Research Blog
-
Vanderbilt innovations noted by NIH
Two Web-based research tools developed at Vanderbilt University were highlighted March 20 during a House subcommittee hearing of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) FY13 budget request. During his testimony to the U.S. House Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies, Thomas Insel, director of the… Read MoreMar 29, 2012
-
Tennessean op-ed: Anti-science legislation offers prospect of a new Scopes trial
By Roger Cone, chairman of the department of molecular physiology and biophysics at Vanderbilt, Jon Kaas, Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt Professor of Psychology at Vanderbilt, and Robert Webster, Rose Marie Thomas Chair in Virology at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital This opinion piece was published on the… Read MoreMar 26, 2012
-
Life without engineers
In his talk titled “Engineering Excitement,” Norman Fortenberry, executive director of the American Association for Engineering Education outlined the changes in U.S. engineering education that he believes are necessary for the profession to adapt to the economic and social changes that are currently sweeping the globe. Read MoreMar 23, 2012
-
Vanderbilt Kennedy Center Science Day 2012
Undergraduate student Sarah Hart presents her research to Aaron Bowman and others at VKC Science Day 2012. (Anne Rayner/Vanderbilt University) Undergraduates, graduate students and postdoctoral fellows on the cusp of research careers in developmental disabilities got a chance to shine Feb. 28 during the annual Vanderbilt Kennedy Center Science Day. Read MoreMar 9, 2012
-
Calling all would-be documentarians
Documentarians Michael Moore and Ken Burns at work Calling all would-be Ken Burns and Michael Moores on campus: The Task Force on American Innovation (TFAI) is challenging students to create three-minute videos that celebrate American innovation. The basic instructions from TFAI are: “The… Read MoreMar 7, 2012
-
Thank you for the research
Printha K. McCallum, right, and her mother, Lenda Bates DuBose Lenda Bates DuBose knew she would not survive peritoneal cancer. Yet the longtime Nashville resident and Vanderbilt graduate was grateful for the treatments that prolonged her life. She wished there was a way she could express her… Read MoreFeb 28, 2012
-
Adding to the periodic table
Nuclear physicist Joseph Hamilton (Daniel Dubois / Vanderbilt) The year has gotten off to a good start for modern-day alchemists like Vanderbilt physicists Joe Hamilton and A.V. Ramayya who are engaged in the extremely challenging scientific endeavor of extending the periodic table by creating new… Read MoreFeb 7, 2012
-
The research story that keeps on giving
For better or for worse, what’s posted online, stays online. That embarrassing photo, the awkward comments, your less than stellar PowerPoint? Yep, they’re still there. For those of us in the research communications business, the elephantine memory of the Internet allows our stories to continue to reach readers for years… Read MoreJan 20, 2012
-
Innovations in children’s care next topic for new video chat series
When the human genome was sequenced in 2003, scientists around the world turned their collective attention to discovering what roles genetic variation plays in human health and illness. Their goal: to use that knowledge to tailor disease treatment and prevention strategies based on an individual’s own DNA blueprint, a concept… Read MoreJan 9, 2012
-
Vanderbilt’s science high begins 5th year
The first graduating class of the School for Science and Math celebrates last spring. Photo by Tommy Lawson Their research papers are published in a scientific journal. They win accolades in a prestigious national science competition. And that’s before they graduate from their public high schools. These are the… Read MoreJan 4, 2012
-
Landmark HIV prevention study Breakthrough of the Year
A landmark study that found early antiretroviral therapy (ART) can reduce the risk of HIV transmission between sexual partners by 96 percent has been named Breakthrough of the Year by Science magazine. The study, conducted by the… Read MoreDec 22, 2011
-
Pushing lipids into the limelight
Photo of post doctoral researcher Michal Kliman that ran on the cover of Chemical & Engineering News magazine in October. (Steve Green / Vanderbilt) In the world of molecular biology, lipids haven’t gotten as much respect or attention as nucleic acids and proteins even though they play… Read MoreDec 6, 2011
-
Failure to find ‘God particle’ hints at fundamentally new physics
Vanderbilt's virtual control room for the CMS detector that allows scientists and students to participate in meetings, monitor the experiment and analyze the data that it produces (John Russell / Vanderbilt University) After the most complete search yet, the world’s largest atom smasher, the… Read MoreNov 21, 2011
-
Seeking game-changing energy technologies
Arun Majumdar is the first director of the Department of Energy's ARPA-E (Zach Goodyear / Vanderbilt University) “Gentlemen, we have run out of money. It’s time to start thinking.” This quote, attributed to the New Zealand physicist Ernest Rutherford, summarizes the main point of the presentation that… Read MoreNov 11, 2011
-
Remove a polyp? There’s an app for that!
By packing many tools into one advanced, minimally invasive platform, the MAC offers new capabilities for medical providers and less discomfort for patients undergoing colonoscopy or endoscopy. The robot is one of the initiatives of the Vanderbilt Institute for Surgery and Engineering. SAN DIEGO, Calif. – A team of Vanderbilt… Read MoreOct 28, 2011
-
Scientists: engage the public or perish
While listening to a physics colloquium titled “Science: What the Public is Thinking, What Congress is Doing, How You Can Contribute” delivered by Michael S. Lubell, professor of physics at the City College of New York and director of public affairs for the American Physical Society (APS), I couldn’t… Read MoreOct 26, 2011
-
Microscopy method brings ‘nano-world’ into focus
A new technique for imaging whole cells in liquid – with a nanometer resolution that brings into focus individual proteins and other intracellular structures – could dramatically improve the study of cancer, viral infections and brain function. Read MoreOct 25, 2011
-
Discoveries show value of federal support
An update on federally funded projects at Vanderbilt and their impact on efforts to improve education, protect people from disease and meet our nation’s energy needs. Read MoreOct 13, 2011
-
Defending education and innovation in the face of the budget-cutting wave
Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction members (C-span) These days the news is full of stories about the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, nicknamed the Super Committee, and whether it can come up with a politically acceptable way to reduce the ballooning federal deficit. This… Read MoreOct 11, 2011
-
Dean Benbow visits the White House
First Lady Michelle Obama addresses the National Science Foundation's Career-Life Balance initiative event in the East Room of the White House. (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson) On Monday, Sept 26, when First Lady Michelle Obama hosted an event at the White House to announce… Read MoreSep 30, 2011