- Research found that in all not-humans species, the brain areas that comprise the default mode network involve two systems not strongly connected with each other. These regions appear to be linked only recently in evolution, that may have facilitated the rapid evolution of human cognitive abilities https://news.vanderbilt.edu/2022/04/12/research-snapshot-international-collaboration-reveals-how-the-human-brain-evolved-to-harness-abstract-thought/ 6 comments science
- Preventing metastasis in cases of triple negative breast cancer. Researchers attached proteins to lipid nanoparticles, injected them into hundreds of blood samples from cancer patients, which then adhered to white blood cells, killing all cancer cells loosed because of a tumor removal during surgery https://news.vanderbilt.edu/2019/07/24/cellular-soldiers-designed-to-kill-cancer-cells-that-get-loose-during-surgery-stop-metastasis/ 3 comments science
- 45-year ongoing study shows that patterns in test scores and in a psychological assessment of personal values done with nearly 700 intellectually gifted adolescents predicted well which distinct fields of eminence they would occupy by age 50. https://news.vanderbilt.edu/2019/04/23/gifted-kids-turn-50-most-successful-followed-heart-not-just-head/ 3 comments science
- 45-year study reveals patterns in test scores plus a psychological assessment of personal values of nearly 700 intellectually gifted adolescents well predictive the distinct fields of eminence they would occupy by age 50. https://news.vanderbilt.edu/2019/04/23/gifted-kids-turn-50-most-successful-followed-heart-not-just-head/ 4 comments science
- Indicators of despair rising among Gen X-ers entering middle age, finds a new study (n = 18,446). Depression, suicidal ideation, drug use and alcohol abuse are rising among Americans in their late 30s and early 40s across most demographic groups. https://news.vanderbilt.edu/2019/04/15/indicators-of-despair-rising-among-gen-x-ers-entering-middle-age/ 3088 comments science
- Study links Celebrex, heart valve calcification after earlier research declared drug safe. The findings of the new study run counter to a well-known four-year study that found Celebrex no more dangerous for the heart than older drugs, commonly called NSAIDs. https://news.vanderbilt.edu/2019/02/22/study-links-celebrex-heart-valve-calcification-after-earlier-research-declared-drug-safe/ 3 comments science
- Carbon labeling can reduce greenhouse gases even if it doesn’t change consumer behavior https://news.vanderbilt.edu/2018/12/19/carbon-labeling-can-reduce-greenhouse-gases-even-if-it-doesnt-change-consumer-behavior/ 7 comments science
- The ‘clean plate’ mentality drives us to overeat: New research explores our tendency to overeat when we only have a little bit of food left over. Many of us were raised with a ‘clean your plate’ mentality, stemming from a desire to not be wasteful but this can also lead to overconsumption. https://news.vanderbilt.edu/2018/11/27/the-clean-plate-mentality-drives-us-to-overeat-to-go-bags-can-help/ 2223 comments science
- Higher-status people tend to be healthier in general, but being connected to higher-status people was actually associated with more health disruptions, not less. This is an unexpected finding which may be due to negative social comparison, receipt of detrimental resources and networking costs. https://news.vanderbilt.edu/2018/11/01/take-a-lot-of-sick-days-who-you-know-and-where-you-live-might-be-partly-to-blame/ 40 comments science
- When the American cockroach is threatened with being paralyzed by the sting of the emerald jewel wasp to its brain, it fights back using its hind legs to deliver a powerful kick. https://news.vanderbilt.edu/2018/10/31/karate-kicks-keep-cockroaches-from-becoming-zombies-wasp-chow/ 6 comments science
- Crime, not money, drives migration from El Salvador and Honduras. In El Salvador and Honduras, the violence is often a widespread daily occurrence, where families are routinely extorted, and where children are recruited by force into gangs or to participate into violent initiation rituals https://news.vanderbilt.edu/2018/09/18/crime-not-money-drives-migration-from-el-salvador-and-honduras/ 132 comments science
