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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:
A Cosmic Catastrophe Leaves Behind A
Vivid Blue Scar
Astronomers at Johns Hopkins have identified the vivid scar
created by a cosmic catastrophe. This blue arc,
thousands of light years long, was produced when a galaxy
pulled in a smaller satellite galaxy and tore it apart. The
streak is composed of clusters of young blue stars that
formed as the larger galaxy, Centaurus A, absorbed the
smaller galaxy about 200 million to 400 million years ago.
Researchers say their discovery suggests absorption of
smaller galaxies may contribute to the formation of
galactic halos, outer perimeters of galaxies where star
populations are sparse. "This adds a nice example in the
local universe to the growing evidence that galaxy halos
are built up from the accretion of dwarf satellite
galaxies," said Eric Peng, a graduate student in astronomy
in the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences at Johns Hopkins
and lead author of the new paper.
'Fire and Ice' Treatment Helps Produce
Strong Copper That Retains Ductility
Combining old-fashioned metal-working techniques with
modern nanotechnology,
engineers at Johns Hopkins have
produced a form of pure copper metal that is six times
stronger than normal, with no significant loss of
ductility. Ductility refers to the metal's ability to
stretch without fracturing. To make this new form of
copper, the researchers, led by Prof. En Ma and doctoral
student Yinmin Wang from the Department of Materials
Science and Engineering, subjected pure copper to extreme
cold and mechanical manipulation, then exposed it to
extreme heat. The resulting form of copper could have
important applications in microelectromechanical systems
and in biomedical devices.
Lab-Assisted Reproduction May Be Linked
To Birth Defect Syndrome
For couples who have difficulty conceiving children in the
traditional manner, in vitro fertilization (IVF) has become
a popular alternative. But scientists from Johns Hopkins
and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis
recently discovered that
this method appears to be
associated with a rare combination of birth defects
characterized by excessive growth of various tissues. The
researchers point out, however that their results should
stimulate further investigation, not cause a couple to
immediately rule out IVF. "This analysis should not affect
people's decisions about whether to have IVF, because our
findings still need to be validated," says Andrew Feinberg,
King Fahd Professor of Medicine at Johns Hopkins and
a member of the school's McKusick-Nathans Institute for
Genetic Medicine.
A Biochemical 'Clock' Is Found Along the
Information Highway Inside a Cell
Researchers from The Johns Hopkins University and other
institutions have discovered a
biochemical "clock" that appears to play a
crucial role in the way information is sent from the surface of a
cell to its nucleus. These messages can cause the cell to
thrive or commit suicide, and manipulating them could lead to new
treatments for cancer and other diseases, the researchers say.
Scientists had envisioned the chain of chemical reactions inside
the cell as a simple telephone wire. But Andre Levchenko,
assistant professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering,
said his team instead found that it "was not just carrying the
information, it was processing it. The pathway was operating like
a clock with a pendulum, delivering the signal at particular
intervals of time in a way that could resonate with the behavior
of the genes in the nucleus."
Digital Audio Technology Will Help
Preserve Important Classical Music
Nearly a half century of recorded Peabody Conservatory
classical music performances will soon be transformed into
a digital audio library that will
help preserve the works and make them available on the
World Wide Web. The project will be supported by a $230,000
federal Institute of Museum and Library Services grant
provided to The John Hopkins University libraries.
Technology specialists at the university will supervise the
conversion of an estimated 10,000 audio tapes owned by the
Peabody's archives. "This project presents an exceptional
opportunity to blend the expertise of librarians, Peabody
faculty and technology specialists at Johns Hopkins," noted
Winston Tabb, dean of the Johns Hopkins University
libraries. "The creation of a Web-based archive will extend
access to the riches of this collection to an international
community."
Cardiac Implants Can Help Extend the
Lives of Patients with Deadly Heart Ailments
Heart failure -- a condition in which the organ gradually
loses its ability to pump blood -- was once a diagnosis
that signaled imminent death. Drug therapy can help some
patients, and a heart transplant can extend life, but too
few replacement organs are available.
