John Hopkins University
Giving transplanted cells a nanotech checkup
February 6, 2013 12:18 pm | News | CommentsResearchers at Johns Hopkins University have devised a way to detect whether cells previously transplanted into a living animal are alive or dead, an innovation they say is likely to speed the development of cell replacement therapies for conditions such as liver failure and type 1 diabetes.
Controlling particles for directed self-assembly of colloidal crystals
January 18, 2013 8:29 am | News | CommentsResearchers from the NIST Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology and Johns Hopkins University have developed a technique to reliably manipulate hundreds of individual micrometer-sized colloid particles to create crystals with controlled dimensions. The accomplishment is an important milestone for understanding how to direct and control the assembly of microscale and nanoscale objects for nanomanufacturing applications.
Computers “taught” to identify regulating gene sequences
November 5, 2012 4:56 pm | News | CommentsJohns Hopkins Medicine researchers have succeeded in teaching computers how to identify commonalities in DNA sequences known to regulate gene activity, and to then use those commonalities to predict other regulatory regions throughout the genome. The tool is expected to help scientists better understand disease risk and cell development.
Scientists discover how an out-of-tune protein leads to heart muscle failure
September 13, 2012 4:25 am | News | CommentsTroponin I, found exclusively in heart muscle, is already used as the gold-standard marker in blood tests to diagnose heart attacks, but the new findings by Johns Hopkins University researchers reveal why and how the same protein is also altered in heart muscle malfunctions that lead to heart failure. Scientists have known of “out-of-tune” proteins for a while, but the precise origin had remained unclear.
Understanding the blood-brain barrier by building one
August 22, 2012 9:14 am | News | CommentsMuch like a sentry at a border crossing, the network of tiny blood vessels surrounding the brain only allows a few important molecules in or out. This is the blood-brain barrier, which shields the brain from potentially harmful substances. Researchers are hoping to better understand this little understood roadblock by creating an artificially engineered, or simulated, barrier.
Could FastStitch device be the future of suture?
August 17, 2012 3:55 am | News | CommentsTo cut down on postoperative problems, particularly those involving abdomenal surgery, Johns Hopkins undergraduates have invented a disposable suturing tool to guide the placement of stitches and guard against the accidental puncture of internal organs. Called FastStitch, it’s described a cross between a pliers and a hole-puncher.
Tumor cells change when put into a “tight spot”
August 1, 2012 11:45 am | by Allison Chambliss, Johns Hopkins University | News | CommentsSurprisingly, 90% of cancer deaths are caused from metastasis,the migration of cancer cells from a primary tumor to other parts of the body, not from the primary tumor alone. To better understand what happens to cells affected by this process, Johns Hopkins University researchers have fabricated a microfluidic-based cell migration chamber that has already yielded surprising results.
Discovery of 'master molecule' could improve treatment for heart attacks
June 22, 2012 5:41 am | News | CommentsJohns Hopkins University researchers have discovered that a single protein molecule may hold the key to turning cardiac stem cells into blood vessels or muscle tissue, a finding that may lead to better ways to treat heart attack patients.
Paddle vs. propeller: Which competitive swimming stroke is superior?
June 19, 2012 12:28 pm | News | CommentsTwo swimming strokes—one that pulls through the water like a boat paddle and another that whirls to the side like a propeller—are commonly used by athletes training for the Olympic Games. But elite swimmers and their coaches have long argued over which arm motion is more likely to propel an aquatic star toward a medal. A university research study has picked a winner.
Tiny 'speed bump' device could sort cancer cells
June 13, 2012 4:08 am | News | CommentsIn life, we sort soiled laundry from clean; ripe fruit from rotten. Two Johns Hopkins engineers say they have found an easy way to use gravity or simple forces to similarly sort microscopic particles and bits of biological matter—including circulating tumor cells.
Researchers demonstrate primitive mechanism of chemical into self-replication
May 29, 2012 3:54 am | News | CommentsWhen scientists think about the replication of information in chemistry, they usually have in mind something akin to what happens in living organisms when DNA gets copied: a double-stranded molecule that contains sequence information makes two new copies of the molecule. But researchers at the California Institute of Technology have now shown that a different mechanism can also be used to copy sequence information.