- Urban water conservation policies are reflecting the nation’s political polarization, with a new report demonstrating that a city’s water ordinances can be as much related to whether it leans left or right as to whether the climate is wet or dry. https://news.vanderbilt.edu/2018/06/18/political-leaning-influences-city-water-policies-as-strongly-as-climate/ 3 comments science
- A study has found five years after quitting, the risk of developing lung cancer in former heavy smokers dropped by 39 percent compared to current smokers, and continued to fall as time went on. The current study looked at 8,907 participants https://news.vanderbilt.edu/2018/05/29/new-research-finds-lung-cancer-risk-drops-substantially-within-five-years-of-quitting/ 9 comments science
- Researchers have characterized a complex, little-understood receptor type that, when activated, shuts off hunger. The findings may open up opportunities to fight obesity at the cellular level. https://news.vanderbilt.edu/2018/04/18/characterizing-keyhole-is-first-step-to-fighting-obesity-at-the-cellular-level/ 19 comments science
- Vanderbilt Libraries host inaugural Edible Books Festival https://news.vanderbilt.edu/2018/04/04/vanderbilt-libraries-host-inaugural-edible-books-festival/ 3 comments nottheonion
- Study finds dogs are brainier than cats - The first study to actually count the number of cortical neurons in the brains of a number of carnivores, including cats and dogs, has found that dogs possess significantly more of them than cats. https://news.vanderbilt.edu/2017/11/29/grumpy-cat-study-dogs/ 12 comments science
- Visual intelligence is not the same as IQ https://news.vanderbilt.edu/2017/11/07/visual-intelligence-iq/ 11 comments science
- Filling the early universe with knots can explain why the world is three-dimensional https://news.vanderbilt.edu/2017/10/13/filling-the-early-universe-with-knots-can-explain-why-the-world-is-three-dimensional/ 8 comments space
- A new way to control a powerful but finicky process called the polymerase chain reaction raises the possibility of a “DNA photocopier” small enough to hold in your hand. Such a device could identify the bacteria or virus causing an infection even before the symptoms appear. https://news.vanderbilt.edu/2017/01/11/dna-duplicator-small-enough-to-hold-in-your-hand/ 4 comments science
- All previous scientific studies have found that either women are better than men at identifying faces or there is no gender difference. But psychologists have discovered a type of face that men are better at identifying than women: the faces on Transformer toys. https://news.vanderbilt.edu/2016/11/16/finally-a-type-of-face-that-men-recognize-better-than-women/ 12 comments science
- Total number of neurons—not enlarged prefrontal region—is the hallmark of a human brain http://news.vanderbilt.edu/2016/08/total-number-of-neurons-not-enlarged-prefrontal-region-hallmark-of-human-brain/ 8 comments science
- Super-eruptions may give only about a year's warning before they blow. That is the conclusion of a new microscopic analysis of quartz crystals in pumice taken from the Bishop Tuff in eastern California, which is the site of the super-eruption that formed the Long Valley Caldera 760,000 years ago. http://news.vanderbilt.edu/2016/07/super-eruptions-may-give-only-a-years-warning-before-they-blow/ 89 comments science
- Female candidates have to be more qualified than their male opponents to prevail in an election because many people don’t see women as leaders, according to research that reveals hidden bias that can emerge in the voting booth. http://news.vanderbilt.edu/2015/11/sexism-rules-in-the-ballot-booth-unless-voters-have-more-information/ 12 comments science
- New class of DNA repair enzyme discovered: The newly discovered DNA repair enzyme is a DNA glycosylase, a family of enzymes that removed damaged DNA bases through a process called base-excision repair http://news.vanderbilt.edu/2015/10/new-class-of-dna-repair-enzyme-discovered/ 35 comments science
- Scientific literature overstates psychotherapy’s effectiveness in treating depression http://news.vanderbilt.edu/2015/09/scientific-literature-overstates-psychotherapy%E2%80%99s-effectiveness-in-treating-depression/ 11 comments science
