Published by the Students of Johns Hopkins since 1896
November 1, 2024

Science & Technology




Eating dark chocolate has neurological benefits

Researchers at Loma Linda University have recently announced good news for people with a sweet tooth. After many experimental trials, they discovered that the consumption of certain types of dark chocolate noticeably improves people’s cognitive abilities.


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NASA, along with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, launched TESS, an exoplanet explorer.

NASA launches a new satellite to detect planets

While the exploration of the solar system and the search for extraterrestrial life has been going on for decades, NASA recently took a huge step forward with the launch of the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). Exoplanets are planets outside the solar system that orbit a star.


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Scientists have developed 3-D mini-brains to aid in studying brain development.

3-D brains offer new way to study mental illnesses

While there is currently no cure for schizophrenia, research has continued to develop new ways of understanding this disease. In fact, researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) in Boston have recently used induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and embryonic stem cells to develop 3-D cerebral organoids, which are artificially grown models of the brain.


Wrap up: the latest in technology...

Nest Labs Provides Low-Income Families with Thermostats Nest Labs, a producer of sensor-driven thermostats, smoke detectors and security systems, recently announced that it will donate up to one million thermostats to low-income families. The company is involved in Power Project, an initiative to improve energy costs for low-income families.



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Students who practice yoga seem to have better performance at school.

Yoga in schools offers mental health benefits

Breathe in, stretch your arms to the sky in tree pose, breathe out. Many practice yoga to relax and help them with their mental health. Yoga practices were first recorded in the Rig-Veda, an ancient religious Hindu text. 



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Research done on both genders shows that night owls might have a ten percent increased chance to die earlier.

Staying up later correlated with shorter life span

In a study published in Chronobiology International, researchers at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University and the University of Surrey in the United Kingdom have discovered a correlation between chronotypes (the time a person prefers to sleep) and mortality.




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Mice in Manhattan are found to carry various antibiotic-resistant strains.

Manhattan mice carry disease-causing bacteria

It’s not uncommon to see huge mice running around the streets of New York City at night. Recent research done at Columbia University shows that these mice are more than just disgusting — they also carry novel disease-causing bacteria and antibiotic-resistant viruses. These bacteria include the bacteria responsible for life-threatening gastroenteritis in people.


Alcohol consumption has grave health risks

The jury has been out for a long time on the health effects of drinking alcohol. Is it good for your heart or bad? Previous studies have come to both conclusions, but researchers at the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England, conducted a long-term study on nearly 600,000 participants from 19 high-income countries to fully analyze the health effects of alcohol consumption.


COURTESY OF KATHY HU
Medhacks volunteers worked with Baltimore high schoolers at the event.

Teens participate in Mini-Medhacks event

On Saturday, April 7, MedHacks hosted its first Mini-MedHacks event, involving 30 high school seniors from schools around Baltimore. MedHacks hosts an annual medical hackathon at Hopkins, and Mini-MedHacks 2018 was intended to provide younger students with a similar experience.


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Self-driving vehicles could replace more than 300,000 jobs each year.

Self-driving trucks may be good for the industry

Does automation help or harm low-skilled workers? The answer is perhaps that it depends on industry context and social trends. The trucking industry gives us intriguing insight into the way automation might be good for both an industry and its workers -- with minimal need for re-training that workers may be unable or unwilling to undergo. 


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In California, a new regulation to add cancer warning labels to coffee might soon take place.

Coffee might soon have cancer warning labels

How many of us are guilty of beginning the day with a nice, hot cup of joe? For countless Americans, the day doesn’t start without some caffeine to remedy the pain that comes with waking up to go to work or school. However, the quest to obtain a drink of coffee continues to be riddled with scrutiny from various sources.


EPA leader must be fired for denying basic science

With the recent resignation of now former Homeland Security Advisor Tom Bossert, the list of newly unemployed, former high-level White House and federal officials grows. To date, over 20 top-level officials within the Trump administration, including a secretary of state, a White House chief of staff and two national security advisors, have either resigned or been fired. 



Scientists show that adult brains do grow neurons

The brain is one of the most complex organs in the body. Not only does this three-pound organ control all the movements, thoughts, emotions and sensory perceptions that occur in our day-to-day lives, it is also constantly changing. In fact, the structure of your brain now is different than it was five seconds ago because of all the new stimuli feeding through the nervous system. 


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