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March 2, 2018
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEDIA CONTACTS: See contact listed with each news tip
@JHUmediareps

Science and Health News Tips from Johns Hopkins

These news tips come from stories in the winter issue of Johns Hopkins Magazine:

A mission with impact
It’s like something straight out of science fiction: Scientists at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory are designing a spacecraft to crash into a small asteroid and knock it off course. The Double Asteroid Redirection Test, or DART, aims to aid NASA in keeping our planet safe from asteroid strikes. Read more.   
Media contact: Michael Buckley, [email protected], 240-228-7536

Learning from past mistakes
For Siobhan Cooke, a monkey extinction caused by humans on Jamaica nearly 1,500 years ago has something to say about how human impact on the environment threatens other species today. If history really is the best teacher, then looking to the past might protect animal life from humans, today and tomorrow. Read more
Media contact: Rachel Butch, [email protected], 410-955-8665

A breath of fresh air?  
Baltimoreans will know exactly what they are breathing with the help of WeatherCubes. At least 250 of these white plastic boxes, a cubic foot in size and made to measure temperature, humidity, ozone and nitrous oxide levels, will be placed around the city. The designers, members of the Baltimore Open Air Project, want the lowdown on localized air quality, its causes and what we can do to make it better. Read more.
Media contact: Tracey Reeves, [email protected], 443-997-9903

Flying by the seat of our pants
CRISPR may not be the new kid on the block anymore, but it’s still a young genetic engineering technology that’s ripe with promise. Every day, scientists across the globe do daring things with CRISPR. And while the possibilities are endless, scientists are figuring out the limits of their power on-the-go. Read more.
Media contact: Vanessa Wasta, [email protected], 410-955-8236

Silt and a sustainable step forward
The reservoir behind Conowingo Dam is filling up, and fast. The dam in northeastern Maryland has trapped silt and agricultural runoff for nigh on a century and now, past its prime, it’s no longer effective at keeping phosphorus out of the Chesapeake Bay. While there is talk of tests to see if dredging silt from the reservoir might help, William P. Ball, research professor in environmental engineering at Johns Hopkins, believes changing our upstream agricultural and building practices might be a better approach. Read more.
Media contact: Phil Sneiderman, [email protected], 443-997-9907

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