biological sciences
Cell phone bee mortality link: sensationalism not science
Jun. 14, 2011—Vanderbilt graduate student Cassidy Cobbs has investigated recent news reports linking cell phone emissions with bee mortality and found that there is no scientific basis for the claims.
Bad buzz about blue-eyed cicadas
Jun. 2, 2011—Have you heard the latest buzz going round that scientists at Vanderbilt are paying as much as $3,000 for specimens of the rare blue-eyed cicada? If you have, I hope you haven’t spent a lot of time checking out cicadas’ eye color, because it is a hoax. Most cicadas have red eyes, but a very...
Laboratory throws away cookbooks in pursuit of discovery
May. 20, 2011—In an educational environment increasingly characterized by canned and virtual science experiments that always come out right, Vanderbilt’s alternative introductory biology laboratory (BSC 111c) stands out because the students are asked to design experiments as well as conduct them and, above all, because they are given the freedom to fail. “This gives the students a...
What scientists know about cicadas
May. 19, 2011—Periodic cicadas, like those currently emerging in Middle Tennessee, play an important role in the local ecosystem.
Vanderbilt University honors top students during Commencement
May. 13, 2011—Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos presented the Founder’s Medals to the top scholars from Vanderbilt University’s undergraduate and professional schools during Commencement on Friday, May 13.
New insect repellant may be thousands of times stronger than DEET
May. 9, 2011—Discovery of a new class of insect repellant raises the possibility of formulations that are thousands of times more effective than current repellants.
Could bacterial hitchhikers influence formation of new host species?
May. 5, 2011—Vanderbilt researchers are exploring what role, if any, bacteria play in environmental diversity, with the aim of answering one of biology's most fundamental questions.
Attacking malaria on several fronts
Apr. 27, 2011—Vanderbilt researchers are using a variety of approaches to hasten the beginning of the end of malaria.
Sponsored Research grants for March
Apr. 22, 2011—The Division of Sponsored Research received notification in March that the following grants in excess of $25,000 had been awarded: Julie A. Adams, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, has received an award in the amount of $25,000 by the Department of Defense for “Expeditionary Capabilities Consortium: Urban Operations Laboratory.” Theodore A. Bapty, Electrical Engineering and...
Sleep strategy used by night nurses throws off their circadian clocks
Apr. 14, 2011—As many as 25 percent of hospital nurses use sleep deprivation to adjust to working on the night shift, the poorest strategy for adapting their internal, circadian clocks to a night-time schedule.
Worm grunting on NPR
Mar. 11, 2011—“What is worm grunting?” That is one of the questions that moderator Richard Sher asked panelists last weekend in a rerun of a pre-recorded edition of “Says You!” – the popular radio game show that airs on National Public Radio. After all the guessing and wise-cracking, Sher explained that worm grunting was the practice of...
New model to test how antidepressants work
Feb. 18, 2011—A new mouse model offers the ability to better test how selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) work and could lead to the development of new classes of anti-depressants.