PNAS

New studies explain how T-cell receptors use force to recognize and protect us against pathogens. Read More

New insights to the workings of a protein that moves neurotransmitters across the nerve cell membrane could aid the design of more effective antidepressants. Read More

Vanderbilt University researchers are closer to understanding the link between obesity, chronic inflammation and type 2 diabetes. Read More

A Vanderbilt University-led research team has discovered a “master regulator” for cholesterol production and transport in the liver — a tiny piece of RNA called microRNA-223. Read More

It sounds like a potato chip. But CRISPR is actually the acronym for a new genome editing technique that, by many accounts, is accelerating the study of genes and disease. Read More

Understanding how to control the generation of regulatory T cells could have important implications for treating autoimmunity and cancer. Read More

Insights into the workings of DNA damage response proteins such as SMARCAL1 could suggest new ways to improve genome integrity and prevent cancer. Read More

Vanderbilt researchers have discovered small molecules that turn off cancerous Ras signals in a new way. Read More

by Denise Anthony (iStock) A Vanderbilt University-led research team has solved a long-standing riddle: Why do people of mostly Amerindian ancestry in the Andes have a gastric cancer rate that is 25 times higher than that of fellow Colombians of mostly African descent only 124 miles away on the coast?… Read More

A chemical bond discovered by Vanderbilt University scientists that is essential for animal life and which hastened the “dawn of the animal kingdom” could lead to new therapies for cancer and other diseases. Read More

Clostridium difficile on the intestinal lining. (Wellcome Images) Clostridium difficile (“C. diff”) infection is a leading cause of hospital-associated diarrhea, and the frequency and severity of infections are on the rise. D. Borden Lacy, Ph.D., associate professor of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, and colleagues recently demonstrated that the C. Read More

Understanding the regulation of mutant EGF receptors commonly found in lung cancers could lead to new targeted therapies. Read More

Dietary variety – not high-fat or sugary foods – appears to stimulate overeating in a mouse model of an inherited obesity syndrome. Read More

Vanderbilt investigators report new insights to the workings of calprotectin, an immune system protein that “starves” bacterial pathogens of the metal nutrients they require. Read More

Understanding how the main receptor for light interacts with other signaling molecules may inform new pharmaceutical development. Read More

The stomach bug Helicobacter pylori increases forms of a protein that promote tumor development, perhaps explaining how it elevates risk for gastric cancer. Read More

A new method for creating genetic mutations that can be activated at certain times or in specific tissues will enable studies to probe gene function. Read More

New findings point to brain circuitry that communicates about the body’s nutritional status and regulates how nutrients are mobilized. Read More

New information may help speed development of a vaccine or treatment for dengue fever. Read More

Researchers at Vanderbilt University have discovered that an unusual set of immune cells, called invariant natural killer T cells, can exacerbate obesity-related inflammation. Read More