Research

Patient handovers matter. A lot. That’s the conclusion from Vanderbilt researchers who reviewed three years of patient data and found that major complications occurring within 24 hours after cardiac surgery were cut in half following the adoption of an improved handover process. Read More

New findings from Vanderbilt researchers may explain why only some individuals who have inherited mutations that increase risk for pulmonary hypertension actually develop the disease. Read More

A new method for creating genetic mutations that can be activated at certain times or in specific tissues will enable studies to probe gene function. Read More

Peter Pintauro, H. Eugene McBrayer Professor of Chemical Engineering and chair of the chemical and biomolecular engineering department, has partnered with researchers from the University of Kansas and TVN Systems, Inc. on a three-year, $1.72 million grant from the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy of the U.S. Department of Energy to develop a durable, low-cost battery capable of gathering power at off-peak hours and storing it for use during times of high demand. Read More

At the moment, Republicans and Democrats can’t even agree on the appeal of a giant yellow Muppet. Democrats gave Big Bird a favorable rating by an 85 percent margin. Only 55 percent of Republicans held that view. Read More

Dean Camilla Benbow (John Russell / Vanderbilt) In her bimonthly column for The Tennessean, Camilla Benbow, Patricia and Rodes Hart Dean of Education and Human Development, writes about the challenges of educating gifted children. In many schools and classrooms, we ask gifted students to adjust to the… Read More

Vanderbilt University scientists are cheering this year’s Nobel Prize in Medicine for recognizing the discovery that mature cells can be “reprogrammed” into other cell types — a finding which they said has electrified their work. Read More

Vanderbilt is taking part in a national study to test in older adults the use of a vaccine designed to protect children against a common cause of pneumonia. Read More

They’ve been called “junk DNA” and genetic “dark matter” — the long segments of the human genome (98 percent of it) that do not encode protein. Read More

An analysis of Amish populations revealed novel risk genes for late-onset Alzheimer disease. Read More

Despite Mitt Romney’s dominant performance in the first presidential debate, President Obama’s favorability rating has been hovering around 50 percent, not enough deterioration to turn the election around for the challenger. Read More

Use of complementary and alternative medicine differs by race and socioeconomic factors, study reports. Read More

Vanderbilt’s Stella Flores, whose research shows institutions would lose diversity under race-neutral admissions policies, is available for comment on the upcoming U.S. Supreme Court affirmative action case. Read More

The goal of the Adaptive Vehicle Make program is to develop software to test vehicle designs before they are built. Read More

The protein APOBEC3G contributes to spontaneous control of HIV-1 in vivo and may provide therapeutic benefits. Read More

The fixation on maximizing shareholder value for stockholders at the expense of other stakeholders poses a serious threat to the American economy, said Vanderbilt Law School professor Margaret Blair. Read More

Vanderbilt investigators have identified how two key components of cancer's invasive "switch" — the series of signaling events that turn on a tumor cell’s invasive behavior — work together. Read More

Vanderbilt University is dramatically expanding its health care and education activities in the southern African nation of Zambia. Read More

“Orphan” enzyme may play role in cancer growth, new research suggests. Read More

A grant from the U.S. Department of Education will continue to fund the development of coursework and teacher training materials for students with disabilities. Read More