It has long been known — thanks largely to work by Johns Hopkins’ own Bert Vogelstein — that cancer is a disease generally caused by an accumulation of genetic mutations. This is sometimes referred to as the somatic mutation theory.1 This hypothesis states that each time a cell divides and grows, there are opportunities for […]
Perspectives in Research
An Evolving Situation: Measles and the 21st Century Vaccination Crisis
Posted by | Perspectives in ResearchOn the Johns Hopkins “Measles: What You Should Know” page, the last Q&A states: Q: What should I do to protect myself and my family? A: Get vaccinated. It seems like such a simple solution to a global problem. Yet so many children, about 7% in the United States, remain unvaccinated well into elementary school. […]
Johns Hopkins Police Bill Signed into Law, Despite Student and Community Objections
Posted by | Perspectives in ResearchFor years, a fence stood between the Johns Hopkins medical campus and the East Baltimore community. While the physical barrier has been torn down, Johns Hopkins is now pursuing a new way to insulate itself from the surrounding community: a private police force. The police department swelled into a contentious issue over the last year […]
Persistent Parasite Proteins: How Protein Clearance in Malaria Infection Can Impact Diagnostics
Posted by | Perspectives in ResearchFinding new treatments for infectious diseases is often the focus of clinical research, but recent research has demonstrated the importance of both developing and improving diagnostic tools in the fight against malaria. Malaria is a disease caused by the parasite Plasmodium falciparum, and mosquitoes spread it. In 2017, there were over 219 million cases of […]
Plan S: How Open Access Publishing Could Be Changing Academia
Posted by | Perspectives in ResearchI started working in academia as an undergraduate laboratory technician in 2009. After a decade of experience and four years as a graduate student, I thought I would have run out of things that would surprise my family about academia. However, there is one side of academia I haven’t had a lot of experience with […]
When the Consequences of Sweeteners Are Not Sweet
Posted by | Perspectives in ResearchCoke, Pepsi, Dr. Pepper, Sprite, Sunkist, Mountain Dew, Sunny D, Brisk, Fanta, Kuat, Capri Sun and others — what do these drinks have in common? They’re all sugar-sweetened beverages. Sugar-sweetened beverages, or sugary drinks, are composed of any liquid sweetened with one or more forms of sugars, and they are the main source of added […]
Are Vaccines the Next Step in Controlling the Opioid Epidemic?
Posted by | Perspectives in ResearchFlu season is still going strong, meaning that almost every primary care visit concludes by ensuring that the patient has gotten their flu shot. There is no cure for the flu, but a simple shot greatly decreases an individual’s chances of contracting the virus and keeps epidemics from spreading in the population. What if we […]
Grad Grooves: The Soundtrack of Our Science
Posted by | A Day in the Life, Perspectives in ResearchBackground music is everywhere. It plays quietly in malls and grocery stores, and loudly at sports events. It is almost ever-present in the TV shows we watch. In addition to all of this, many graduate students listen to music all day in lab. Because we work so much, this means we could have music streaming […]
Is Cough Syrup an Antidepressant?
Posted by | Perspectives in ResearchEverything from shrooms and weed to molly and ketamine — once known mainly as party drugs — is finding a place in clinical trials for depression and other mental health conditions. Precisely how they work on the brain, however, strays wildly from prescription antidepressants. In doing so, these drugs are challenging traditional ideas of how […]
Movie Review of “End Game”
Posted by | Perspectives in ResearchGuest post by medical student Barry Bryant. The original article can be found on Closler.org. “End Game” is an Oscar-nominated short documentary directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman. The film takes place at the University of California at San Francisco and incorporates the Zen Hospice Project. The overarching theme of the film is working […]