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.
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
Johns Hopkins University will award an honorary degree to German Chancellor Angela Merkel for her principled and courageous global leadership at a Thursday July 15 ceremony at the university’s School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, D.C.
July 15, 2021 Tags: Angela Merkel, honorary degree, Johns Hopkins University
| Category: Institutional News, Uncategorized, University-Related
Researchers have identified a specialized protein that appears to help prevent tumor cells from entering the bloodstream and spreading to other parts of the body.
July 12, 2021 Tags: cancer, cell biology, cell intravasation, RNA interference, shear stress sensor, tumor metastasis
| Category: biology, Medicine and Nursing, Uncategorized
Abuse intervention services for those with criminal histories of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV), arts workshops to process trauma, and a community mediation initiative that will bring together Latinx immigrant and Black youth are among nine projects chosen to receive Johns Hopkins University’s Innovation Fund for Community Safety grant awards.
June 30, 2021 Tags: Baltimore, Innovation Fund for Community Safety, Johns Hopkins University
| Category: Institutional News
In the wake of the devastating collapse of a Miami-area condominium tower, a Johns Hopkins University civil engineer can discuss the possibility that shifting soil beneath the building led to the massive structural failure.
June 29, 2021 Tags: civil engineering, condo tower collapse, construction materials, Florida, Miami, Surfside, systems engineering
| Category: Engineering, Uncategorized
A first-of-its-kind longitudinal study of infant curiosity found that months-old babies most captivated by magic tricks became the most curious toddlers, suggesting a pre-verbal baby’s level of interest in surprising aspects of the world remains constant over time and could predict their future cognitive ability.
June 28, 2021 Tags: babies, cognition, curiosity, Johns Hopkins, Lisa Feigenson
| Category: Education/K-12, Psychology
As triple-digit temperatures scorch millions in California and the Desert West, stoking wildfires and exacerbating drought conditions, Johns Hopkins experts can discuss the environmental and health impacts of the heat wave, and how officials can better prepare for the rest of the summer.
June 16, 2021 Tags: Arizona, Ben Zaitchik, California, drought, environment, environmental justice, health equity, heat, heat wave, Nevada, urban heat, Utah, Wildfires
| Category: Earth Science, Environment, Uncategorized
The Biden Administration is urging corporate executives and business leaders to take immediate steps to counter ransomware attacks following major cybersecurity breaches in the U.S. oil and meat industries. Johns Hopkins University experts are available to offer perspective on the new guidelines.
June 3, 2021 Tags: Anton Dahbura, Aviel Rubin, Biden Administration, cyberattacks, cybersecurity, JBS, Johns Hopkins, ransomware, White House
| Category: Computer Science, Technology, Uncategorized
As world leaders protest the Belarusian government’s brazen interception of a plane carrying a dissident journalist, Johns Hopkins University senior fellow Anne Applebaum can describe the political situation in Belarus, and how the incident fits into a pattern of increasing authoritarianism in countries across the globe.
May 25, 2021 Tags: Alexander Lukashenko, authoritarian governments, Belarus, dissident journalists, Johns Hopkins University, political dissidents, Roman Protasevich
| Category: Government and Politics, International Affairs, Uncategorized
In an open access paper published in Science Advances, Johns Hopkins physicists and colleagues at Rice University, the Vienna University of Technology (TU Wien), and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), present experimental evidence of naturally occurring quantum criticality in a material.
May 24, 2021 Tags: Institute for Quantum Matter, Johns Hopkins University, physics, quantum materials, quantum technology
| Category: Chemistry, Physics and Astronomy, Technology, Uncategorized
Johns Hopkins University today announced plans to develop a Behavioral Health Crisis Support Team to serve students, faculty, staff, and community members experiencing a behavioral health crisis on or near its Baltimore campuses. This pilot program will launch in the fall of 2021, first around Homewood and then expanding to the university’s other Baltimore campuses. The approach addresses the growing need for innovative public health responses to behavioral and mental health crises and is modeled after best practices for public safety operations.
May 18, 2021 Tags: Behavioral Health Crisis Support Team, Johns Hopkins, public safety
| Category: Homewood Campus News, Institutional News, University-Related
As the death toll mounts in Gaza and the Israeli government resists calls for a ceasefire, Johns Hopkins University experts can offer perspective on why the fighting continues, and whether the United States can play a role in stopping it.
