Category: Research
Johns Hopkins researchers pinpoint the cause of MRI vertigo
September 26, 2011
A team of researchers says it has discovered why so many people undergoing magnetic resonance imaging, especially in newer high-strength machines, get vertigo, or the dizzy sensation of free-falling, while inside or when coming out of the tunnel-like machine. In a new study published in Current Biology online Sept. 22, a team led by Johns Hopkins […]
Scientists uncover how pacemaker works at the biological level
September 26, 2011
Heart specialists at Johns Hopkins have figured out how a widely used pacemaker for heart failure, which makes both sides of the heart beat together to pump effectively, works at the biological level. Their findings, published in the Sept. 14 issue of Science Translational Medicine, may open the door to drugs or genetic therapies that […]
‘Synthetic’ chromosome permits ‘evolution’ of yeast
September 19, 2011
In the quest to understand genomes—how they’re built, how they’re organized and what makes them work—a team of Johns Hopkins researchers has engineered from scratch a computer-designed yeast chromosome and incorporated into its creation a new system that lets scientists intentionally rearrange the yeast’s genetic material. A report of their work appears Sept. 14 as […]
Antidepressant RXs on rise in those with no psychiatric diagnosis
September 12, 2011
Americans are no strangers to antidepressants. During the last 20 years the use of antidepressants has grown significantly, making them one of the most costly, and the third most commonly prescribed class of, medications in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, from 2005 to 2008 nearly 8.9 percent of […]
Exhibition explores scientific, artistic aspects of illustrator’s illness
September 12, 2011
Lonni Sue Johnson’s quirky, clever, colorful illustrations appeared in such prominent publications as The New Yorker and The New York Times before an attack of viral encephalitis in 2007 that left the artist (who also was a pilot and an organic dairy farmer) with severe memory-impairing brain damage. The virus attacked both sides of Johnson’s […]
Study begins of minimally invasive treatment for blocked heart valves in risky patients
September 12, 2011
Heart experts at Johns Hopkins have begun testing a new device designed to replace blocked aortic valves in patients for whom traditional open-heart surgery is considered too risky, such as elderly patients and those with other serious medical conditions. The testing is part of a nationwide study to evaluate the device, which is deployed in […]
Drug improves brain function in condition that leads to Alzheimer’s
July 20, 2011
An existing anti-seizure drug improves memory and brain function in adults with a form of cognitive impairment that often leads to full-blown Alzheimer’s disease, a Johns Hopkins University study has found. The findings raise the possibility that doctors will someday be able to use the drug, levetiracetam, already approved for use in epilepsy patients, to […]
Two-year stimulus act funds 480 Johns Hopkins projects
November 29, 2010
Two years ago, the federal government launched an ambitious plan to revitalize a sluggish economy by pumping hundreds of billions of dollars into industries and projects that would create jobs, stimulate spending and finance research that would benefit humankind. The Johns Hopkins University was one of the beneficiaries of this plan, receiving before the program’s […]
Goal: Giving feeling to a damaged hand or prosthetic limb
September 7, 2010
This is part of an occasional series on Johns Hopkins research funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. If you have a study you would like to be considered for inclusion, contact Lisa De Nike at lde@jhu.edu. Back in 1980 when The Empire Strikes Back hit the big screen, it seemed like […]
CSOS-led team wins $30 mill ‘innovation’ grant
August 16, 2010
Johns Hopkins’ Center for Social Organization of Schools and its partners in Diplomas Now, an innovative turnaround model for low-performing secondary schools, have won a $30 million five-year grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Investing in Innovation program. The i3 program awarded shares of $650 million to 49 school districts, nonprofit education organizations and […]