Life, Earth And Space

Scott V. Edwards, a leading expert on the evolution of biodiversity, will deliver this year’s J. T. Scopes Lecture on Wednesday, March 29. The title of his talk is “Exploring Bird Diversity Through Genomics, Museums and a Two-wheeled Cross-country Adventure.” Read More

Vanderbilt researcher Amanda Lea, along with a global team of experts, has discovered new pathways of natural selection in humans. Read More

Joan Strassmann, a world leading expert on the evolution of cooperation and fellow of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, will be giving a talk on experimental evolution of microbes on Friday Feb. 24th. Read More

David Weintraub, professor of astronomy, was named an American Astronomical Society fellow for his groundbreaking research and his work in communicating astronomy to the public. Read More

Richard Lenski, a world-renowned evolutionary biologist whose long-term experiment of the microorganism Escherichia coli has been running for more than three decades, will deliver the 2023 Darwin Day Lecture at Vanderbilt University on Wednesday, Feb. 8. Read More

A dynamic group of Vanderbilt scholars—all women—with expertise in engineering, earth sciences, sociology and storytelling took to a global stage at the 27th annual United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, better known as COP27. Read More

Five Vanderbilt University and Vanderbilt University Medical Center faculty members were elected 2022 fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Read More

Keivan Stassun, Stevenson Professor of Physics and Astronomy and director of the Frist Center for Autism and Innovation at Vanderbilt University, has been appointed to the National Science Board by President Joe Biden. Read More

With a newly developed technique, Vanderbilt professor Jessica Oster is revealing how prehistoric climate change shaped fire activity in California. Read More

A submarine volcanic eruption in the Kingdom of Tonga sheds light on volcanic behavior and new ways to understand the impact of volcanoes on climate. Est. reading time: 2.5 mins. Read More

“A confusing experimental result almost always means you’ve stumbled upon something interesting and maybe even exciting. I think that’s what makes science fun,” says Lauren Parker Jackson, assistant professor of biological sciences. Read More

Local students from Stratford and Overton high schools got to excavate 70 million-year-old oysters, clams and shrimp at the Evolutionary Studies Initiative fossil search. The event aimed to teach students about food webs and to connect students with ESI grad students, postdocs and faculty to talk about college, science and evolution. Read More

Annie Hatmaker, along with a team of researchers including her adviser, Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of Biological Sciences Antonis Rokas, recently published a study identifying the differences in virulence among Aspergillus species, a common human-pathogenic genus of fungi. Read More

Julián F. Hillyer, professor of biological sciences, and his research team discovered how mosquito immune and circulatory systems are related. This work may lead to the development of novel strategies that protect beneficial insects or harm detrimental ones. Read More

Learn the true meaning of “recycling” and how the concept is neither new nor what you think it is at the Wond’ry on Thursday, Sept. 22. Read More

Biomedical researchers open the door to new ways to detect cancer cells. Read More

David Weintraub’s commitment to equal opportunity in astronomy inspired his latest book, The Sky Is for Everyone. The autobiographical essays by women who broke down barriers and changed the face of modern astronomy include a chapter by alum Yilen Gómez Maqueo Chew. Read More

Feedback from editors and reviewers of academic journals is an often-understated driver of new research directions. Assistant Professor of Earth and environmental sciences Simon Darroch, found this to be the case for his new paper examining the differences between geographic ranges of species historic and living. Read More

Larisa DeSantis, associate professor of biological sciences and earth and environmental sciences, will give the Royal Irish Academy's Discourse Lecture on Monday, July 18, which will be viewable online. Speakers at this event recently have included four Nobel laureates and a former president of Ireland. Read More

Vanderbilt Ph.D. candidate Antonio J. Porras Valverde found a need to expand support for students of color—especially for Central American and Caribbean students studying astrophysics—inspiring him to launch the Cenca Bridge program, which provides academic guidance to undergraduate students from these areas who are interested in the field. Read More