Arts And Science

Losing experienced employees from federal service jobs can have serious consequences, and there's a good way to lessen the chances of that happening, a new study shows. Read More

W. James Booth, professor of political science and philosophy, examines our obligations toward the dead. Read More

There is good reason to think that long-term solitary confinement has debilitating psychological effects which render people unable to engage socially, says Lisa Guenther, associate professor of philosophy. Read More

The collapse of the party system and high levels of crime and corruption in Venezuela have not dimmed public support for democracy in that country, according to a survey by the Latin American Public Opinion Project at Vanderbilt. 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

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

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

Neuroscientist Kenneth Catania has resolved a long-standing scientific debate by showing that the common mole can smell in stereo. Read More

Professor Jonathan Gilligan conducts climate research, teaches students and writes plays. Learn more about this unusual Vanderbilt professor. InsideVandy video by Harrison Dreves. Read More

Kenneth Catania, Stevenson Professor of Biological Sciences at Vanderbilt University, is one of 18 scientists who have been honored by the National Academy of Sciences for their outstanding scientific achievements in a wide range of fields spanning the physical, biological and social sciences. Read More

John H. “Jack” Venable Jr., professor of biological sciences, emeritus, and dean of the College of Arts and Science, emeritus, of Nashville died July 16, 2012. During his time at Vanderbilt, he also served as associate provost for faculty affairs. Read More

The latest study of the microscopic wear patterns on the teeth of the American lions and saber-toothed cats that roamed North America in the late Pleistocene found that they were living well off the fat of the land in the period just before they went extinct. Read More

Vanderbilt biologists have discovered that mosquitoes possess a previously unknown mechanism for destroying pathogens which takes advantage of the peculiarities of the insect’s circulatory system to increase its effectiveness. Read More

Through a set of experiments, Gordon Logan, Nashville musician Jerry Kimbrough and Matthew Crump (now of Brooklyn College-CUNY) have illustrated that guitarists – and players of other related instruments like mandolin, banjo and bass – tend to acquire their skills differently than most other musicians. Read More

Researchers have discovered that alligators and crocodiles possess one of the most acute senses of touch in the animal kingdom. Read More

A new study demonstrates how the brain follows Ben Franklin’s famous dictum, “Take time for all things: great haste makes great waste.” Read More

Negative advertising may be obligatory in the presidential campaign, but it doesn't seem to be paying off this time around when it comes to changing voter's minds. “It looks like we are way past much bang for the buck with these ads,” said John Geer of Vanderbilt University. 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

Mitt Romney can still win the presidential election if he can convince Americans he has the best plan to reinvigorate the economy, according to analysis by Vanderbilt professor John Geer of two new ads released by Romney’s campaign. Read More

This Week on VUCast, Vanderbilt’s online newscast: What these “sensitive” alligators have in common with humans.  Brainy bugs! Why ants are smarter than the average bug.  And a worldwide “girl power” movement comes to Vanderbilt. Read More