Published by the Students of Johns Hopkins since 1896
November 25, 2024

Science & Technology



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A person’s appearance may greatly affect how others perceive their personality, according to a study from NYU.

Facial appearance is linked to personality traits

While it may be the norm for one to put great effort into making good first impressions in social situations, recent studies are leading scientists to believe that one may have less control over first impressions than they may believe. 


Chiral molecules found on Murchison meteorite

As the only known planet with life, it makes sense to assume that life began on Earth. Numerous experiments have recreated the environment of the early Earth and determined that biological molecules could have first formed on our planet.


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Bone marrow in the skull has been identified to contribute greatly to the migration of immune cells.

Immune cells do not have a homogenous response

In human diseases and injuries, inflammation is a critical defense and repair mechanism. In response to a physical injury or infection, immune cells are recruited to the site of inflammation to defend against the foreign injury or pathogen. However, immune cells also have destructive properties. Persisting inflammation can create an opposite effect, causing more harm than benefit.


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CDC recently released statistics on increasing STD diagnoses across the nation.

National number of STD cases continues to climb

For the past half-decade, statistics for the number of sexually transmitted disease (STD) diagnoses have shown an upward trend. All together, the numbers for novel cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis total to nearly 2.3 million for 2017 in the United States alone. 


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Mono virus attacks B cells, which produces proteins to turn genes on and off.

New diseases found to be linked to mono virus

Mononucleosis is caused by the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), which is estimated to infect 90 percent of people in the U.S. by age 20 and 90 percent of the people in developing countries by the age of two. Ninety-eight percent of the world’s population carries EBV, since once it infects, it remains in a person for the rest of their lives. 


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Antioxidants, commonly found in fruits and vegetables, can improve health.

Antioxidants can reduce cardiovascular diseases

In this day and age, antioxidants seem to have flooded popular media with their promises of youth and good health. According to a new study published in Hypertension, an American Heart Association journal, the use of oral antioxidants may produce considerable health benefits. 


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The likelihood of being fatally attacked by a shark is one in 3,700,000.

Sharks should not get such a bad reputation

According to National Geographic, “You have a one in 63 chance of dying from the flu and a one in 3,700,000 chance of being killed by a shark during your lifetime.” And yet, do we fear the flu? No. But we’re convinced that we may very well be fatally attacked by a shark whenever stepping foot in the ocean. 






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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