University News and Communications publishes VUToday, a compilation of Vanderbilt mentions in the media, each weekday. Read a selection of Vanderbilt news stories for the week of March 6. To subscribe to the daily VUToday newsletter, visit news.vanderbilt.edu/vutoday.
Men’s Fitness: Here’s why climbing the social ladder can make you fat
There’s a price that men pay for climbing the social ladder: Men who have friends in high places typically have larger waistlines, according to a new study from Vanderbilt University. However, women who have a more educated network of friends are more likely to describe themselves as athletic and have lower body weights, researchers found. Lead author Lijun Song, associate professor of sociology, is quoted. Related articles appeared in Futurity and Muscle & Fitness.
Science (AAAS): Trump plan for 40% cut could cause EPA science office ‘to implode,’ official warns
The Trump administration wants to cut spending by EPA’s Office of Research and Development by more than 40 percent, according to sources. The cuts target scientific work in fields including climate change, air and water quality, and chemical safety. Shane Hutson, professor of physics and biological sciences, is quoted.
Forbes: Ask Ethan: What surprises might NASA’s future space telescopes discover?
When the Hubble Space Telescope launched in 1990, there were a slew of things we knew we were going to measure. But the biggest discoveries—like dark energy, supermassive black holes, and exoplanet and protoplanetary disk discoveries—were revolutions we didn’t anticipate. Will that trend continue with telescopes James Webb and WFIRST? Big Rip research from 2015 by Assistant Professor of Mathematics Marcelo Disconzi in collaboration with physics professors Thomas Kephart and Robert Scherrer is mentioned.
Smithsonian: What happens when an archaeologist challenges mainstream scientific thinking?
A new study raises serious questions about the effect of the bitter decades-long debate over the peopling of the New World. Did archaeologists in the mainstream marginalize dissenting voices on this key issue? And if so, what was the impact on North American archaeology? Did the intense criticism of pre-Clovis sites produce a chilling effect, stifling new ideas and hobbling the search for early archaeology sites? Tom Dillehay, Rebecca Webb Wilson University Distinguished Professor of Anthropology, is quoted.
ABC News: Bird flu found at Tennessee chicken farm as virus surges in Asia
Health officials confirmed that approximately 74,000 chickens from a commercial farm in Lincoln County, Tennessee, were culled after some of the animals tested positive for a strain of avian flu. Tennessee officials said the strain of the virus found in the state is a North American strain, which they don’t believe is connected to the Asian strain of the avian influenza that has caused serious illness in humans. William Schaffner, professor of preventive medicine and health policy, is quoted.