Research

A recent survey of 1,000 parents with children between 2 and 10 found that many planned to give their kids tech instead of toys for the holidays. M. Eric Johnson, dean of the Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt University, has studied the toy industry and is quoted. Read More

A new way of assembling things, called metamaterials, may in the not too distant future help to protect a building from earthquakes by bending seismic waves around it, the way invisibility cloaks bend light. Jason Valentine, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, is quoted. Read More

A chemical bond discovered by Vanderbilt University scientists that is essential for animal life and which hastened the “dawn of the animal kingdom” could lead to new therapies for cancer and other diseases. Read More

Vanderbilt University researchers have received a two-year, $1.2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to study a mouse model of the metabolic and hormonal changes caused by bariatric surgery. Read More

Biomedical and chemical engineers at Vanderbilt University, working with a pathologist, have constructed a sponge-like, biodegradable tissue “scaffold” that releases an enzyme-blocking molecule to indirectly activate endogenous pathways and enhance tissue regeneration and wound healing. Read More

Cancer researchers, led by investigators at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, have identified two novel gene fusions in melanoma that may be responsive to existing cancer therapies. Melanoma is the most deadly form of skin cancer. Read More

A metabolic enzyme plays a crucial role in vascular development and may be a good target for cancer therapies. Read More

The breast cancer drug tamoxifen improves cognitive performance in post-menopausal women. Read More

With their intricate, translucent shapes and elaborate bioluminescent displays, comb jellies add beauty and mystery to the ocean depths. They also have an important story to tell about the origin of animals. Read More

The protein CK1 delays cell division to avoid the generation of defects that drive tumorigenesis. Read More

A five-year study to explore new technologies that automate patient care outside of hospitals and doctors’ offices will identify ways technology can provide real-time feedback and guidance to patients and to alert care coordination teams before health issues escalate. Read More

A protein kinase linked to inflammation and tumor development may be a good target for gastric cancer therapies. Read More

Vanderbilt University researchers and their Belgian colleagues have discovered the mechanism behind a multidrug transporter. Their findings, posted this week by Nature Chemical Biology, could lead to new treatments for multidrug resistant bacterial infections. Read More

Developmental biologist Chin Chiang, Ph.D., and his colleagues have discovered that Purkinje neurons in the cerebellum act as central regulators of neuronal development. Read More

Vanderbilt University has received a $3 million grant from the GE Foundation’s Developing Health Globally program to fund international medical education and research in Kenya and other low-resource regions of the world. Read More

Vanderbilt University researchers say to take down the water temperature a degree or two when washing your hands to help battle global warming. Read More

Children hospitalized for pneumonia have similar outcomes, including length of stay and costs, regardless of whether they are treated with “big gun” antibiotics such as ceftriaxone or cefotaxime or more narrowly focused antibiotics such as ampicillin or penicillin. Read More

A NASA astrophysicist and Vanderbilt graduate student Lisa Upton have confirmed the existence of giant convection cells flowing slowly on the sun, lending further insight into the transport of heat from its core and the origin of cycles of sunspot activity that affect essential satellite-based communications such as cell phones and TV broadcasting. Read More

The director of the National Cancer Institute, Harold Varmus, M.D., told an overflow crowd at this year’s Orrin Ingram Distinguished Lecture that he is concerned about the climate for discovery research in the United States. Read More

Jennifer Puck, M.D., an expert on human primary immunodeficiencies at the University of California, San Francisco, will deliver the next Flexner Discovery Lecture on Thursday, Dec. 12. Read More