To assist heart failure patients who do
not respond well to drugs, Johns Hopkins physicians and
biomedical engineers are treating patients with implantable
cardiac devices, including pacers, defibrillators,
pumps and splints. This technology, as described in a
Hopkins Medical News report, is showing great
promise in keep gravely ill patients
alive.
Researchers Find Less Expensive Way to
Track HIV's Progress
Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public
Health and the University of Zurich, Switzerland, have
identified a test for
monitoring the progression of HIV in the early stages of
the disease that is less expensive than current
methods. The test, called HIV-1 protein 24 (p24)
antigen, predicts disease progression as well as CD4
lymphocyte count and HIV-1 RNA viral load, the measurements
currently used to determine when patients should start
antiviral drug therapy to prevent AIDS. Timothy R.
Sterling, MD, a study co-author and assistant professor of
epidemiology, said, "The test could be used to determine
when to initiate anti-retroviral therapy in HIV-infected
persons. And because it costs much less than both CD4
lymphocyte count and HIV-1 RNA viral load, the
heat-denatured p24 antigen test could be of particular
benefit in developing countries, where the burden of HIV
infection is great."
Buckling Up: Chest Compression Belt
Outperforms Manual CPR
When a heart attack occurs, cardiopulmonary resuscitation,
performed manually, can help save a patient's life. But a better
way to administer CPR may be on the horizon. In a recent study
involving animals, a team led by Johns Hopkins researchers found
that a
battery-operated compression belt
buckled around the chest restores blood flow better than manual
chest compressions and conventional CPR. The device, which
resembles an eight-inch wide seat belt, is buckled around the
chest, tightened and motorized. Once switched on, it contracts
against the chest, stimulating blood flow. "The belt can compress
a greater area of the chest than manual compressions, so it
restores more blood flow than manual CPR," says Henry R.
Halperin, lead author of the study and professor of
medicine and biomedical engineering at
Hopkins.
Pain Reliever Reduces Growth of Cancerous
Tumors In Rats
Research led by a nurse investigator has found that a
pain reliever commonly used to treat serious and
painful forms of arthritis may also reduce the growth of
malignant tumors after cancer surgery. Indomethacin, a
nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, given to rats after surgery
reduced tumor promotion by more than 50 percent, according to
Gayle Page, associate professor at The Johns Hopkins University
School of Nursing. "These findings provide further support to our
supposition that unmanaged pain is associated with potentially
life-threatening consequences," says Page. "If our results in
animals prove to be similar in humans, controlling postoperative
pain and inflammation must become a priority in the management of
cancer patients undergoing surgery."
Model-Making Technique Improves Wind Tunnel
Test Efficiency
Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory have
made a unique contribution to an Air Force project investigating
ways to make aerodynamic testing more accurate and affordable.
Rob Eidson and Rick Hildebrand created the
first-ever nonmetallic model of the X-45A
unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) -- the first unmanned
air vehicle being developed specifically for combat -- using an
APL-developed, low-cost wind tunnel model manufacturing approach
for testing missile designs. Created for the Air Force Research
Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, the model is
inexpensive enough to allow wind tunnel testing that had been
cost prohibitive.
Scientists Create First Biologic Pacemaker Via
Gene Therapy In Guinea Pigs
Working with guinea pigs, Johns Hopkins scientists have created
what is believed to be the
first biologic pacemaker for the
heart, paving the way for a genetically engineered
alternative to implanted electronic pacemakers. The researchers
used gene therapy to convert a small fraction of guinea pigs'
heart muscle cells into specialized "pacing" cells. "We now can
envision a day when it will be possible to recreate an
individual's pacemaker cells or develop hybrid pacemakers --
part electronic and part biologic," says Eduardo
Marbán, the Michel Mirowski professor at Johns Hopkins'
Institute of Molecular Cardiology. He cautioned, however,
that clinical applications in humans are still a
few years away.
