featured research
Study: Continuity, not change, marked President Trump’s first year
May. 29, 2019—An empirical analysis of executive actions taken during President Trump's first year shows that while he focused more on immigration and deregulation than previous presidents, his use of unilateralism was largely in line with his predecessors.
Life in evolution’s fast lane
May. 21, 2019—A group of budding yeasts in the genus Hanseniaspora, which is closely related to the baker’s yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, has lost large numbers of genes related to cell cycle and DNA repair processes.
Why some rules are meant to be broken
May. 9, 2019—When businesses fail to comply with the rules, sometimes the rules themselves are partly to blame.
Technology better than tape measure for identifying lymphedema risk
May. 6, 2019—New research by School of Nursing professor Sheila Ridner finds that a special scan measuring lymphatic fluid volume is significantly better than a tape measure at predicting which women undergoing treatment for breast cancer are at risk of developing a common complication resulting from damaged lymph nodes.
Vanderbilt Poll: Nashville residents uneasy about growth
Apr. 30, 2019—Vanderbilt's 2019 poll of Nashville residents indicates a growing number think the city is no longer “on the right track,” and that the city is growing too quickly. Mayor David Briley receives high marks, however, with a 66 percent approval rating.
Indicators of despair rising among Gen X-ers entering middle age
Apr. 15, 2019—In 2016, a surprising decline in life expectancy was ascribed to "deaths of despair" among working-class middle-aged white men displaced by a changing economy. However, new research shows indicators of despair are rising among Americans approaching middle age regardless of race, education and gender.
How to cross-examine a machine in court
Mar. 27, 2019—As society becomes more automated, our trial system needs to identify new ways to cross-examine evidence generated by processes and machines, without requiring human witnesses to vouch for it.
Depoliticizing the Supreme Court may mean radically overhauling it: Law professor
Mar. 25, 2019—Law professor Ganesh Sitaraman says it may be possible to remove or reduce the influence of politics on the Supreme Court by leveraging the federal court of appeals.
Separation anxiety can contribute to toxic body image
Mar. 18, 2019—Young women with separation anxiety tend to over-rely on external cues to define themselves, which can make them vulnerable to internalizing unhealthy body ideals.
Grassley, Klobuchar most effective senators of 115th Congress, according to study
Feb. 28, 2019—The Center for Effective Lawmaking, a joint project of Vanderbilt and the University of Virginia, has released its Legislative Effectiveness Scores for the 115th Congress.
Prejudice against darker skin continues to depress wages for legal immigrants: Study
Feb. 13, 2019—Legal immigrants with darker skin are paid up to 25 percent less than those with lighter skin, a wage penalty that widened significantly several years after receiving permanent legal status.
Women’s hormones play role in drug addiction, higher relapse rates
Feb. 8, 2019—But long before female-specific medications are available, treatment centers could use the information in this study to educate women about their stronger mental connections to places and objects.