Research

The overuse of many medical tests and interventions wastes money and can actually harm patients, say more than two dozen medical societies. Daniel Barocas, assistant professor of urology, is quoted. Read More

Sophomore Param Jaggi was recently named one of Forbes’ 30 Under 30 for his invention of a tailpipe filter that uses algae to convert carbon dioxide to oxygen. Last summer the 18-year-old founded a company to license the technology. Read More

Barely 17 percent have Internet access at home, according to the latest figures of the Americas Barometer, a survey by Vanderbilt University’s Latin American Public Opinion Project. Although the digital divide – the gap between those who can afford access and those who can’t – has narrowed in recent years, progress has been slow and Mexico still finds itself well below its peers. Read More

An ultrasound count of potentially egg-producing follicles could predict the timing of menopause. Read More

Two astronomers from Vanderbilt and Georgia Tech, sharing a car after a snowstorm canceled their flights home from a conference, put together everything they had learned at the conference during that snowy drive and worked out that a collision between two black holes could explain most of what is known of a violent episode in the Milky Way's past. Read More

The vital partnership between NIH and Vanderbilt – reproduced at universities all around the country – supports thousands of brilliant minds from all around the world. Sequestration will discourage a generation of young people from even considering a career in research. Read More

Longtime cochlear implant users are reporting such dramatic improvements in their hearing, thanks to new image-guided programming methods developed by Vanderbilt University researchers. Read More

An important predictor of the severity of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in infants may be what their mothers ate during pregnancy. Read More

Individuals with overexpression of the gene MECP2 have core features of autism spectrum disorder. Read More

The factor STAT6 appears to play a role in the pathogenesis of an inflammatory bowel disease, suggesting it may be a promising target for new treatments. Read More

Vanderbilt Law School recorded a panel discussion Feb. 15 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the consolidation of Nashville city and Davidson County governments in 1963, featuring former Tennessean publisher John Seigenthaler and Metro Nashville Mayor Karl Dean. Read More

NASA has selected a miniature satellite designed by a team led by Robert Reed, professor of electrical engineering, to fly as an auxiliary payload aboard a rocket launching in the next three years. Read More

Whether politicians and the press seem like friend or foe, elected officials regularly use news outlets to share and defend their views to the public. New research from Vanderbilt University finds certain media actually influenced the voting behavior of politicians. Read More

Researchers at Vanderbilt University have found a powerful new genetic risk factor for breast cancer. Read More

Gastric cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death worldwide, with a particular burden in Latin America and eastern Asia. Read More

Researchers have found an unusual interaction between a factor that “turns on” protein synthesis and one that produces fatty acids. Read More

Kelly Holley-Bockelmann, assistant professor of astronomy and physics, wraps up this three-part podcast series with an interview about her specialty, supermassive black holes. Read More

New research by Ron Zimmer may shed some light on the debate among state lawmakers over whether to create a state-level charter authorizer, which could open the door to more charter schools in Nashville and Memphis. Read More

Disruption in the body’s circadian rhythm can lead not only to obesity, but can also increase the risk of diabetes and heart disease. That is the conclusion of the first study to show definitively that insulin activity is controlled by the body’s circadian biological clock. Read More

A careful look at how the body’s natural defenses disarm virulent strains of influenza hints at the possibility of a way to fight the flu. Read More