A new type of genetic variation could strengthen natural selection

The unexpected discovery of a new type of genetic variation suggests that natural selection – the force that drives evolution – is both more powerful and more complex than scientists have thought.

Study of Midwestern medical center shows low safety reporting by medical residents

According to a just-released, large-sample study, the extent to which medical residents are involved in reporting safety incidents is limited, indicating a need for more institutional focus about how, when, why and where incidents should be reported.

TIPSHEET: The future of Pluto and Ceres

Three years ago, when the International Astronomical Union demoted Pluto to dwarf planet status, the unpopular decision was based on personal opinions and professional politics, not on rigorous scientific criteria that can clearly differentiate planets from lesser bodies, points out Vanderbilt astronomer David Weintraub. In the next decade, however, the amount of knowledge that we have about Pluto and another dwarf planet, Ceres, will change dramatically and this new information may affect our views of these objects and their status in the solar system as asteroids, dwarf planets or planets.

Nuclear energy powered by uranium from the sea could promote peace in coming century

One of the best things the world can do to promote peace and stability in the coming century is to expand commercial nuclear power based on the extraction of uranium from the ocean. That is the proposition which Frank Parker, an internationally recognized expert in remediation of radioactively contaminated soil and water and a member of the National Academy of Engineering, advanced at an exclusive meeting held at the Pontifical Academy of Sciences in the Vatican last month.

Astronomer receives NSF award to study black holes’ evolution and to support Fisk-Vanderbilt minority Ph.D. program

Vanderbilt University Assistant Professor of Physics and Astronomy Kelly Holley-Bockelmann has been awarded the National Science Foundation’s largest ever Faculty Early Career Development grant in the field of astronomy. She will use the prestigious award to continue her studies of black holes while supporting the university’s innovative program designed to make the university the top producer of underrepresented minorities with Ph.D.s in physics and astronomy.

Study finds Tennessee service industry workers and the young get less health care coverage at work