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 The nation's first research university, The
Johns Hopkins University opened in Baltimore in 1876. Founding president Daniel Coit
Gilman laid out his vision for this new type of institution in his inaugural address.
"What are we aiming at?" he asked. "The encouragement of research ...and
the advancement of individual scholars, who by their excellence will advance the sciences
they pursue, and the society where they dwell."
Today, his philosophy is widely accepted, but Gilman in his day was a pioneer in
suggesting that research and teaching should occur in the same institution, and that each
would strengthen the other. "The best teachers are usually those who are free,
competent and willing to make original researches in the library and the laboratory,"
Gilman said. "The best investigators are usually those who have also the
responsibilities of instruction, gaining thus the incitement of colleagues, the
encouragement of pupils, the observation of the public."
The realization of Gilman's philosophy at Hopkins, and at other institutions that later
attracted Hopkins-trained scholars, revolutionized higher education in America, leading to
the research university system as it exists today.
Today, Hopkins
remains a leader, in both teaching and research. The School of Medicine is one of the
best anywhere, and the School of Hygiene and Public Health is renowned for contributions
to health and preventive medicine worldwide. The other divisions, though smaller -- by
design -- than similar schools in other institutions, include eminent scholars and many
highly ranked departments.
From the introduction of surgical gloves to the identification of the genetic basis of
cancers, from laying the groundwork for the science of spectroscopy to the invention of
the all-plastic battery, Johns
Hopkins research has contributed to the betterment of the human condition for nearly a
century and a quarter.
Here is a sampling of
recent discoveries at Johns Hopkins:
It’s Just a Zoo Out There (in Outer Space)
For nearly a century, students of the cosmos trying to describe
super-bright enigmas called active galactic
nuclei have created what a Johns Hopkins astronomer calls "an entire zoo of
classifications." Now, the astronomer is trying to tame the menagerie and bring order
to the chaos.
Cradle Talk
A baby’s first words? Everyone knows they are often "Mama" and
"Dada." But is it babble, or do these words really mean anything? A Johns
Hopkins psychologist reports that the sounds that give parents such a thrill do actually
mark the very beginning of human word comprehension at 6 months of age.
Too Much of a Good Thing
Two Hopkins researchers have found a way to determine whether patients with too many red blood cells
are suffering from a rare disease or from less unusual problems. A report from the Johns Hopkins Medical News.
Ouch!!!!
Neuroscientists at Johns Hopkins disclose what's behind a mysterious, incapacitating
pain syndrome that can occur after even an insignificant injury. And they’re
working on a strategy for treatment.
Applied Math, Part I
When soldiers hit the beach, or when armies clean up battlefields, it’s important to
find out -- with as little danger as possible -- where the land
mines are. Johns Hopkins engineers have developed a complex series of mathematical
steps that allow a computer to pick the mines out on aerial reconnaissance photos.
Today’s Quiz
It’s smaller than we thought it would be. It’s relatively young, pockmarked, and
might really be a chip off the old block. What is it? And, no, it’s not a teenager.
[Answer: Asteroid 433 Eros, which got its first of two visits recently from the Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous
spacecraft.] |
Painting by Pat Rawlings
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Applied Math, Part II
How does a mathematician get involved in research on pre-natal care in Africa, withdrawal
pain in drug addicts, and immune cells in HIV-infected gay men? Colin Wu is a
biostatistician in the Johns Hopkins School of Engineering who helps the primary
investigators in these studies make sense of their raw data. He uses a new technique
called "curve
estimation."
Speak Up!
An implant developed at Johns Hopkins is helping to restore a normal voice to patients who can’t
speak above a whisper because of a stroke, tumor or neurologic disease. A report from
the Johns Hopkins Medical News.
Saving Moms
Vitamin A can dramatically reduce the appalling rate of deaths from pregnancy in
some less-developed countries, Johns Hopkins public health researchers have found.
Not the Traditional Approach, Part I
Cleaning dirty water with dirt, and other science and technology briefs from
Johns Hopkins Magazine.
Not the Traditional Approach, Part II
Can helping patients find jobs reduce their high blood pressure? And other health and medicine briefs from Johns Hopkins Magazine
Not the Traditional Approach, Part III
In some less-developed countries, it’s impossible to get a Pap smear to screen for
cervical cancer, a major killer of women in those countries. Now Johns Hopkins researchers
have learned that a simple,
inexpensive test – using vinegar – can be a highly effective substitute.
Switching off Gene Switching
Nearly 90 percent of prostate cancers
-- "the typical, garden varieties," according to Johns Hopkins scientists -- are
linked to a previously unsuspected but common genetic process. And the good news is that
the process, called gene switching, could be reversible.
Why Cure What You Can Prevent?
Public health researchers at Hopkins and in China have proved the effectiveness of a drug
proposed as an agent for
preventing liver cancer.
Don’t Make a Monkey Out of Me
A new imaging technique has enabled a Johns Hopkins psychologist to point out a key way in
which human
brains have evolved beyond those of moneys.
Special Reports
 Scientist or Charlatan?
Robert Boyle: He was the father of modern chemistry, co-founder of
the scientific method, and the man who took the science beyond the charlatanism of
transmuting lead into gold and. Or was he? A Johns Hopkins researcher who is both chemist
and historian of science has learned some startling things about Robert Boyle the alchemist. A
special report from Johns Hopkins Magazine.
 We are Not Ready
Also from Johns Hopkins Magazine: In "Rx Against Terror," D.A.
Henderson, the former Johns Hopkins dean of public health largely responsible for the
eradication of smallpox, warns of a new threat: bioterrorism.
Learn more about what Johns Hopkins researchers are working on at the following selected
sites:
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