Do you remember sitting in your first or second grade class learning about dinosaurs? I distinctly remember being taught that a huge rock hit the Earth, causing a tumultuous series of events that ultimately lead to their demise. What I didn’t know is that there wasn’t sufficient evidence to suggest that the asteroid hitting the(...)
The Joy Is in the Ride!
Posted by | A Day in the LifeAs I turned the knob of the water fountain, I started musing about science blogs. Why should one write for a science blog? Could I not spend my time writing a review or focusing on that manuscript that is long overdue? What difference does it make? Is it worth spending the time and energy decoding(...)
It’s a Twin Thing
Posted by | Perspectives in ResearchIn NASA’s most comprehensive study ever on the physiological and molecular consequences of living in space for a prolonged period of time, scientists from across the country collaborated to investigate various aspects of human biology using samples from famous twin astronauts, Scott and Mark Kelly. Though a handful of astronauts had previously lived in space(...)
What Is It Like To Attend The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine?
Posted by | A Day in the LifeYou've reviewed the prerequisites for attending Johns Hopkins, now hear from our students! Check out these posts about student life at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Transition to the Wards: A Pivotal Point in Medical School Training The Hidden Joys of Medical School Matchmaker, Matchmaker, Make Me a Match Nearing the Finish: A Reflection(...)
Cancer and the Mutation Paradox
Posted by | Perspectives in ResearchIt 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(...)
Anatomy: A Poem
Posted by | A Day in the LifeLike many medical schools across the nation, mine taught its first-year anatomy course through dissection of human bodies. Donors of cadavers donate their bodies for the education of medical students, specifically for the anatomy dissection course. It seemed violent, grotesque and bizarre to cut open a preserved, very dead human body. The only way I(...)
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(...)
The Beautiful Epiphyte
Posted by | A Day in the Life“We often use illness to disparage a way of being, and identity to validate that same way of being. This is a false dichotomy … Many conditions are both illness and identity, but we can see one only when we obscure the other.” Andrew Solomon’s Far from the Tree Elena Schwartz was born with rosehips(...)
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(...)