Heidi Hall
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Computer model illuminates critical moment in Drosophila development
A computer model of forces exerted by cells during development of a fertilized egg into a fruit fly larvae holds promise to help scientists understand the morphogenesis of organisms that are much more complicated. Shane Hutson, professor of physics and biological sciences and chair of the Department of… Read MoreJun 19, 2019
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Ediacaran dinner party featured plenty to eat, adequate sanitation, computer model shows
“They are behaving like animals, and that’s a link between them and what we recognize as animals," says paleontologist Simon A.F. Darroch. Read MoreJun 19, 2019
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Vanderbilt engineers tripped people 190 times, but it was for a good cause
The automatic stumble response, so natural for most people, is virtually impossible for those who use prosthetic legs, simply because even state-of-the-art prosthetics cannot adapt to stumbling. Read MoreJun 19, 2019
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Quick DNA test for malaria drug resistance is life-saver, holds promise for other diseases
Doctors formerly had to extract the malaria parasite’s DNA first, virtually impossible to do in rural, low-resource areas. Read MoreJun 12, 2019
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iPhone plus nanoscale porous silicon equals cheap, simple home diagnostics
A Vanderbilt University electrical engineer has combining her research on low-cost, nanostructured thin films with a device most American adults already own to create a diagnostic tool. Read MoreJun 11, 2019
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Life in evolution’s fast lane
A group of budding yeasts in the genus Hanseniaspora, which is closely related to the baker’s yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, has lost large numbers of genes related to cell cycle and DNA repair processes. Read MoreMay 21, 2019
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Dolphin ancestor’s hearing was more like hoofed mammals than today’s sea creatures
The team, one of the first in the world to examine the ability’s origins, used a small CT scanner to look inside a 30-million-year-old ear bone fossil from a specimen resembling Olympicetus avitus. Read MoreMay 15, 2019
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Vanderbilt team determining how seasonal light for pregnant moms affects offspring’s mental health
Seasonal light exposure during pregnancy had effects on serotonin and depression that persisted into adulthood in mice. Read MoreMay 14, 2019
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Road test proves adaptive cruise control can add to traffic jam problem
For the experiment, the team put seven different cars from two manufacturers on a rural highway and simulated actual driving conditions. Read MoreMay 7, 2019
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The hunt is on for closest Earth-like planets
The catalog identifies 1,823 stars for which TESS is sensitive enough to spot Earth-like planets just a bit larger than Earth that receive radiation from their star equivalent to what Earth receives from our sun. Read MoreMar 26, 2019
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Like racecars and geese, cancer cells draft their way to new tumor sites
The finding gives a boost to the field of metabolomics, the next big thing in fighting cancer. It can complement immunotherapies, which use the body’s natural defenses to kill cancer cells. Read MoreMar 25, 2019
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Stalagmite holds key to predicting droughts, floods for India
Stalagmite records from monsoon regions such as India are vital to understanding past variability in the global climate system and the underlying reasons for this variability. Read MoreMar 25, 2019
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New low-profile ankle exoskeleton fits under clothes for potential broad adoption
Developed by Vanderbilt mechanical engineers, the device is believed to be the first ankle exoskeleton that could be worn under clothes without restricting motion. It does not require additional components such as batteries or actuators carried on the back or waist. Read MoreMar 22, 2019
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Engineering students, doggie day care owner team up to build the better pooper scooper
The How to Make (Almost) Anything class instructor said the actual project isn't as important as working together to address real-life concerns. Read MoreMar 18, 2019
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Robot-guided video game gets older adults out of comfort zone, learning and working together
The video game isn’t about talking robots or colorful books. It’s about getting seniors in the early stages of dementia out of their rooms, moving their bodies and, most importantly, working together. Read MoreMar 18, 2019
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New lipid shape atlas holds key to early disease detection
A team of Vanderbilt University chemists started decoding the total human molecular picture by examining 456 variations of one class of molecule, lipids. Read MoreFeb 28, 2019
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Study links Celebrex, heart valve calcification after earlier research declared drug safe
A big-data analysis of patient records at Vanderbilt University has found a link specifically between Celebrex and heart valve calcification. Read MoreFeb 22, 2019
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First step toward model brain: turning iPSCs into working blood-brain barrier
The brain endothelial barrier had previously been generated from induced pluripotent stem cells in a two-dimensional culture but not validated in three-dimensional, vein-like structures that are necessary to feed the organoids. Read MoreFeb 21, 2019
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Vanderbilt collaboration yields promising compound to treat arrhythmia
In addition to establishing potency, the team’s tests on cells and, later, mice showed that even high doses of the compound caused no ill effects. Read MoreFeb 21, 2019
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New algorithm calculates drug synergy; initial tests involve melanoma, lung cancer
Drug combinations used for the treatment of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and melanoma aren’t as effective as they could be. Oncologists haven’t had the right tools to predict drug interactions, other than in costly clinical trials. That could change with a new algorithm developed by a cross-disciplinary Vanderbilt University team… Read MoreFeb 20, 2019