category: biology, Engineering, Medicine and Nursing, Uncategorized
With fewer than 50 days until Black Friday, it’s beginning to look like supply chain issues could severely disrupt holiday shopping in the United States, affecting availability of everything from apparel to toys to electronics and even groceries.
Johns Hopkins University Carey Business School Professor Tinglong Dai says the concerns are due to a perfect storm of supply chain shortages, evident in the record-level congestion at the Port of Los Angeles/Long Beach that has spread to the East Coast, the widespread power outages across China, shortages of truck drivers and service workers, and COVID-19-fueled infections and restrictions.
October 12, 2021 Tags: holiday shopping, Johns Hopkins, supply chain, Tinglong Dai
| Category: Business and Economics
Vaping aerosols contain thousands of unknown chemicals and substances not disclosed by manufacturers, including industrial chemicals and caffeine, Johns Hopkins University researchers found.
The study is the first to apply to vaping liquids and aerosols an advanced fingerprinting technique used to identify chemicals in food and wastewater. The results, just published in the journal Chemical Research in Toxicology, suggest people who vape are using a product whose risks have yet to be fully determined and could be exposing themselves to chemicals with adverse health effects.
October 6, 2021 Tags: aerosols, Carsten Prasse, e-cigarettes, Johns Hopkins, smoking, vaping
| Category: Engineering, Natural Sciences, Public Health
Lisa Cooper, MD, MPH, a pioneering public health disparities researcher, general internist, and professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and Johns Hopkins Schools of Medicine and Nursing, has been appointed to the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) by President Joe Biden. The White House announced the appointment today.
September 22, 2021 Tags: Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, Johns Hopkins University, Lisa Cooper, President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology
| Category: Institutional News, University Administration
President Biden recently ordered that businesses with more than 100 employees require workers to get a COVID-19 shot or test negative for the virus at least once a week, joining many other workplaces nationwide that already initiated such requirements. A Johns Hopkins University expert in business law, health law, and negotiation is available to offer context and commentary about vaccination mandates.
September 20, 2021 Tags: COVID-19, Johns Hopkins University, Stacey Lee, vaccination, vaccine mandate, vaccines
| Category: Business and Economics, Government and Politics, Public Health
Fall is still days away but at coffee shops and grocery stores, it’s already peak autumn thanks to the arrival of a certain flavor that has come to signal the season’s unofficial start. Everyone knows, it’s pumpkin spice time.
But why?
Johns Hopkins University perception researchers can say a key to understanding why people love pumpkin spice is the smell of it. Those notes of cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger trigger deeply rooted cozy memories of autumn.
September 20, 2021 Tags: brain science, Jason Fischer, Johns Hopkins University, olfactory, perception, pumpkin spice, scent
| Category: Business and Economics, Psychology
A team of Johns Hopkins University students are among the finalists in the Collegiate Inventors Competition for their invention of a device to reduce pain from nerve damage in people with amputations.
September 13, 2021 Tags: amputation, biotechnology, Collegiate Inventors Competition, Engineering, materials science, National Inventors Hall of Fame, nerve damage, prosthetics, Whiting School of Engineering
| Category: biology, Engineering, Student-Related News, Uncategorized
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott and Johns Hopkins University President Ron Daniels will lace up their running shoes Monday for the grand opening of the Henderson-Hopkins school’s new track.
September 10, 2021 Tags: Baltimore City Public Schools, East Baltimore, Henderson-Hopkins, Johns Hopkins Football, Johns Hopkins Lacrosse, Johns Hopkins Medicine, Johns Hopkins School of Education, Mayor Brandon Scott, Ron Daniels
| Category: Education/K-12, Events Open to the Public, Uncategorized
Baltimore students who received eyeglasses through the Vision for Baltimore program scored higher on reading and math tests, with students who struggle the most academically showing the greatest improvement, concludes a new study in JAMA Ophthalmology, conducted by Johns Hopkins researchers from the Wilmer Eye Institute and School of Education.