Male Starlings Sing a Song of Reproductive
Fitness
For at least one of North America's most common birds, mating
songs are more than just empty amorous enticement, Johns Hopkins
researchers say. The scientists have found that male starlings' singing ability is strong
evidence of the health of their immune systems and, thus, their
suitability as breeding partners. The new finding may explain
why female starlings take singing talent into account when
choosing their mates and is an important first step toward
proving a decade-old theory that suggests evolution has found a
way to stop male birds from engaging in false sexual advertising.
"Understanding the function of mate choice is essential to
understanding evolution," says Greg Ball, professor of
psychological and brain sciences in the Krieger School of Arts
and Sciences.
Zinc Supplements Reduce Death and Illness in
Bangladeshi Children
Giving zinc supplements to
children suffering from diarrheal disease greatly reduces their
risk of death and illness, according to a study conducted by
an international team of scientists working in Bangladesh and led
by researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public
Health. The researchers found the incidence of diarrhea was
significantly less, and non-injury deaths were 50 percent less in
children who received zinc compared to those who did not. "The
lower rates of child morbidity and mortality with zinc therapy
represent substantial benefits from a simple and inexpensive
intervention," explained the study's lead author, Abdullah Baqui,
associate professor of international health. "Zinc can be
incorporated within existing diarrheal disease control efforts,
which should significantly improve child health and
survival."
Did Giant Redwoods Once Flourish Near the
North Pole? Fossils Tell the Tale
Axel Heiberg Island, an uninhabited Canadian island inside the
Arctic Circle, is far enough north to make Iceland look like a
great spot for a winter getaway, and today there's not much to it
beyond miles of rocks, ice, a few mosses, and many fossils. The
fossils tell of a different era, though, an odd time about
45 million years ago when Axel Heiberg,
still as close to the North Pole as it is now, was covered in a
forest of redwood-like trees known as metasequoias. Hope
Jahren, an assistant professor of earth and planetary sciences in
the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, recently published
results that partially demystified Axel Heiberg's vanished
forests. She was part of a team that uncovered evidence that
theses forests probably received equatorial water and warmth from
a prehistoric weather pattern unlike anything in existence
today.
Robotic Researchers Put Deep Sea Technology To
The Test in Campus Tank
In a new indoor tank filled with almost 43,000 gallons of water,
Johns Hopkins engineers are
developing and testing computer control
systems to serve as the "brains" for some of the world's leading
deep sea robotic exploration vehicles. In the tank,
researchers from the Whiting School of Engineering are testing
the JHU Remotely Operated Vehicle, a small underwater robot
developed at the university. Its navigation and control systems,
also developed at Johns Hopkins, have recently been adapted and
enhanced for use in much larger new deep-sea research robots that
are exploring the some of Earth's most remote and hostile
frontiers. "The deep ocean is a cold, dark, high-pressure,
inhospitable environment, and this equipment must be able to
operate reliably under these conditions," says Louis Whitcomb,
associate professor of mechanical engineering and director of the
research team.
New Web Site Can Help High-Tech Sensor
Scientists Share Ideas
The Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory has launched a
Web site to spark collaboration
between users, designers and manufacturers of high-tech
sensors. Called the Next Generation Sensor Initiative, the
new service is free for subscribers and promises to speed the
advance of sensor technology in fields ranging from biochemical
detection and chemical analysis to food processing and energy
flow. "Basically, we'll be linking up people who need new types
of sensors with researchers who can design them and ultimately
with the folks that can produce them," says John Bacon, who heads
the project at APL. "Our goal is to increase U.S. competitiveness
by ensuring that companies have the benefit of the most advanced
R&D in their areas of sensor technology and are able to get their
products to market in the quickest possible
time."
