Releases

The cultural evolution of a population depends not only on size but also on the degree of specialization within a population, according to a new study published last month by a team of scientists including Nicole Creanza. The study found that populations can increase their cultural repertoire by subdividing knowledge into smaller groups, but the total group must be sufficiently large for specialization to be advantageous. Read More

A new study led by members of Ann Tate’s lab found evidence that pleiotropy may slow down evolution of genes involved in immunity. Read More

Vanderbilt researchers detail the landscape of RNA editing — a form of RNA modification — in primary effusion lymphoma cells during Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus infection and identify an edited viral microRNA that is critical for infection. Read More

A team of engineering seniors has designed an embedded thermoelectric generator to convert that wavy shimmer of heat that rises from hot asphalt—waste heat radiation—into electrical energy. To protect soldiers’ hands from heat burns while rappelling from helicopters, another team has created ‘fast rope’ insertion gloves. These design projects and 52 more will be on display at the Vanderbilt School of Engineering’s Design Day 2023, Monday, April 24. Read More

Graduate student Reese Martin and his doctoral advisor, Ann Tate, assistant professor of biological sciences, used theoretical modeling to identify a potential relationship between genetic pleiotropy and the evolution of immune responses. Read More

A Vanderbilt study finds a strong association between lower ratings for interpersonal communication skills among medical residents in their last year of training and greater likelihood of unsolicited patient complaints among doctors during their first year of employment after training. Read More

Tim Vogus, deputy director of Vanderbilt's Frist Center for Autism and Innovation, uses research to push for a workforce that welcomes, accepts, and embraces neurodivergent professionals. Read More

Vanderbilt computer scientist Yankai Huo is working with key clinical collaborators at Vanderbilt University Medical Center to develop a quantitative and reproducible 3D analytics tool for large-scale digital analysis of kidney tissues and biopsies. Read More

An international coalition of biomedical researchers co-led by Vanderbilt's Alexander Bick, MD, PhD, has determined a new way to measure the growth rate of precancerous clones of blood stem cells that one day could help doctors lower their patients’ risk of blood cancer. Read More

Sarah Worthan, along with Robert McCarthy and Megan Behringer, led a new effort to understand the effects of the environment on the outcome of experimental evolution studies. Read More

A Vanderbilt-led study evaluating two investigational drugs to treat severe COVID-19 demonstrated that neither drug was effective. Read More

The map launched this month and is available at www.vanderbilt.edu/incunabula/sculptures. Read More

The CMT Research Foundation, a non-profit focused solely on delivering treatments and cures for Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease*, has invested in a project at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Basic Sciences that seeks to treat the problem of overproduction of PMP22, the primary genetic cause of CMT in patients with CMT1A. Read More

Students, staff and faculty from Vanderbilt, other universities and Vanderbilt University Medical Center worked together on the shared goal of improving the ill-fitting hospital gowns that patients often wear in a project involving the Wond'ry, Vanderbilt's Innovation Center. Read More

Stephen Ferguson, first-author of a new paper with his postdoctoral advisor, Laurence Zwiebel, along with two undergraduates associated with the lab, Isaac Bakis and Nicholas Edwards, confirmed the existence of a specialized soldier caste within an ant species. Read More

Vanderbilt University will host the Impact Evaluation Network of the Latin American and the Caribbean Economic Association for its 16th annual meeting on April 20 and 21. The event will bring together experts on policy impact evaluation to advance knowledge in the field, promote impact evaluation methodologies, increase research… Read More

An upcoming free conference on emerging technologies will focus on artificial intelligence and feature talks by top experts from H2O.ai, CGI, and Vandersall Collective, among others. The event is open to the public and offers raffle prizes and networking opportunities. Read More

Gender in organizations expert, Jessica Kennedy, investigates how women can retain femininity while recognizing its worth and power. Read More

Vanderbilt's Wenhan Zhu, PhD, has received a three-year award from the G. Harold and Leila Y. Mathers Foundation to support his research that aims to answer a fundamental question about bacterial physiology and engineer probiotics to improve gut inflammatory diseases. Read More

Vanderbilt was part of a multi-center team that resurrected a “dead antibody” to reveal the mysteries of cytochrome c, a versatile protein that is an essential part of the cell’s energy-generating capacity, and of life itself. Read More