| Johns Hopkins University (JHU) regularly sends us reports describing research with which they are connected. Here is a sampling of what we have received that we thought would be interesting to our readers. The reports in their entirety may be found researching their news release archives.
Why are uniforms uniform?
If someone hadn't thought to make team uniforms the same color, we might only see two players and a ref in every match. Psychologists from JHU have demonstrated that color coding allows spectators, players and coaches at major sporting events to overcome humans' natural limit of tracking no more than three objects at a time.
Gene screen for breast cancer better than pathologist's eye
The screen developed by two JHU scientists separates cells from body fluids to screen the cells' DNA for chemical tags on certain genes associated with cancer. Pathologists look for telltale shapes of cells to determine if cancer is present, but molecular changes in cells, especially for early cancers, are beyond the reach of even the most powerful microscopes.
Scientists coax nerve fibers to regrow after spinal cord injury
In cooperation with researchers at the University of Michigan, JHU scientists have developed a treatment successfully tested on rats that helps spinal cord nerves regrow after injury. The study has implications for treating people who may face amputation of an arm after a violent injury in which nerves are wrenched from the spinal cord.
Giving up driving may be express lane to long-term care
Researchers at JHU have found in a 10 year study that 1,593 seniors between 65 and 84 years of age who
lived in the small Eastern Shore town of Salisbury, MD who stayed behind the wheel were less likely to enter nursing homes or assisted living centers than those who have never driven or who have given up driving altogether. [hopefully not because they were a statistic]
JHU undergrads devise an inexpensive hand-held braille writer
The Jernigan Institute of the National Federation of the Blind was looking for a portable writing device that's low tech and does not use a computer. Engineering students at JHU devised such a unit which presumably could be a prototype for mass production in the future.
Heat therapy for cancer may be key to "Lance Armstrong Effect"
Armstrong's tumor, like those of all primary testicular cancer, began in the testes, which are a few degrees cooler than the rest of the body to keep heat-sensitive sperm safe. When his cancer cells spread into warmer regions of the body, the Johns Hopkins scientists believe, the temperature boost may have weakened protein scaffolding within the cancer cell's nucleus, making the nuclear DNA more vulnerable to chemotherapy and radiation. Scientists in the past have observed that fevers accompanying infections sometimes improved the outcome for some cancer patients, but until now, according to Donald Coffey, Ph.D., who is the Catherine Iola & J. Smith Michael Distinguished Professor of Urology, Oncology, Pathology, and Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences at JH, "scientists haven't connected precisely how heat affects the scaffolding and might be one of the reasons treatment can cure tumors such as Lance Armstrong's."
Diagnosis and referrals for kidney disease fall well short of need
Results of a national study of 304 U.S. physicians, in which "mock" patients' symptoms were presented for diagnosis, suggest that a sizable percentage of primary care doctors probably fail to properly diagnose and refer patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). In a study of 304 U.S. physicians 59 percent of 89 family physicians, 89 percent of general internal medicine physicians and 97 percent of 126 kidney specialists fully recognized the signs and symptoms of CKD.
Chemicals in curry and onions may help prevent colon cancer
A small but informative clinical trial by JH investigators shows that a pill combining chemicals found in turmeric, a spice used in curries, and onions reduces both the size and number of precancerous lesions in the human intestinal tract. Previous observational studies in populations that consume large amounts of curry, as well as laboratory research on rodents have strongly suggested that curcumin, a relatively innocuous yellow pigment extracted from turmeric, the powdered root of the herb curcuma longa and one of the main ingredients in Asian curries might be similarly effective.
Domestic violence during pregnancy increases risk of early childhood mortality
According to a study of families in India conducted by researchers at the JH Bloomberg School of Public Health, the risk of death was more than twice as high during the 28th week of pregnancy to the first seven days after birth and first month following birth for children of mothers who experienced domestic violence during pregnancy as when compared to children of mothers who did not.
Not all yellow jackets are created equal
Flouting widely held beliefs that yellow jacket stings have less effect early in the season and that most people can outgrow a dangerous allergic reaction to a sting, allergists at the JH School of Medicine have concluded that the sting severity is determined not by the calendar but by the species of insect doing the stinging. "Our results show that people who had the worst reactions in the past have the most to worry about from future stings," said David Golden, M.D., an associate professor of allergy and immunology at JHU School of Medicine. "They shouldn't be fooled into thinking that they will be safe from all future stings just because they have no reaction to a particular yellow jacket sting."
Allergists recommend that those who are susceptible to severe reactions should be immunized to protect them against the allergy. Allergy shots with purified venoms (venom immunotherapy) give almost total protection from allergic reactions to stings.
"Hidden" Milky Way deuterium found
Scientists using NASA's JHU-operated Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer satellite have learned that far more "heavy" hydrogen remains in our Milky Way galaxy than expected, a finding that could radically alter theories about star and galaxy formation. Deuterium, a form of hydrogen, was created a few minutes after the Big Bang, but has been slowly destroyed as it is burned in stars and converted to heavier elements. In fact, it now turns out, that destruction has been occurring even more slowly than previously thought.
Childhood sleep apnea linked to brain damage, lower IQ
Regarding children with serious untreated sleep apnea JH researchers conclude that children with the disorder appear to suffer damage in two brain structures tied to learning ability. While researchers have known for years that fragmented sleep, interrupted breathing and oxygen deprivation -- all hallmarks of sleep apnea -- harm children's learning ability and school performance, this is the first time they have linked changes in the brain's chemistry to the syndrome in children, according to Ann Halbower, M.D., a lung specialist at the JH Children's Center. Go Back | 
