Aliquots - Research Briefs

skin cross section
May 18, 2023

A critical skin enzyme

Detailed studies of the enzymatic properties of PNPLA1 support the requirement for this protein in skin barrier formation.

By Leigh MacMillan
May 18, 2023

Billing codes aid lupus diagnosis

Vanderbilt researchers used billing codes in electronic health records to develop a “phenotype risk score” that identified established and undiagnosed people with lupus.

By Bill Snyder
May 9, 2023

Neural networks probe proteins

A machine learning method based on neural networks outperformed a mutational scanning model at identifying disease-causing mutations in an Alzheimer’s disease protein, suggesting the method could be useful for facilitating therapeutic design.

By Leigh MacMillan
May 8, 2023

Improved imaging for kidney disease

Vanderbilt researchers identified optimal MRI parameters for estimating the severity of polycystic kidney disease, a common inherited disorder that can lead to end-stage renal failure.

By Leigh MacMillan
May 4, 2023

Tracking lung macrophages

A new technique will allow researchers to track subsets of immune cells that patrol and defend the lungs, to better understand the roles of these cells during lung inflammation, infection and injury.

By Leigh MacMillan
May 4, 2023

Better adenoma detection

Fluorescent nanoparticles clearly identified colonic adenomas — precursors to colorectal cancer — in mice, and the formulation should translate to clinical use in humans.

By Sarah E. Glass
April 25, 2023

COVID alters respiratory microbiota

COVID-19 infection alters the microbes of the upper respiratory tract for at least several weeks, and such disturbances could impact disease severity and be targets for therapeutic interventions.
By Leigh MacMillan
April 24, 2023

Novel drugs have potential for treating tuberculosis

Drug-resistant tuberculosis is on the rise, and novel antibacterial drugs called SPTs have potential for treating the deadly lung infection.
By Leigh MacMillan
April 20, 2023

Overactive bladder and anxiety

Anxiety and psychological stress impact hypersensitivity mechanisms in women that could contribute to overactive bladder — a frequent and sudden urge to urinate that is difficult to control.
By Sarah E. Glass
April 20, 2023

Genetics and chronic pain

Polygenic risk scores — scores that reflect the influence of common genetic variants — could be used to predict the likelihood of developing chronic overlapping pain conditions and guide biomarker and targeted prevention efforts.
By Bill Snyder
April 11, 2023

COVID on Twitter: town vs. country

A natural language processing analysis of 407 million tweets from May 2020 to January 2022 captures the rural-urban divide regarding COVID-19.
By Paul Govern
April 10, 2023

The problem with the problem list

Algorithms to infer missing problems and suggest that they be added to electronic health records improved problem list completeness, with benefits for clinical care, patient comprehension of health conditions and population health.
By Paul Govern
April 6, 2023

COVID-19’s lingering impact on health

A decline in cardiovascular fitness — measured by activity trackers in the All of Us research program — persisted among some groups even after COVID-related restrictions were relaxed, exacerbating health disparities.
By Bill Snyder
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