Untangling Neural Traffic Jams

Winter 2015

Randal Burns, a computer scientist, and Joshua Vogelstein, PhD ’10, a biomedical engineer, are part of a multi-institution team using a $10 million NIH Transformative Research Award grant to decipher the structure of the brain’s trillions of synapses in hopes of solving the mystery behind many psychiatric illnesses. “It has been suggested that many psychiatric disorders are fundamentally ‘connectopathies,’ that is, disorders of the connections in the brain,” said Vogelstein. “Our aim is to discover what causes traffic jams in the neural information highway.”

— LISA DENIKE ERCOLANO

Turning Manure Into Fuel

Chemicals—from antibiotics used to keep livestock healthy to pesticides that shield crops from insects—play an important role in modern agriculture. However, many of these substances accumulate in cow manure used as fertilizer, where they contaminate crops, leach into groundwater, and pollute waterways. A study led by Johns Hopkins environmental engineers suggests that anaerobic digestion—using microbes…

Reimagining a Quieter Drone

The FAA receives thousands of complaints every year about the loud buzzing produced by drone propellers slicing through the air. Experts believe noise pollution caused by these unmanned aerial vehicles will only worsen as they are increasingly used for package delivery, emergency response, and more. A research team led by mechanical engineering professor Rajat Mittal…

Bright Ideas in Cellular Dynamics

Scientists have long known that the cell membrane—the thin layer surrounding each cell—plays a crucial role in cell activities and communications. What hasn’t been clear, though, is how various proteins that are part of this membrane can dynamically change their location and grouping on the cell surface in response to various signals. Understanding this mechanism…