Scientists have detected previously unnoticed chemical signals that individual cells in the immune system use to communicate with each other over short distances.

Vanderbilt's emergency physicians are urging the public to take precautions in the extreme heat. Corey Slovis, M.D., chairman of the Department of Emergency Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, and medical director for Metro-Nashville Fire Department EMS and Nashville International Airport, said prolonged heat day after day can lead to dehydration. "Having several days of high temperatures can lead to dehydration," Slovis said.

Not all recovering alcoholics smoke cigarettes, but almost all of them drink coffee, according to a new Vanderbilt study suggesting that healthy consumatory behaviors could help addicts kick their habit.

The South is known for many things: hot, steamy summers, iced tea laced with sugar and friendly people with a tendency to welcome strangers. But beneath the veneer of Southern hospitality and gracious living lurks a silent killer: cancer. Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center researchers have their own name for the southern region of the United States: the "cancer belt."

Summertime activities can be fun but they can also place your eyes at an increased risk for long-term damage from the sun, or perhaps worse.

Dr. Levi Watkins Jr., whose passionate advocacy for racial equality and diversity was shaped by his early exposure to the Civil Rights Movement and its leaders, has been named the university's 2008 Distinguished Alumnus. The Vanderbilt Alumni Association will honor Watkins, a noted cardiac surgeon, at an Oct. 22 dinner at the Student Life Center.