Many Drunk Drivers Are Not 'Problem
Drinkers'
A substantial number of drivers with high blood alcohol
concentrations who are killed in automobile crashes are not
problem drinkers, according to a study conducted by the Johns
Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Insurance
Institute for Highway Safety. The study looked at the
relationship between the drivers' drinking habits, as reported by
family members, and the driver's blood alcohol concentration at
the time of death. The findings suggest that drunk driving
prevention efforts should target a wide spectrum of drinking
drivers in addition to the so-called hard-core offenders who
frequently drive while impaired and resist changing their
behavior. The researchers recommended sobriety checkpoints and
other measures to stop alcohol-impaired
drivers.
To Pluto and Beyond: Probing Mysteries at the
Edge of the Solar System
As astronomers continue a heated debate about whether Pluto
should be yanked from the planetary lineup, researchers at the
Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory are hoping to answer
questions about the diminutive planet by sending a spacecraft to
the far edge of the solar system. In December 2001, NASA selected
APL to build a spacecraft for and manage the New Horizons
mission, which seeks to
study Pluto and the recently discovered Kuiper Belt, a loose
collection of icy-rocky bodies of which Pluto may be the largest.
The mission could be key in
classifying Pluto and in determining the significance of the
Kuiper Belt. If funding comes through for the project, the
long trip to Pluto could begin in 2006.
Scientists Study 'Hedgehog' in Effort to Treat
Childhood Brain Cancer
The most common brain cancer in children may
have an Achilles' heel -- the signal from a protein called
Hedgehog -- according to researchers from Johns Hopkins and
the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. The scientists
discovered that blocking the growth signals from Hedgehog in
laboratory experiments stops medulloblastoma tumors in mice and
kills medulloblastoma cells taken from human patients.
"Specifically blocking the Hedgehog signal stops the growth of
medulloblastoma, but not of some other brain cancers,"say Philip
Beachy, professor of molecular biology and genetics at Johns
Hopkins' Institute for Basic Biomedical Sciences. Beachy cautions
that the findings "still are a long way from being useful
clinically."
Whitewater Kayaking Death Inspires Students to
Create Safer Helmet
With support from a grieving father and injury prevention
researchers, two Johns Hopkins engineering students
designed and fabricated a new whitewater
recreation helmet to better protect rafters and kayakers from
life-threatening head injuries. The issue was brought to the
attention of Johns Hopkins by Gil Turner, whose 22-year-old son
died in 1998 while kayaking on the Payette River in Idaho. Turner
believes his son would have survived if his helmet had performed
properly. As part of the Senior Design Project course,
undergraduates Michael Cordeiro and Chang Lee spent two semesters
designing and assembling a prototype for a lightweight,
inexpensive whitewater helmet that may do a better job of
absorbing shocks and preventing head injuries. A nonprofit
foundation set up by Turner hopes to mass-produce and sell the
headgear at cost.
Special Reports:
The Breathtaking Disease: Researchers Grapple
with an Epidemic of Asthma
In the last 20 years, asthma rates have soared to epidemic
levels. In the United States today, no chronic disease is
increasing faster. Yet very little is known about what causes
asthma or how it may be prevented. As the numbers continue to
rise, researchers are investigating the food we eat, the air we
breathe, and the way our bodies work,
looking for
clues to better asthma treatment and prevention. This article
in Johns Hopkins Public Health magazine takes an in-depth
look at efforts to contain this troubling
trend.
Can Computers Learn Language by the
Numbers?
Computers have become increasingly powerful and sophisticated,
capable of defeating world chess champion Garry Kasparov in 19
moves. But the question remains:
What exactly does a computer understand? What is "understanding"
or intelligence anyway? At Johns Hopkins, researchers in the
areas of language and computer programming have been probing such
questions. Affiliated with the Center for Language and Speech
Processing at the Whiting School of Engineering, these
researchers are training computer programs to "understand,"
translate, and cull information from texts in Chinese, Basque,
Tagalog, Czech and dozens of other sometimes obscure languages
around the world. But does this qualify as intelligence? A cover
story in Johns Hopkins Magazine explores this fascinating line
of research.
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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