Featured Research
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Early spatial reasoning predicts later creativity and innovation, especially in STEM fields
A new Peabody study found that early spatial ability – the skill required to mentally manipulate 2D and 3D objects – predicts the development of new knowledge, and especially innovation in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) domains, above and beyond more traditional measures of mathematical and verbal ability. Read MoreJul 15, 2013
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Project seeks to create ‘bioartificial’ kidney
Nephrologist William Fissell IV, M.D., associate professor of Medicine and Biomedical Engineering, is intent on creating and mass-producing an implantable bioartificial kidney that can transform quality of life and prospects for survival for people with chronic kidney disease who would otherwise be forced onto dialysis. Read MoreJul 11, 2013
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Training program meets ‘critical need’ for earlier autism identification
A three-year study that evaluated the effectiveness of a training program designed to enhance autism spectrum disorder identification and assessment within community pediatric settings was released this week in the journal Autism. Read MoreJul 11, 2013
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Listen: How the Bible shapes American wars is the focus of Vanderbilt research
Scripture has played a pivotal role in shaping the United States’ justification for going to war from the nation's earliest beginnings, according to research from James P. Byrd, assistant professor of American religious history at Vanderbilt University Divinity School. Read MoreJul 9, 2013
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Supreme Court wrap up: Constitutional expert explains why the Court ‘got the law right’
One of the nation’s top scholars on constitutional law, Vanderbilt law school professor Suzanna Sherry, the Herman O. Loewenstein Professor of Law, explains why she thinks the Supreme Court successfully followed the law. Read MoreJul 1, 2013
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Science Magazine: How long can the U.S. stay on top?
In an era of stagnating government support for academic science, officials at many top research universities are looking to private philanthropy and increased efficiencies to maintain their elite status. Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos is quoted. Read MoreJun 28, 2013
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End of Judicial Nominating Commission won’t delay Holder’s replacement
The end of the state Judicial Nominating Commission won't interfere with the selection of a replacement for Supreme Court Justice Janice Holder, who has announced her intention to retire. Brian Fitzpatrick of Vanderbilt Law School says that an alternative system is in place pending voter's approval of a permanent solution. Read MoreJun 27, 2013
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Wall Street Journal: Rail safety and the value of life
W. Kip Viscusi, University Distinguished Professor of Law, Economics, and Management, is quoted on an age-old regulatory predicament—namely, whether or not spending to make one thing safe steers money away from addressing a more serious threat elsewhere. Read MoreJun 25, 2013
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Validating maps of the brain’s resting state
A team of Vanderbilt researchers has provided important validation of maps of the brain at rest that may offer insights into changes in the brain that occur in neurological and psychiatric diseases. Read MoreJun 19, 2013
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Not all reading disabilities are dyslexia
A common reading disorder goes undiagnosed until it becomes problematic, according to the results of five years of study performed by researchers at Peabody College of education and human development. Read MoreJun 14, 2013
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New pre-K teaching method could close achievement gap
A new approach to teaching pre-kindergarten could take a bite out of the achievement gap and level the playing field for America’s growing population of English language learners, according to a recently published study by researchers at Vanderbilt’s Peabody College. Read MoreJun 13, 2013
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Can a torturer and killer live an honorable life?
In the bygone era brought to life in a Vanderbilt history professor's new book, spending years in prison was considered excessively cruel and unusual while breaking every bone in a criminal's body while keeping him alive was reasonable punishment. Read MoreJun 12, 2013
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New, simple theory may explain mysterious dark matter
The reason dark matter, which makes up 85 percent of all the matter in the universe, is invisible could be because it possesses a rare, donut-shaped type of electromagnetism instead of the more exotic forces that have been proposed, according to an analysis of a pair of Vanderbilt theoretical physicists. Read MoreJun 10, 2013
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Little telescope discovers metal-poor cousin of famous planet
A scientific team led by University of Louisville doctoral student Karen Collins has discovered a hot Saturn-like planet in another solar system 700 light years away. The discovery was made using inexpensive ground-based telescopes, including one specially designed to detect exoplanets and jointly operated by astronomers at Ohio State University and Vanderbilt University. Read MoreJun 5, 2013
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Vanderbilt study indicates fatigue and loss of sleep take predictable toll on baseball players over season
Strike zone judgment grows worse over the course of a Major League Baseball season in a predictable way, possibly due to the effect of grueling travel schedules, disrupted sleep patterns and fatigue, a Vanderbilt University Medical Center sleep researcher has found. Read MoreJun 4, 2013
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Experts predict “unbanked” will face challenges getting health insurance
Vanderbilt health policy expert John Graves co-authored a report that shows as many as a quarter of people eligible for subsidized health insurance under the Affordable Care Act may be shut out because they don’t have a bank account. Read MoreJun 3, 2013
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Astronomers determine the classic Ring Nebula’s true shape
A team of researchers, headed by Vanderbilt astronomer C. Robert O’Dell, has combined images from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope with images from ground-based telescopes to reconstruct the three-dimensional shape of the iconic nebula with unprecedented precision. In the process, they determined that it is considerably different than previously thought. Read MoreMay 24, 2013
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New Vanderbilt Poll surveys voting Tennesseans on education, health care, more
The latest Vanderbilt Poll shows that Tennesseans strongly support charter schools while their feelings about school vouchers are more divided. Read MoreMay 21, 2013
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Copyright Act needs updating, Vanderbilt law professor testifies before Congress
Daniel Gervais of Vanderbilt Law School told Congress that the copyright system of the United States requires “a comprehensive review and modernization" during testimony May 16. Read MoreMay 16, 2013
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World’s smallest droplets
Scientists at the Large Hadron Collider, the world's most powerful particle accelerator, may have created the smallest drops of liquid made in the lab. Read MoreMay 16, 2013