Most consumers of drinking water in the United States know that chemicals are used in the treatment processes to ensure the water is safe to drink. But they might not know that the use of some of these chemicals, such as chlorine, can also lead to the formation of unregulated toxic byproducts.
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.
JHU Team’s Acoustic Sensor Wins Runner-Up Award in Inventors Competition
A team of Johns Hopkins University graduate students that invented a sensor that ignores background noise and could improve everything from telemedicine to Zoom calls has won the Runner-Up Award in the Collegiate Inventors Competition.
MEDIA ADVISORY: Hopkins Professor Available To Discuss California Power Outages, Electrical Grid Management and Renewable Energy
Benjamin Hobbs, a Johns Hopkins University professor of environmental health and engineering, is available to speak to the media about issues related to the California energy grid and a new effort to build more renewable energy into power markets over the next decade.
ADVISORY: Johns Hopkins Expert Leads International Effort To Determine Climate’s Impact On Spread Of COVID-19
Ben Zaitchik, a professor of Earth and planetary sciences at Johns Hopkins University, is available to speak with the media about the vigorous research still needed to definitively determine if and how climate, environmental and meteorological elements influence the spread of COVID-19.
Researchers Find ‘Major Transformation’ In Global Climate Policy Ideas
The economic ideas that dominate global climate policy have undergone a “major transformation” over the past three decades from strictly market-based notions to recent diversified approaches featuring more government intervention, according to new research published in Nature Climate Change by a Johns Hopkins University political scientist.
More Pavement, More Problems
Think your daily coffee, boutique gym membership and airport lounge access cost a lot? There may be an additional, hidden cost to those luxuries of urban living, says a new Johns Hopkins University study: more flooding.
For every percentage point increase in roads, parking lots and other impervious surfaces that prevent water from flowing into the ground, annual floods increase on average by 3.3%, the researchers found.
China’s Regulations Unsuccessful in Curbing Methane Emissions
China, already the world’s leading emitter of human-caused greenhouse gases, continues to pump increasing amounts of climate-changing methane into the atmosphere despite tough new regulations on gas releases from its coal mines, a new Johns Hopkins study shows.
JHU Project Aims to Save Millions by Reducing Solar Power Forecast Errors
Although the popularity of solar energy has surged, the unpredictability of a weather-dependent technology has kept even more people from embracing it. A new Johns Hopkins University-led project hopes to change that by improving our ability to forecast sunshine and backup power needs.
Flaw Found in Water Treatment Methods
Some potentially toxic chemicals in water may be created, ironically, during the water treatment process itself.
Science and Health News Tips from Johns Hopkins
These news tips come from stories in the winter issue of Johns Hopkins Magazine.
Secrets of Ancient Egypt May Spark Better Fuel Cells for Tomorrow’s Cars
To make modern-day fuel cells less expensive and more powerful, a team led by Johns Hopkins chemical engineers has drawn inspiration from the ancient Egyptian tradition of gilding.
JHU Scientist Crowdsources Rocks Harboring Earthly “Extraterrestrials”
Crowdsourcing has been used to create an online photography archive, finance a British rock band’s tour and search for intelligent life on other planets. Now, Johns Hopkins University biologist Jocelyne DiRuggiero is hoping the approach can help her find rocks.
Climate Change Likely to be More Deadly in Poor African Settlements
Conditions in crowded, urban settlements in Africa make worse the effects of climate change, pushing temperatures to dangerous heights for children and the elderly in those areas, according to a new study led by a Johns Hopkins University scientist.
MEDIA ADVISORY: More Hurricane Experts from Johns Hopkins University
This is an additional list of experts from the Johns Hopkins University on issues associated with Hurricane Harvey and now Hurricane Irma
MEDIA ADVISORY: More Hurricane Harvey Experts from Johns Hopkins University
This is a third list of experts from the Johns Hopkins University on issues associated with the onslaught and aftermath of Hurricane Harvey.
MEDIA ADVISORY: More Hurricane Harvey Experts from Johns Hopkins University
This is a second list of experts from the Johns Hopkins University on issues associated with the onslaught and aftermath of Hurricane Harvey.
Media Advisory: Johns Hopkins Researchers to Present Their Work on Capitol Hill
Early career scientists, physicians, engineers and specialists in public health, nursing, music and marketing from Johns Hopkins University will gather on Capitol Hill in Washington to present their federally-funded research, emphasizing the importance of continuing federal support in the pursuit of new knowledge and innovation.
Mouse Tests Aim to Show How Genes and Environment Join Forces to Cause Disease
When researchers try to uncover the cause of disease, they commonly start with two questions: Did a quirk in the patient’s genes open the door to illness? Did exposure to environmental factors play havoc with the patient’s health? Very often, both troublemakers are at least partly to blame. To provide the most effective treatment, doctors need to know as much as possible about how these partners in sickness and poor health work together.
How Do Energy Policies and Climate Change Affect Air Quality—and Our Health?
A new interdisciplinary science team, led by experts from Yale and Johns Hopkins universities and funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, will try to figure how power generation trends, climate change and public policy interact to affect air quality. A key goal is to trace how the resulting changes in air pollution may affect the health of people who live and work in the mid-Atlantic area.
Rapid Plankton Growth in Ocean Seen as Sign of Carbon Dioxide Loading
A microscopic marine alga is thriving in the North Atlantic to an extent that defies scientific predictions, suggesting swift environmental change as a result of rising carbon dioxide in the ocean, a study led a by Johns Hopkins University scientist has found.