Research

What does a mixture of two different kinds of cells have in common with a mixture of oil and water? The same basic force causes both mixtures to separate into two distinct regions. Read More

John McCain Needs Game-Changer: Campaign and polling expert John Geer says Barack Obama should strive to look presidential and avoid major mistakes in the remaining two presidential debates, while John McCain needs a game-changing event to shake up the race. However, with economic troubles looming, that could be difficult for the GOP nominee. (Vanderbilt has a campus broadcast facility with a dedicated fiber optic line for live TV interviews and a radio ISDN line) For a full list of election experts and news coverage, visit ElectionVU 2008. Read More

An interdisciplinary group of scientists has obtained the first detailed information about the structure of the most destructive group of plant viruses known: flexible filamentous viruses. Read More

The best state financial aid policies focus on students who would not otherwise go to college and make aid simple to apply for and keep, a new research review by Vanderbilt University higher education researcher William Doyle finds. The review has implications for federal financial aid policies. Read More

The Center for Community Studies at Vanderbilt University's Peabody College of education and human development is hosting its fall conference Friday, Sept. 19, to showcase and discuss research on key topics affecting communities, including Nashville. Read More

Vanderbilt University Learning Sciences Institute researchers Stephen N. Elliott, Peter A. Beddow and Ryan J. Kettler have developed a decision-making instrument called the Test Accessibility and Modification Inventory (TAMI) to address the issue of accessibility for students with special needs. Read More

Vanderbilt law professor Mike Newton played a pivotal role in the creation of the Iraqi Special Tribunal that tried Saddam Hussein. In a new book titled “Enemy of the State,” Newton and his co-author Michael Scharf give a historic recounting of the Saddam trial with a behind-the-scenes look inside the drama and tragedy surrounding it. Read More

Scientists have detected previously unnoticed chemical signals that individual cells in the immune system use to communicate with each other over short distances. Read More

With the national polls continuing to show a close race, the stakes of the upcoming Democratic convention are huge for Barack Obama and the Democrats. Read More

Calculators are useful tools in elementary mathematics classes, if students already have some basic skills, new research has found. The findings shed light on the debate about whether and when calculators should be used in the classroom. Read More

"Global Warming – What do we know and what we should do?" is the title of a free public lecture that will be given Thursday afternoon, Sept. 4, on the Vanderbilt University campus. Read More

When young people are released from juvenile detention, jail or prison, one of the biggest concerns for society is how to prevent that offender from repeating those bad actions. A new study led by Mark Cohen, an economist and professor at the Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School of Management, found that the re-entry program for youth offenders called YouthBuild reduced criminal activity, raised graduation rates and created a substantial cost-benefit for taxpayers. Read More

Vanderbilt University experts are available to comment on the issues and policies addressed by the reauthorized Higher Education Act, expected to be finalized by Congress in the next several days. Read More

The impact of the nation’s current economic downturn on low- and moderate-income students was the topic of an all-day national roundtable discussion June 13 at Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College of education and human development. Listen to audio of afternoon session. Watch video. Read more. Read More

The analysis of the youngest pair of identical twin stars yet discovered has revealed surprising differences in brightness, surface temperature and possibly even the size of the two. The study, which is published in the June 19 issue of the journal Nature, suggests that one of the stars formed significantly earlier than its twin. Read More

There\'s more to great health care than medicine. While physicians, nurses and hospital administrators are experts at patient care, they often lack the business skills needed to be effective managers. The new Vanderbilt Master of Management in Health Care is a one-year degree program designed to arm clinical professionals with the business fundamentals and decision-making skills needed to successfully manage people, programs and processes. Read More

Vanderbilt astronomers have constructed a special-purpose telescope that will allow them to participate in one of the hottest areas in astronomy-- the hunt for earthlike planets circling other stars. Read More

Discovery Education and Vanderbilt University are partnering to launch a new research-based evaluation tool that measures the effectiveness of school principals. The Vanderbilt Assessment of Leadership in Education (VAL-ED), which is being exclusively distributed by Discovery Education, was created at Vanderbilt University through a grant from the Wallace Foundation. Read More

If you have a nagging feeling that life is getting increasingly hazardous, you may be interested in the new book, "Operational Risk Management," by Mark D. Abkowitz, professor of civil and environmental engineering at Vanderbilt University. Read More

Watch video of Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering Mark Abkowitz discussing risk and his book, "Operational Risk Management." Read More