Archived articles

Biology

Illustration of an octopus in a tank
IDEA
Making an octopus cuddly
Published Winter 2018
Study finds that humans and octopuses have a molecular mechanism in the brain that binds to MDMA—revealing evolutionary links between the two species / Johns Hopkins Magazine
Illustration of knifefish
New cool tools
Do researchers dream of electric fish?
Published Winter 2018
Professor Noah Cowan and his team devise a way to study the evasive knifefish / Johns Hopkins Magazine
Electric fish
Fish findings
Should robots think like electric fish?
Published Nov 30, 2018
Study sheds light on how animals use active sensing behaviors to navigate the world around them
Lab photo of structures in the retina
Biology
Human retinas grown in a dish explain how color vision develops
Published Oct 11, 2018
Lab-grown organoids reveal the mysterious process of eye tissue formation that takes place in the womb
Drop of liquid in pipette
Medicine makes 'big bet' on basic science
Published Aug 23, 2018
$100M investment over five years aimed at unraveling the mysteries of biology
Large salt flat with cloud reflected in blue water and pink mountains on the horizon
Biology
Studying stress-resistant extremophiles
Published March 5, 2018
Understanding how tiny microbes thrive in harsh environments could lead to better treatments for human diseases
Spider Web with dew
Spider sense
Mysteries of the web
Published Dec 18, 2017 Video
Researchers aim to determine how spiders are able to build webs from spatial memory
A long chain of crimped and tangled protein strands sprawls like a bundle of wires
Biology
Making sense of disordered proteins
Published Nov 27, 2017
Disordered proteins are essential to genetic processes, but until recently, scientists understood very little about how these proteins work
A little boy holds a plastic magnifying glass and inspects a rock that is laid out on a note card labeled with the number 4
E.T., stone home
Science rocks
Published Nov 9, 2017
JHU researcher enlists citizen scientists to track down rocks harboring earthly 'extraterrestrials'
Researchers look at what makes cells resistant to radiation
Published Oct 17, 2017
Study of bacteria, yeast, human cells, and single-celled organisms could lead to improved cancer treatments