biological sciences
Kennedy Center celebrates Science Day 2011
Feb. 16, 2011—A record crowd of students and presenters turned out for the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center for Research on Human Development's 2011 Science Day Feb. 15.
Discovery of jumping gene cluster tangles tree of life
Feb. 4, 2011—Since the days of Darwin, the “tree of life” has been the preeminent metaphor for the process of evolution, reflecting the gradual branching and changing of individual species. The discovery that a large cluster of genes appears to have jumped directly from one species of fungus to another, however, significantly strengthens the argument that a...
Scientists of the future
Feb. 1, 2011—Report after report, it seems, warns that the United States is falling behind other countries in science and technology. Where will the scientists of the future come from? Some of them will come from the School for Science and Math at Vanderbilt. Launched in 2007 as a project of the Vanderbilt Center for Science Outreach,...
Mental health research fund lauds VU scientists
Jan. 31, 2011—Eight Vanderbilt University scientists have won 2010 Young Investigator Awards from NARSAD, the world’s leading mental health research charity. Each scientist will receive up to $60,000 over two years for innovative brain and behavioral studies of serious psychiatric disorders. The grants allow promising new researchers, typically postdoctoral fellows and assistant professors, to generate the pilot...
Scripps Research and Vanderbilt launch joint institute to advance science at interface of chemistry and medicine
Jan. 13, 2011—The Scripps Research Institute and Vanderbilt University have formed a partnership to advance science at the interface of chemistry and medicine, the institutions announced today. The Human Chemical Sciences Institute will encompass research and training activities at Scripps Research on its San Diego, California, and Jupiter, Florida, campuses, and at the Vanderbilt Institute for Chemical...
Babies’ biological clocks dramatically affected by birth light cycle
Dec. 6, 2010—The season in which babies are born can have a dramatic and persistent effect on how their biological clocks function. That is the conclusion of a new study published online on Dec. 5 by the journal Nature Neuroscience. The experiment provides the first evidence for seasonal imprinting of biological clocks in mammals and was conducted...
Image of mosquito’s heart wins first place in Nikon’s ‘Small World’ photomicrography competition
Oct. 15, 2010—Jonas King, a member of the research group of Julián Hillyer, assistant professor of biological sciences, captured the image as part of the group's research on the circulatory system of Anopheles gambiae, a mosquito that spreads malaria.
Mosquitoes use several different kinds of odor sensors to track human prey
Aug. 31, 2010—Origin of DEET’s repellent effect confirmed It now appears that the malaria mosquito needs more than one family of odor sensors to sniff out its human prey. That is the implication of new research into the mosquito’s sense of smell published in the Aug. 31 issue of the online, open-access journal Public Library of Science...
Landmark national project on law and neuroscience to be based at Vanderbilt
Jul. 20, 2010—Vanderbilt University professor Owen Jones, who is one of the nation’s few professors of both law and biology, has been named director of the national Law and Neuroscience Project, which will now be headquartered at Vanderbilt.
Vanderbilt University study to be most comprehensive look at link between stress and health disparities
Jul. 6, 2010—Vanderbilt University is launching a landmark study in Nashville to look at the role stress plays in the health disparities observed across socioeconomic status and race. The study will seek 1,600 individuals who will be asked to participate in interviews and provide blood and urine samples that will allow the simultaneous assessment of physical, emotional...