Guest post by medical students Megan Hunt and Katharine Clark. As eager, idealistic Johns Hopkins medical students, much of our education has focused on the humanistic and ethical side of medicine. We have taken an oath that we truly believe in: Our professional values mandate that we grant the same access and treatment to all(...)
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(...)
Why Do Students Pursue a Ph.D. in Neuroscience?
Posted by | A Day in the LifeAs a fourth-year neuroscience Ph.D. student, I appreciate the variety of topics that lie within the umbrella of the nervous system. Nowhere is this more evident than in the diverse backgrounds and passions of my fellow students. To provide a glimpse into the vibrant world of neuroscience research, and to provide insight to others considering(...)
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(...)
Re-thinking Language as a Scientific Tool
Posted by | A Day in the LifePreclusion of efficacious scientific communication, nucleating from the cultivation of an elitist scientific culture, is a pervasive detriment to the impact of science. Wait, let me turn off scientist mode and start over. Ahem. Occam’s razor — often interpreted as: when there are various solutions to a problem, choose the simplest one — represents a(...)
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(...)
19th-Century Technology, 21st-Century Users
Posted by | A Day in the Life, Perspectives in ResearchIn February, the Johns Hopkins History of Medicine Survey had the opportunity to experiment with three stethoscopes: a replica of René Laennec’s 1816 stethoscope, a Russian cavalry surgeon’s 1915 stethoscope and a modern stethoscope bought a few years ago. Per M.D./Ph.D. student Maya Koretsky’s instructions, I sat on the office desk with my back turned(...)