Study

Roberto Pagan-Franco didn't have a bank account for decades. His employer paid him in cash or with a check that the Baltimore resident took to a check-cashing store. A few years ago he lost his job after a severe illness and for a time was homeless. Not exactly the type of customer you'd expect a big bank to court. But Pagan-Franco enrolled in a PNC Bank program that targets consumers who otherwise might be shut out of the banking system. And today, the 54-year-old has checking and savings accounts at PNC and is in the process of getting a credit card.

People aren't the only ones at risk from eating mercury-contaminated fish, since coal-burning power plants have liberally sprinkled the toxic metal across the earth's waters.  But it appears that captive dolphins have a little less to worry about in that regard than their wild counterparts. A new study by researchers from Johns Hopkins University and the National Aquarium in Baltimore found that the aquarium's captive bottlenose dolphins have lower levels of mercury in their bodies than wild dolphins tested off the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of Florida.

North County High School freshman Jack Andraka stood on the auditorium stage, speaking about the invention that earned him the $75,000 grand prize at the recent Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. Behind him stood Dr. Anirban Maitra, a professor in the Johns Hopkins University's department of pathology who gave Jack use of his lab to craft his invention, a cheap and effective "dipstick-sensor" method of testing blood or urine to identify early-stage pancreatic cancer and other diseases.

Social studies, a subject that had been demoted in Maryland schools in recent years, will regain some of its past educational stature under a bill signed Tuesday by Gov. Martin O'Malley. Under the legislation — one of hundreds of bills O'Malley signed into law — high school seniors will have to pass an assessment in government to be able to graduate starting with the Class of 2017. The Maryland State Department of Education dropped the test last year. Advocates said the test was eliminated as the result of a de-emphasis on social studies stemming from passage of President George W. Bush's No Child Left Behind bill, which threw federal support behind the instruction of reading and math at the expense of other subjects.

Once the homework assigned to her three children grew beyond the boundaries of the kitchen counter, Shari Cohen decided to create a dedicated homework space close to the kitchen so she could keep an eye — and an ear — on its progress while she prepared dinner. "I knew if they were each in their own rooms upstairs doing homework, I'd be running all night," said the Owings Mills mother of Evan, 12, Alec 11, and Lauren, 10. "The other advantage is that they are close enough to help each other," she said.

As a current female student at a local university where almost 30 percent of the students smoke, Thomas H. Maugh's article "Study: Smoking adds risk for HPV-linked head, neck tumors" (Feb. 16) caught my attention by attributing the human papillomavirus (HPV) to a number of tumors in the heads and necks of patients, as well as linking these tumors to patients who were current or former tobacco users. HPV is a common virus that is passed on through genital contact, most often during sex. There is a vaccine that prevents about 70 percent of the 40 types of HPV that cause most cases of cervical cancer.

You know how when someone compares dealing with their dog to dealing with a baby and all the parents in the room give them the stink eye? Well, the comparison might hold water. According to a study by the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, published in the journal Current Biology, when people talk to their dogs, the reaction of the pup is similar to that of a baby. József Topál, of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, told U.K.'s The Telegraph that increasing evidence shows that humans and dogs share social skills -- and that the cognitive function of dogs resembles babies ranging from six months to two years old. The researcher also told the paper that dogs appear to react to eye contact -- as do babies.

Thomas A. Firey's recent suggestion in The Sun ("Better pension reform," July 27) of a statewide "buy-back" program for public employees to reduce Maryland's future public pension should be vetted very closely by citizens and officials, given the incomplete science that serves as its foundation. The underlying premise for his suggestion is the latest draft of an unpublished academic study that attempts to quantify the attitudes of Illinois public school teachers using 13-year-old data.

Though Gov. Martin O'Malley just called a May 14 special session to deal with budget issues Friday, the General Assembly's staff and a consultant are already laying the groundwork for a possible second act in late summer. Warren Deschenaux, chief policy analyst for the Department of Legislative Services, said his staff and the firm of Price Waterhouse have begun preparations for a study of the issues surrounding an expansion of gambling in Maryland. Price Waterhouse is already under contract with the department to conduct studies for the state commission that decides where slot machines can be located.

A study requested by the Maryland Technology Development Corp. found that stem cell research in the state supports 514 local jobs with an average salary of $64,000. The economic impact study by Sage Policy Group Inc., released Monday, also said that Maryland's Stem Cell Research Fund helps generate $71.3 million in business sales in the state. The corporation administers the research fund. The analysis also found that Maryland's stem cell industry was able to return nearly $3 million to state and local government through support of income generation, retail activity and property tax payments.