Nanoparticle shape may be key for delivery to cancer cells
May 18, 2012 6:30 am | by Colin Paul, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Johns Hopkins University | News | CommentsScientists had originally thought they could create a “magic bullet” to patrol for cancer cells in the body, but only 5% of injected nanoparticles reach the targeted tumor using current delivery techniques. A Johns Hopkins University scientist is now working on techniques to specify nanoparticle size and shape and improve the chances that the drug will find its target.
Electric fish weak on charge, strong on adaptation
April 10, 2012 6:33 am | by Miles O'Brien, Science Nation Correspondent, and Ann Kellan, Science Nation Producer | News | CommentsAn electric eel can generate enough current to stun its prey, just like a Taser. Weakly electric fish can also generate electricity, but not enough to do any harm. However, researchers have found that the animal’s ability to use an electric field to communicate, navigate, and hunt offers inspiration for a variety of engineering projects.
A close-up view of Mercury
March 22, 2012 3:52 am | by Jennifer Chu, MIT News Office | News | CommentsNew observations from a spacecraft orbiting Mercury have revealed that the tiny, pockmarked planet harbors a highly unusual interior—and the craft's glimpse of Mercury's surface topography suggests the planet has had a very dynamic history.
Studying butterfly flight to help build bug-size flying robots
February 2, 2012 6:44 am | News | CommentsTo improve the next generation of insect-size flying machines, Johns Hopkins engineers have been aiming high-speed video cameras at some of the prettiest bugs on the planet. By figuring out how butterflies flutter among flowers with amazing grace and agility, the researchers hope to help small airborne robots mimic these maneuvers.
Researchers find best routes to self-assembling 3D shapes
December 7, 2011 7:51 am | News | CommentsResearchers at Brown and Johns Hopkins universities have found optimal configurations for creating 3D geometric shapes. The Brown team developed the algorithmic tools, and the Johns Hopkins team tested selected configurations. The research may lead to advances from drug-delivery containers to 3D sensors and electronic circuits.
Scientists chart gene expression in the brain across lifespan
October 28, 2011 12:41 pm | News | CommentsA new study by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and other institutes traced genetic changes in the brain during a lifetime, has found surprising reversals after fetal development and connected to Alzheimer’s disease findings. Previous investigations have combined transcriptional and genetic analyses in human cell lines, but few have applied these techniques to human neural tissue.
Paralyzed man uses mind-powered robot arm to touch
October 10, 2011 3:33 am | by Lauran Neergaard, AP Medical Writer | News | CommentsFor the first time in the seven years since a motorcycle accident left him a quadriplegic, Tim Hennes recently was able to reach out to someone. Using only his thoughts, he was able to control robotic arm designed at Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. It wasn’t his real arm, but it was close.
Studies of universe's expansion win physics Nobel
October 4, 2011 4:05 am | by Karl Ritter and Louise Nordstrom, Associated Press | News | CommentsScientists have known for more than 100 years that the universe is expanding, but in 1990s three physicists determined that this expansion is accelerating. The surprising finding, which suggests the cosmos will eventually freeze to ice, has earned the 2011 Nobel Prize in physics.
Device could improve collection of stem cells from umbilical cord blood
June 20, 2011 7:57 am | News | CommentsJohns Hopkins graduate students have invented a system to significantly boost the number of stem cells collected from a newborn’s umbilical cord and placenta, so that many more patients with leukemia, lymphoma, and other blood disorders can be treated with these valuable cells.
Fleeting fluctuations in superconductivity disappear close to transition temperature
February 14, 2011 3:28 am | News | CommentsAs part of an ongoing effort to uncover details of how high-temperature superconductors carry electrical current with no resistance, scientists at Johns Hopkins Univ. and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory have measured fluctuations in superconductivity across a wide range of temperatures using terahertz spectroscopy.
Creative nanotechnology
August 31, 2005 8:00 pm | Award WinnersNanoFoil is a nanoengineered heat source that enables lead-free soldering and brazing of materials at room temperature. Developed by Reactive NanoTechnologies (RNT) in Hunt Valley, Md., with support from researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Calif., and Johns Hopkins Univ., Baltimore, Md., the NanoFoils are manufactured by vapor depositing hundreds of nanoscale layers that alternate between elements, such as aluminum and nickel.
