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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 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:
Mimicking an Amoeba
Because
a microscopic animal called
Dictyostelium discoideum acts much like a human white blood cell,
biologists think it can help them develop
new
treatments for diseases ranging from asthma and psoriasis to
cancer. To help scientists in this quest, a Johns Hopkins
undergraduate has developed a computer model that mimics the
amoeba's behavior.
Dying Comet Delights
Astronomers
When
Comet LINEAR decided to
disintegrate last
summer, astronomers like Hal Weaver of Johns Hopkins were lucky
enough to see the drama unfold through powerful telescopes in
space and on Earth. Their recently published findings added fuel
to a few old celestial debates including this one:
Are comets
more like "dirty snowballs" or "snowy dirtballs"?
Mining the Secrets of
Sponge-like Gold
Ancient
Incan metalsmiths knew how to
stretch
their supplies of precious gold by dealloying, a chemical process
that leaves behind a coating of gold whose surface appears
sponge-like when viewed under a microscope. Until recently, no
one understood why this so-called
nanoporous
gold formed. Jonah Erlebacher, an engineering researcher at
Johns Hopkins, led a team that published an answer to the age-old
question.
Combo Therapy May Save the
Voice Box
Treating advanced cancer of the larynx
usually requires removal of the patient's voice box, which leaves
a patient unable to speak without the assistance of an electronic
device. But a team from the Johns Hopkins Oncology Center has
shown that combining chemotherapy and radiation treatment at the
same time offers such patients better hope of preserving their
voice.
Nature's Sights and Sounds
Make Patients More Comfortable
A lung
test called a bronchoscopy can
be
painful, but patients who are distracted by the sounds
of gurgling brook and a colorful scene of a tranquil meadow may
experience less discomfort. That was the key finding of Johns
Hopkins researchers who emphasized that the nature sights and
sounds were not a substitute for pain medication, but a way to
enhance pain control.
Unraveling a Baby's Language
Learning
A Johns Hopkins scientist is using
artificial
language to gain new insights into how babies learn to understand
language. Rebecca Gomez takes nonsense words such as "pel,"
"wadim," and "jic" and organizes them to mimic grammatical
patterns in natural language. "Artificial languages allow me to
eliminate any interference from prior language learning and focus
more closely on what the learner is responding to," she
says.
Bikes and Booze Make a
Lethal Mix
The
dangers of driving under the
influence of
alcohol are well known. But Johns Hopkins researchers recently
determined that a
blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 grams
per deciliter -- the legal level of drunkenness in most states --
also increases a bicycle rider's risk of fatal or serious
injury by 2,000 percent.
Microparticles May Carry
Life-Saving Drugs
Supported by an undergraduate research
grant,
a Johns Hopkins student has developed tiny
biodegradable plastic particles that could be used in an aerosol
spray to carry DNA vaccines and other important medications deep
into human lungs. The deep lung area, where oxygen enters the
bloodstream, may be an effective entry point for DNA vaccines and
other medications used to treat ailments ranging from cystic
fibrosis to cancer.
Eros Blasted by Space
Debris
Most of
the small features that make up
the surface of
asteroid Eros more likely came from
an unrelenting bombardment from space debris rather than internal
processes. Scientists from the NEAR mission team, based at the
Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, reached this conclusion
after analyzing data collected during the satellite's
low-altitude flyover last October.
Probing Aspirin's
Pain-Killing Power
Aspirin's ability to combat headaches
and
other painful ailments has been known for more than 2,000 years.
But no one could say exactly why it worked--until recently.
Researchers at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, led by
Vincenzo Casolaro, M.D., Ph.D., showed that aspirin inhibits interleukin-4, a protein
involved in allergic reactions and inflammation.
Quest for a Missing Quasar
Astronomy's "most wanted" list shortened by one when researchers
from Johns Hopkins and two other institutions recently announced
that they had spotted
the first type
II quasar, an object on the fringes of the known universe
whose existence they had suspected for two decades. The finding
is an important step in efforts to understand how black holes and
galaxies formed in the early universe.
Building Implosions Not a
Spectator Sport
The
carefully planned destruction of
old
high-rise buildings through implosion often attracts many
onlookers. But new studies by the Johns Hopkins University
Bloomberg School of Public Health indicate the
dust clouds created by such events may
pose health hazards. Researchers advise people to watch such
implosions on television, rather than in person.
In Air Crashes, Gender May
Matter
Do male and female pilots make
different kinds of mistakes in the air? Researchers at the
Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health
believe that's the case. They found that male pilots flying
private aircraft in the United States are more likely to crash
due to inattention or flawed decision-making, while female pilots
are more likely to crash from mishandling the aircraft.
Lending a Robotic
Hand
A Johns
Hopkins surgeon is using
robotic instruments to perform
delicate operations. Mark Talamini sits in a shell-like
console, and thanks to three dimensional optics, he gets a vivid
picture of the inside of the abdomen. By sliding his hands into
computer-enhanced mechanical wrists, the surgeon performs the
operation.
Curbing Kids'
Anxiety
Researchers from the Johns Hopkins
Children's
Center and four other medical centers have found that
the antidepressant
drug fluvoxamine significantly lowers anxiety without major side
effects in most children who take it. The finding is the
result of the first large-scale study of an anti-anxiety drug
treatment in children.
A Step Toward Curing
Paralysis
Johns
Hopkins researchers have
restored movement to newly
paralyzed rodents by injecting stem cells into the animals'
spinal fluid. Neurology experts say this technique may lead
in the near future to improved treatments for patients with such
diseases as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and spinal motor
atrophy (SMA).
Forecasting Storms in Outer
Space
Sun-born electromagnetic storms in
outer space
can disrupt power grids on Earth and knock out satellite
communications, or bring bursts of penetrating radiation that
threaten astronauts and spacecraft. Researchers at at the Johns
Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory may have found
a better way to
predict these storms by measuring magnetic fields in the
Earth's ionosphere.
Machines Follow the Human
Model
In
their efforts to build better
robots,
Johns Hopkins
engineers are designing models in part by simulating human joint
movement and the human sense of touch. In some cases, they're
doing biology one better.
Getting a Second
Opinion
When it
comes to a cancer diagnosis,
based on a biopsy, most patients accept a pathologist's report without
question and seldom ask for a second opinion. But Johns Hopkins
researchers recently found that a small number of patients
received significantly wrong diagnoses that would have led to
unnecessary or inappropriate treatment.
Getting a second opinion may be a wise
step.
Special Reports
Playing the Patent Game
For better or worse,
universities have become big players in the complex patent
game. The rules are often Byzantine and the results
boom-or-bust. Researchers fall into different factions: patent
advocates; open source backers of the inventor-share-all variety;
and those in between. Researchers are now evaluating the patent
system's mark on science in commercial venues and at
universities. Johns Hopkins Magazine reviews the thorny
issues surrounding patents and research.
Star-Gazing Goes Digital
Mapping the stars has
traditionally been a tough, time-consuming process. But new
digital imaging and high-speed computing techniques are enabling
participants in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, including Johns
Hopkins astronomer Alex Szalay, to track a million galaxies in
one night. Read an in-depth report on this effort in Johns
Hopkins Magazine.
Learn more about
what Johns Hopkins researchers are working on
at the following selected sites:
Health and
Medicine
Social Sciences,
Humanities
and the Arts
Natural Sciences,
Engineering and Technology
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