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While U.S. hospitals struggle to maintain adequate blood supplies, a new study co-authored by a Johns Hopkins University business professor shows that economic incentives can significantly increase donations from the public. In addition, the findings suggest that similar methods could be used to build up life-saving supplies of human bone marrow, organs, and body parts [...]

Fifteen years ago, textbooks on human development stated that babies 6 months of age or younger had no sense of “object permanence” – the psychological term that describes an infant’s belief that an object still exists even when it is out of sight. That meant that if mom or dad wasn’t in the same room [...]

The burning, tingling pain of neuropathy may affect feet and hands before other body parts because the powerhouses of nerve cells that supply the extremities age and become dysfunctional as they complete the long journey to these areas, Johns Hopkin…

Hello and welcome! I’m glad to be the newest member of the ScienceBlog team. I am going to be writing mainly on genes,  genomes, heredity, and health. Subjects in the news today such as personal genomics, pharmacogenomics, and genetic screening and counseling all have strong historical roots. Examining them can really cut through the hype [...]

Nearly two-thirds of Americans age 70 and older have hearing loss, but those who are of black race seem to have a protective effect against this loss, according to a new study led by Johns Hopkins and National Institute on Aging researchers. These f…

The current focus on medical errors isn’t quite as new as it seems. A Johns Hopkins review of groundbreaking neurosurgeon Harvey Cushing’s notes, made at the turn of the last century, has turned up copious documentation of his own surgical mishaps a…

In fact, according to new research from Johns Hopkins, the fusion of muscle cells is a power struggle that involves a smaller mobile antagonist that points at, pokes and finally pushes into its larger, stationary partner using a newly identified …

Motorcycle helmets, long known to dramatically reduce the number of brain injuries and deaths from crashes, appear to also be associated with a lower risk of cervical spine injury, new research from Johns Hopkins suggests.
“We are debunking a popu…

Using mathematical concepts, Princeton researchers have developed a method of discovering new drugs for a range of diseases by calculating which physical properties of biological molecules may predict their effectiveness as medicines.
The techn…

An ambitious hunt by Johns Hopkins scientists for actively “jumping genes” in humans has yielded compelling new evidence that the genome, anything but static, contains numerous pesky mobile elements that may help to explain why people have such a var…

A Johns Hopkins-led safety checklist program that virtually eliminated bloodstream infections in hospital intensive-care units throughout Michigan appears to have also reduced deaths by 10 percent, a new study suggests. Although prior research showe…

Efforts to keep hospital patients safe and continually improve the overall results of health care can’t work unless medical centers figure out a way to get physicians more involved in the process.
“Physicians’ training and perspectives on patient …

In the aftermath of a dirty bomb, hundreds or even thousands of victims could require medical attention. First responders conduct extensive training to prepare for such a cataclysmic event, but planning is difficult without a solid estimate of h…

New research led by UC Davis scientists provides insight into why some body organs are more susceptible to cell death than others and could eventually lead to advances in treating or preventing heart attack or stroke.
In a paper published Jan. 21 …

A procedure involving only one small incision and no major modifications to bone can be used to transpose a tendon and appears helpful in reanimating the lower face after paralysis, according to a report in the January/February issue of Archives of …

Radiologists and referring clinicians frequently use portable media (CDs, DVDs) to review patient medical images acquired at outside imaging centers, including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT) scans, but issues regarding…

A team of Johns Hopkins Children’s Center researchers has discovered that a protein involved in cystic fibrosis (CF) also regulates inflammation and cell death in emphysema and may be responsible for other chronic lung diseases.
The findings,…

By determining what goes missing in human cells when the gene that is most commonly mutated in pancreatic cancer gets turned on, Johns Hopkins scientists have discovered a potential strategy for therapy.
The production of a particular cluster of …

Using buprenorphine instead of methadone — the current standard of care — to treat opioid-dependent pregnant women may result in healthier babies, suggests new findings from an international team led by Johns Hopkins researchers and publish…

A myriad of inputs can indicate a body’s health bombard pancreatic beta cells continuously, and these cells must consider all signals and “decide” when and how much insulin to release to maintain balance in blood sugar, for example. Reporting in N…