Science

There are two aspects to creating an effective drug: finding a chemical compound that has the desired biological effect and minimal side-effects and then delivering it to the right place in the body for it to do its job. Read More

Peter Cummings, John R. Hall Professor of Chemical Engineering at Vanderbilt, will receive the 2007 American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AlChE) Nanoscale Science and Engineering Forum Award at the institute's annual meeting in November. Read More

Dramatic daily variations in the cockroach's learning ability were discovered by a new study performed by Vanderbilt University biologists and published online this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Read More

Michael Bess, the first Chancellor's Professor of History at Vanderbilt University, will deliver his inaugural lecture Oct. 4 on the impact of rapid advances in science, medicine and technology on human identity. Read More

When biological molecules kiss, a new kind of biosensor can tell. A new and deceptively simple technique has been developed by chemists at Vanderbilt University that can measure the interactions between free-floating, unlabeled biological molecules including proteins, sugars, antibodies, DNA and RNA. Read More

Vanderbilt has received a $40 million Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) - its largest ever government research grant - to expedite the translation of laboratory discoveries to patients in the community. Read More

For several months last spring, the Vanderbilt greenhouse held more members of a rare species of native sunflower than are known to exist in the wild. Read More

Vanderbilt University maintained its rank of 23rd in the nation in the total value of federal science and engineering research grants awarded to campus researchers, according to an annual report compiled by the National Science Foundation (NSF). Read More

By mapping a specialized sensory organ that the malaria mosquito uses to zero in on its human prey, an international team of researchers has taken an important step toward developing new and improved repellants and attractants that can be used to reduce the threat of malaria, generally considered the most prevalent life-threatening disease in the world. Read More

Combine a mechanical arm with a miniature rocket motor: The result is a prosthetic device that is the closest thing yet to a bionic arm. Read More

When in doubt about what we see, our brains fill in the gaps for us by first drawing the borders and then 'coloring' in the surface area, new research has found. The research is the first to pinpoint the areas in the brain, and the timing of their activity, responsible for how we see borders and surfaces. Read More

Most of America's low-cost stores have much of their merchandise made in foreign countries, like China. What's become better known, because or recent news reports, are the serious safety and environmental concerns that can arise from these foreign suppliers. Read More

Camilla P. Benbow, vice chair of President Bush's National Mathematics Advisory Panel and a member of the National Science Board, is available to talk about the importance of funding math and science education to the United States' ability to compete globally. Read More

Anthropologists working on the slopes of the Andes in northern Peru have discovered the earliest-known evidence of peanut, cotton and squash farming dating back 5,000 to 9,000 years. Their findings provide long-sought-after evidence that some of the early development of agriculture in the New World took place at farming settlements in the Andes. Read More

The most unusual sound coming out of the American Symphony Orchestra League's conference in Nashville this week won't be from woodwinds, brass or strings, but rather from the tapping of fingers on computer keyboards. Read More

Summer solstice, the official start of summer and longest day of the year, falls at 6:08 p.m. on Thursday, June 21. The best place in Nashville to report on astronomy events is the Vanderbilt Dyer Observatory, located at one of the highest points in Nashville. Read More

In a way, nanotubes are nature's smallest candles. These tiny tubes are constructed from carbon atoms and they are so small that it takes about 100,000 laid side-by-side to span the width of a single human hair. Read More

Young Vanderbilt engineering faculty have netted prestigious CAREER awards from the National Science Foundation for their innovations. Read More

James Crowe, M.D., is a Vanderbilt professor of pediatrics, microbiology and immunology. Crowe discussed the concerns associated with possible influenza pandemic. Read More

Fast forward to a civilization about three trillion years in the future. Astronomers at that time equipped with instruments equal to those of today would likely come to a much different conclusion about the basic nature of the universe, one that harks back to static models that were popular at the turn of the century. Read More