The “mutational burden,” or the number of mutations present in a tumor’s DNA, is a good predictor of whether that cancer type will respond to a class of cancer immunotherapy drugs known as checkpoint inhibitors, a new study led by Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center researchers shows. The finding, published in the Dec. 21 New England Journal of Medicine, could be used to guide future clinical trials for these drugs.

Researchers at The Johns Hopkins University report statistical evidence that children exposed to airborne coarse particulate matter — a mix of dust, sand and non-exhaust tailpipe emissions, such as tire rubber — are more likely to develop asthma and need emergency room or hospital treatment for it than unexposed children.

Scientists at Johns Hopkins have used supercomputers to create an atomic scale map that tracks how the signaling chemical glutamate binds to a neuron in the brain. The findings, say the scientists, shed light on the dynamic physics of the chemical’s pathway, as well as the speed of nerve cell communications.

Two Johns Hopkins prostate cancer researchers found significant disparities when they submitted identical patient samples to two different commercial liquid biopsy providers. Liquid biopsy is a new and noninvasive alternative to tumor tissue sequencing, and it is intended to specifically detect and sequence tumor DNA circulating in patients’ blood. The results are used to help guide doctors to tailor the best treatment for patients at each point of their disease.

An analysis of 16 audiotaped conversations between parents of infants in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and clinicians found that medical staff routinely downplay quality of life issues and leave families more optimistic about their babies’ prognoses than the clinicians intended.

Citing uncertainties about the risks and benefits of an experimental therapy for fetuses whose kidneys do not develop, bioethicists at Johns Hopkins and a team of medical experts are calling for rigorous clinical trials in the use of a potential treatment, known as amnioinfusion.

Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center researchers demonstrated that mice with ovarian cancer that received drugs to reactivate dormant genes along with other drugs that activate the immune system had a greater reduction of tumor burden and significantly longer survival than those that received any of the drugs alone.

Results of a national survey of more than 800 physicians suggest that their experiences with patients, family members and friends with breast cancer are linked with their recommendations for routine mammograms. Specifically, physicians who reported knowing at least one patient, family member or friend with a poor breast cancer prognosis and who had not been screened were more likely to recommend routine screening for their younger and older patients, age groups where routine screening is controversial.

Johns Hopkins scientists have developed a streamlined method and accompanying efficiency “rules” for introducing new DNA sequences into cells after using the gene-cutting tool known as CRISPR. The scientists say the method, which they based on tests with mouse embryos and thousands of human cells, could improve consistency and efficiency of genome editing.

Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center researchers and colleagues have identified a novel drug combination therapy that could prime nonsmall cell lung cancers to respond better to immunotherapy. These so-called epigenetic therapy drugs, used together, achieved robust anti-tumor responses in human cancer cell lines and mice.

To commemorate World AIDS Day this year, the Johns Hopkins Center for AIDS Research, which is affiliated with the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, is hosting the World AIDS Day Symposium. Topics of discussion include the state of HIV research during the past year and newly released research.

World AIDS Day: New Research and Experts Available from Johns Hopkins Medicine

In a small study using data from daily electronic patient diaries, Johns Hopkins researchers say they have found a link between negative emotions, such as sadness and anxiety, and higher opioid use in people with sickle cell disease whose pain levels were self-reported as relatively low.

A study of more than 400 adults with prehypertension, or stage 1 high blood pressure, found that combining a low-salt diet with the heart-healthy DASH diet substantially lowers systolic blood pressure — the top number in a blood pressure test — especially in people with higher baseline systolic readings.

By analyzing data from randomized clinical trials comparing blood transfusion approaches, Johns Hopkins experts, along with colleagues at Cleveland Clinic and NYU Langone Medical Center, endorse recommendations for blood transfusions that reduce blood use to improve patient safety and outcomes. Publishing this week in JAMA Internal Medicine, the report also provides a how-to guide for launching a patient blood management program.

Johns Hopkins scientists report they have successfully used two separate gene technologies to assemble the most complete genome sequence to date of Triticum aestivum, the most common cultivated species of wheat used to make bread.