The study, released today, is the most robust to date in the United States on the impact of glasses on academic achievement and has implications beyond Baltimore for the millions of children nationwide who suffer from vision impairment but lack access to pediatric eye care.
September 9, 2021 Tags: achievement gap, eyeglasses, Johns Hopkins, K-12 Education, students, Vision for Baltimore
| Category: Education/K-12, Government and Politics, Institutional News, Medicine and Nursing, Public Health, University-Related
Students who received eyeglasses through a school-based program scored higher on reading and math tests, Johns Hopkins researchers from the Wilmer Eye Institute and School of Education found in the largest clinical study of the impact of glasses on education ever conducted in the United States. The students who struggled the most academically showed the greatest improvement.
September 9, 2021 Tags: achievement gap, glasses, Johns Hopkins, K-12 Education, test scores, vision, Vision for Baltimore
| Category: Education/K-12, Government and Politics, Medicine and Nursing, Public Health
Sept. 7, 2021 CONTACT: Jill Rosen Cell: 443-547-8805 jrosen@jhu.edu jhunews@jhu.edu College-educated women are much more likely than ever before to have a first child outside of marriage, a new Johns Hopkins University study finds. Women with degrees are also more likely to be married at the time of their second birth, suggesting a historic shift […]
September 7, 2021 Tags: Andrew Cherlin, babies, childbirth, family, Johns Hopkins University, marriage
| Category: Social Sciences
August 30, 2021 Kait Howard Cell: 443-301-7993 kehoward@jhu.edu jhunews@jhu.edu As Louisiana officials assess the destruction caused by Hurricane Ida, Johns Hopkins University experts can discuss anticipated damage, the effectiveness of the levee system, and next steps for search-and-rescue efforts and restoring power. Available experts include: Gonzalo Pita is an associate scientist and director of the […]
August 30, 2021 Tags: climate, Hurricane Ida, hurricanes, Louisiana, New Orleans
| Category: Engineering, Environment, Uncategorized
August 29, 2021 Kait Howard Cell: 443-301-7993 kehoward@jhu.edu jhunews@jhu.edu As the Gulf Coast braces for a potentially devastating Category 4 hurricane, Johns Hopkins University experts can discuss possible trajectories the storm can take, and what can be done to lessen the damage. Available experts include: A climate modeler, Anand Gnanadesikan looks at the atmospheric and […]
August 30, 2021 Tags: climate, Hurricane Ida, hurricanes, Louisiana, New Orleans
| Category: Earth Science, Environment, Uncategorized
Two Johns Hopkins University researchers who study classroom stress and the emotional well-being of students and teachers have released an app that allows teachers to get daily reports about how their students are feeling.
Though the tool wasn’t created for the pandemic, it certainly has come in handy over the last year as educators struggle to keep tabs on students, especially if they’re teaching remotely.
August 18, 2021 Tags: COVID-19, Education, Johns Hopkins University, K-12, Lieny Jeon, mental health, Pandemic, schools, student well-being
| Category: Education/K-12
The Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center today published a new graphic visualization and analysis detailing the troubling trend of U.S. states eliminating daily reporting of COVID-19 data.
According to Coronavirus Resource Center experts, the reduction in daily reporting on cases, hospitalizations, deaths, and other vital data is taking place at a time when more public data is needed, not less — as the highly transmissible Delta variant is driving a new surge in the pandemic.
August 17, 2021 Tags: Beth Blauer, Coronavirus Resource Center, COVID-19, dashboard, data reporting, Jennifer Nuzzo, Johns Hopkins University, Lauren Gardner, Pandemic Data Initiative
| Category: Government and Politics, Public Health, Technology
People born blind have never seen that bananas are yellow but Johns Hopkins University researchers find that like any sighted person, they understand two bananas are likely to be the same color and why. Questioning the belief that dates back to philosopher John Locke that people born blind could never truly understand color, the team of cognitive neuroscientists demonstrated that congenitally blind and sighted individuals actually understand it quite similarly.
