Author: David Salisbury
Better way to weigh millions of solitary stars
Dec. 14, 2017—Astronomers have come up with a new and improved method for measuring the masses of millions of solitary stars, especially those with planetary systems.
Hyperlens crystal capable of viewing living cells in unprecedented detail
Dec. 11, 2017—A fundamental advance in the quality of an optical material used to make hyperlenses makes it possible to see features on the surface of living cells in greater detail than ever before.
Sorry, Grumpy Cat—Study finds dogs are brainier than cats
Nov. 29, 2017—The first study to actually count the number of cortical neurons in the brains of a number of carnivores, including cats and dogs, has found that dogs possess significantly more of them than cats.
‘Mind’s eye blink’ proves ‘paying attention’ is not just a figure of speech
Nov. 21, 2017—Vanderbilt psychologists have discovered that when you shift your attention from one place to another, your brain 'blinks'—or experiences momentary gaps in perception.
Forensic science comes to Vanderbilt
Nov. 13, 2017—Vanderbilt scientists have teamed up with the Italian Scientific Police to apply nanoscience techniques to improve the accuracy of forensic investigations.
Visual intelligence is not the same as IQ
Nov. 7, 2017—A new study shows for the first time that there is a broad range of differences in people’s visual ability and that these variations are not associated with individuals’ general intelligence, or IQ.
VU astronomer heads U.S. study team for space-based gravitational wave detector
Nov. 3, 2017—A Vanderbilt astrophysicist has been elected chair of a scientific study team that will advise NASA on science issues related to the international Laser Interferometer Space Antenna program.
New faculty: Renã A. S. Robinson, associate professor of chemistry
Oct. 23, 2017—Renã A. S. Robinson’s interest in aging dates back to her childhood. Her mother spent her spare time as a caregiver attending to elderly people with dementia. Now an analytic chemist, Robinson is investigating the science behind this very human condition. She is employing the emerging field of proteomics to study the process of aging as well as neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s.
Filling the early universe with knots can explain why the world is three-dimensional
Oct. 13, 2017—Filling the universe with knots shortly after it popped into existence 13.8 billion years ago provides a neat explanation for why we inhabit a three-dimensional world. That is the basic idea advanced by an out-of-the-box theory developed by an international team of physicists.
Autism & Innovation center established to help people with ASD find meaningful work
Oct. 12, 2017—Creating a model pipeline that will assist adults on the autism spectrum find innovative jobs is the purpose of Vanderbilt University’s new Center for Autism & Innovation.
Building social values into the Internet of Things
Oct. 10, 2017—New project aims to build social norms, policies and values into the basic architecture of the Internet of Things.
Primordial cosmic soup easier to create than previously thought
Oct. 3, 2017—In subatomic collisions, physicists have found the signature of primordial cosmic soup, from which all the stuff in the universe formed, at lower energies and in smaller volume than ever before.