May 18, 2021 Tags: Gaza, Israel, Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Johns Hopkins, Joseph Biden, Middle East, Palestine, Steven R. David, U.S. foreign policy
| Category: International Affairs, Uncategorized
The Johns Hopkins University’s Coronavirus Resource Center on May 17 is launching the Pandemic Data Initiative as a new resource to spotlight systemic deficiencies in the collecting and reporting of pandemic data, to examine how those challenges hinder COVID-19 responses, and to explore possible solutions to improve public data.
May 17, 2021 Tags: Beth Blauer, Coronavirus, Coronavirus Resource Center, COVID-19, data, Johns Hopkins University, Lauren Gardner, Pandemic, Pandemic Data Initiative
| Category: Public Health, Technology, University-Related
Entrepreneur, philanthropist, three-term mayor of New York City, and Johns Hopkins University graduate Michael R. Bloomberg will return to campus to address the Class of 2021 at commencement on May 27 at Homewood Field.
May 14, 2021 Tags: Class of 2021, commencement speaker, Johns Hopkins University, Mike Bloomberg
| Category: Commencement, University-Related
Trillions of cicadas are poised to get their buzz on across much of the United States, with the once-every-17-year emergence of Brood X. Hope you’re hungry!
One person’s infestation is another’s free eco-friendly lunch, according to Johns Hopkins University sustainable food expert Jessica Fanzo, author of the forthcoming Can Fixing Dinner Fix the Planet?
Fanzo, who plans to collect and eat cicadas herself as soon as they hit her own backyard, can explain how the insects have as much protein as red or other factory-farmed meat, but without the harsh environmental effects, including greenhouse gases and biodiversity loss.
May 13, 2021 Tags: alternative protein, cicadas, climate change, eating insects, environment, factory farming, Jessica Fanzo
| Category: Environment, Public Health, Public policy, University-Related
As a worsening gas shortage across much of the Eastern United States causes a surge in panic buying, a Johns Hopkins University economist who has researched stockpiling mentality, can discuss the consumer behavior in play.
May 13, 2021 Tags: Andrew Ching, Carey Business School, economics, gas shortage, Johns Hopkins, panic buying
| Category: Business and Economics
With fighting between Palestinian militants and the Israeli military escalating, a Johns Hopkins political scientist can offer perspective on the causes of the most recent violence and the potential for full-fledged war.
May 12, 2021 Tags: Gaza, Israel, Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Johns Hopkins, Middle East, Palestine, Steven R. David
| Category: International Affairs, Uncategorized
With consumer prices in the United States climbing to levels not seen since the recession, a Johns Hopkins University economist is available to offer perspective on possible causes and whether or not this signals inflation, or pandemic recovery.
May 12, 2021 Tags: consumer prices, economics, inflation, Johns Hopkins, Robert Barbera
| Category: Business and Economics
Today, Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg Philanthropies announced the launch of the Vivien Thomas Scholars Initiative devoted to addressing historic underrepresentation in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields, and preparing a new, more diverse generation of researchers and scholars to assume leadership roles in tackling some of the world’s greatest challenges. The $150 million effort funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies will be endowed to create additional pathways for students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) to pursue and receive PhDs in STEM fields.
May 11, 2021 Tags: Bloomberg Philanthropies, HCBUs, Johns Hopkins University, PhDs, STEM, Vivien Thomas Scholars Initiative
| Category: Institutional News, Uncategorized, University-Related
People as young as 12 can now get the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, as early as this week, now that the Food and Drug Administration authorized the use. Experts with Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Safe and Healthy Schools, which has been studying the complex question of what it will take for the nation to safely return students to school, are available for perspective and commentary.
May 11, 2021 Tags: Annette C. Anderson, Center for Safe and Healthy Schools, COVID-19, Johns Hopkins, Odis Johnson, vaccines
| Category: Education/K-12, Public Health
As officials struggle to reopen a major U.S. fuel pipeline hit by a ransomware attack on Friday, a Johns Hopkins cybersecurity expert is available to offer perspective, particularly about the vulnerability of crucial systems to such attacks.
May 11, 2021 Tags: Anton Dahbura, Colonial Pipeline, cyber attacks, cybersecurity, Johns Hopkins, ransomware
| Category: Computer Science, International Affairs
Today, Johns Hopkins University and Johns Hopkins Health System announced an important step to support the economic wellbeing of employees by adopting an enterprise-wide $15 minimum wage. The change will take effect in line with annual pay increases on July 1, 2021 for university employees and January 1, 2022 for employees of the health system.
May 6, 2021 Tags: $15 minimum wage, HopkinsLocal, Johns Hopkins, minimum wage
| Category: Institutional News, University-Related