Gov. Martin O'Malley named an 11-member work group Monday night to study a possible expansion of gambling in Maryland and announced that if the group can reach consensus he would call a special session July 9 to vote on casino legislation. O'Malley selected John Morton III, chairman of the Maryland Stadium Authority and prominent business executive, to chair the panel. Representing the administration will be Budget Secretary T. Eloise Foster, chief of staff Matthew Gallagher, appointments secretary Jeanne Hitchcock and chief legislative aide Joseph Bryce.

There are those with strong religious convictions who have expressed outrage at President Barack Obama's support of same-sex unions. Some have opined that Mr. Obama's stance makes him unsuited to continue to lead this country. I would argue that his unbiblical view of marriage merely makes him a poor candidate for Bible study moderator. As to aspects germane to Mr. Obama's qualifications for the presidency - commander in chief; leader of the Free World and guardian of domestic security and prosperity - I submit he has demonstrated a high level of competence.

Maryland-based jockey Mario Pino says he once heard that the great race rider Laffit Pincay would wear his underwear inside out. For luck. Ramon Dominguez, Eclipse Award-winning jockey the last two years, likes to have Perrier water and animal crackers in his jockey room stall. And he puts his left boot on first. Always. They call horse racing the fastest two minutes in sports, but a jockey's preparation begins the night before and continues until the moment the starting gates clang open.

Ella Johnson thought she was done raising kids. Then one night her daughter, asleep in bed with her 1-year-old son, died of a heart condition, and Johnson suddenly found herself mothering a grieving grandchild who clung to the picture of his dead mother. The mother of three grown children, Johnson had plenty of experience with patching skinned knees and soothing teenage mood swings, but taking on the family's youngest generation brought a new set of worries about how to make ends meet and how to provide the right environment for her grandson, DaQuan'Ta Harper, who is now 12. So she eagerly signed on to a National Institutes of Health research study started this year that provides grandparents around the country with practical advice and support for raising grandchildren.

Around the globe, the leading cause of death for children under age 5 is pneumonia, according to a new study from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health . About 18 percent of the deaths are from the infection. That's 1.4 million kids out of 7.6 million who died around the world in 2010. “The numbers are staggering,” said Dr. Robert Black, senior author of the study, published in the May issue of the Lancet . Black, chair in the Department of International Health, said other leading causes of death were pre-term birth complications and diarrhea.

The molten metal pouring from the foundry at Danko Arlington Inc. in Baltimore harks back to the early industrial era. But across the street in one of the company's other buildings, workers operate an X-ray machine, a laser probe and a 3D printer that seems plucked straight from science fiction. "We're trying to do pioneering things here," said John D. Danko, whose grandfather started the company 92 years ago. He's not alone. A new study suggests that manufacturers in the Baltimore region are disproportionately high-tech - and calls on leaders to build on local strengths, rather than writing the long-shrinking sector off as a dying field.

Eating chocolate can make you thin, new study shows. The article, Association Between More Frequent Chocolate Consumption and Lower Body Mass Index , was published Tuesday in the Archives of Internal Medicine . The full text of the article costs $30 bucks to look at, which you could spend on chocolate instead and start getting in shape for swimsuit season. The study, which was performed by scientists at the University of California, La Jolla, appears to show that "chocolate consumption shows favorable metabolic associations with blood pressure , insulin sensitivity and cholesterol level.

A monthly chance to learn from scientists who study the heavens at the Space Telescope Science Institute takes place tomorrow. The institute, on the campus of Johns Hopkins University at 3700 San Martin Drive, is hosting its regular lecture event at 8 p.m. Scientist Marcel Haas will give a lecture titled “ Growing Galaxies in Supercomputers .” If you can't make it, the Bloomberg telescope is also open to the public Friday evenings,...

Though Gov. Martin O'Malley just called a May 14 special session to deal with budget issues Friday, the General Assembly's staff and a consultant are already laying the groundwork for a possible second act in late summer. Warren Deschenaux, chief policy analyst for the Department of Legislative Services, said his staff and the firm of Price Waterhouse have begun preparations for a study of the issues surrounding an expansion of gambling in Maryland. Price Waterhouse is already under contract with the department to conduct studies for the state commission that decides where slot machines can be located.

Though the governor has called a May 14 special session to deal with budget issues, the General Assembly's staff and a consultant are already laying the groundwork for a possible second act in late summer. Warren Deschenaux, chief policy analyst for the Department of Legislative Services, said his staff and the firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers have begun a study of the possible effects of expanded casino gambling in Maryland. PricewaterhouseCoopers is under contract with the state to do studies for the commission that decides where slot machines can be located.