August 16, 2021 Tags: Blind people, blindness, Color, Marina Bedny
| Category: Psychology, Uncategorized
Children nationwide are returning to school but not all regions are following CDC guidance on mask-wearing. Johns Hopkins University experts can offer perspective and context on the mixed messages parents, teachers and students are hearing, and what educators should be doing to prepare schools.
August 12, 2021 Tags: Annette C. Anderson, Center for Safe and Healthy Schools, COVID-19, Delta, Education, Johns Hopkins University, mask mandate, Odis Johnson, schools
| Category: Education/K-12, Public Health
Apple has announced plans to scan iPhones and other Apple devices for images of child sexual abuse and report them to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. A Johns Hopkins University expert is available to discuss how the technology works, as well as potential privacy concerns.
August 5, 2021 Tags: Apple, cryptography, CSAM, encryption, iCloud, iPhone, privacy
| Category: Computer Science, Technology, Uncategorized
Johns Hopkins University scientists have developed a new tool for predicting which patients suffering from a complex inflammatory heart disease are at risk of sudden cardiac arrest.
July 28, 2021 Tags: artificial intelligence, cardiac arrest, cardiac imaging, cardiac modeling, cardiac sarcoidosis, Cardiovascular Research, irregular heartbeat, machine learning
| Category: biology, Engineering, Medicine and Nursing, Uncategorized
Branville Bard Jr., an experienced and community-oriented law enforcement leader who has earned a reputation as a vocal advocate for social justice, racial equity, and police reform, has been selected as Johns Hopkins’ new vice president for security. Beginning Aug. 30, Bard will oversee security operations for all Johns Hopkins University and Johns Hopkins Medicine campuses and facilities worldwide, with the exception of the Applied Physics Laboratory.
July 27, 2021 Tags: Branville Bard, Johns Hopkins
| Category: Homewood Campus News, Institutional News, University Administration
Though writing by hand is increasingly being eclipsed by the ease of computers, a new study finds we shouldn’t be so quick to throw away the pencils and paper: handwriting helps people learn certain skills surprisingly faster and significantly better than learning the same material through typing or watching videos.
July 23, 2021 Tags: Brenda Rapp, cognitive science, Education, handwriting, learning, learning to read, typing, Writing, writing by hand
| Category: Education/K-12, Psychology, Technology
When people see a toothbrush, a car, a tree — any individual object — their brain automatically associates it with other things it naturally occurs with, allowing humans to build context for their surroundings and set expectations for the world.
By using machine-learning and brain imaging, researchers measured the extent of the “co-occurrence” phenomenon and identified the brain region involved. The findings appear in Nature Communications.
July 23, 2021 Tags: brain, co-occurrence, cognitive science, Mick Bonner, vision
| Category: Medicine and Nursing, Psychology
The Summer Olympics in Tokyo, which officially begin today, will be held without fans because of COVID-19. A Johns Hopkins University expert on the types of motivation that influence performance is available to discuss how that might affect outcomes at the games.
Vikram Chib, an associate professor in Johns Hopkins University’s Department of Biomedical Engineering, has studied the neural aspects behind performance, including what happens when people choke under pressure, and how having an audience can make you perform better.
July 23, 2021 Tags: Johns Hopkins University, Olympics, performance, spectators, Vikram Chib
| Category: Engineering, Psychology
The Biden Administration and Western allies have formally accused the Chinese government of being behind a massive cyberattack on Microsoft email software and of working with cybercriminals on a range of other ransomware attacks and other cybercrimes.
July 19, 2021 Tags: Biden Administration, China, cyberattack, cybersecurity, hacking, Microsoft
| Category: Computer Science, International Affairs, Uncategorized