- Recognition, not money, motivates middle-schoolers to learn, especially girls http://news.vanderbilt.edu/2015/08/recognition-not-money-motivates-tweens-to-learn-especially-girls/ 3 comments science
- A new map of the Milky Way, created by scientists with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), shows that a surprisingly large proportion, 30 percent, of its stars are wanderers that have dramatically changed orbits during their lifetimes. http://news.vanderbilt.edu/2015/07/milky-way-filled-with-wandering-stars/ 3 comments science
- Network theory sheds new light on origins of consciousness http://news.vanderbilt.edu/2015/03/213466/ 18 comments science
- Researchers have created the first comprehensive map of the topsy-turvy climate in the Western U.S. 21,000 years ago, when the Southwest was wet and the Northwest was dry http://news.vanderbilt.edu/2015/02/time-when-climate-was-topsy-turvy-in-western-u-s-aids-climate-prediction-efforts/ 8 comments science
- The most detailed aerodynamic simulation of hummingbird flight conducted to date has demonstrated that the hummingbird achieves its nimble aerobatic abilities through a unique set of aerodynamic forces that are more closely aligned to those found in flying insects than to other birds. http://news.vanderbilt.edu/2014/11/how-the-hummingbird-achieves-its-aerobatic-feats/ 21 comments science
- The new ‘double disadvantage' - Marriage tells us a lot more about employment status around the world than we thought: In the United States, your nationality has some effect on your likelihood to be employed - -but being married matters more. For women, it matters a lot more, one study shows http://news.vanderbilt.edu/2014/10/double-disadvantage/ 7 comments science
- Early Earth less hellish than previously thought: Conditions on Earth for the first 500 million years after it formed may have been surprisingly similar to the present day, complete with oceans, continents and active crustal plates http://news.vanderbilt.edu/2014/09/early-earth-less-hellish/ 60 comments science
- Fault trumps gruesome evidence when it comes to meting out punishment: A new brain imaging study has identified the brain mechanisms that underlie our judgment of how severely a person who has harmed another should be punished http://news.vanderbilt.edu/2014/08/fault-trumps-gruesome-evidence/ 3 comments science
- Study examines therapeutic bacteria’s ability to prevent obesity: Bacteria that produce a therapeutic compound in the gut inhibit weight gain, insulin resistance and other adverse effects of a high-fat diet in mice, researchers have discovered http://news.vanderbilt.edu/2014/07/bacteria-prevent-obesity/ 10 comments science
- Physical signs of depression common among ICU survivors: Depression affects more than one out of three survivors of critical illness, according to a study in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine; the majority of patients experience their symptoms physically rather than mentally http://news.vanderbilt.edu/2014/04/physical-signs-of-depression-common-among-icu-survivors/ 3 comments science
- Intervention efforts curb violent youth behaviors: Violent behavior and beliefs among middle school students can be reduced by implementing targeted violence intervention program, a new study shows Findings led to a single, evidence-based conflict resolution program, evaluated in a pilot study http://news.vanderbilt.edu/2014/04/intervention-efforts-curb-violent-youth-behaviors/ 4 comments science
- Gifted children are likely to be the next generation’s innovators and leaders—yet the exceptionally smart are often invisible in the classroom, lacking the curricula, teacher input and external motivation to reach full potential http://news.vanderbilt.edu/2014/01/gifted-children-study/ 2853 comments science
- A fungus that is killing frogs and other amphibians around the world releases a toxic factor that disables the amphibian immune response, investigators report http://news.vanderbilt.edu/2013/10/frog-fungus-paralyzes-immune-response/ 9 comments science
- New, simple theory may explain mysterious dark matter http://news.vanderbilt.edu/2013/06/dark-matter/ 20 comments science
- Sex matters: guys recognize cars and women recognize birds best http://news.vanderbilt.edu/2012/09/visual-recognition-genders/ 30 comments science