molecular physiology and biophysics

February 28, 2013

Discovery Lecture explores brain’s sensitivity to insulin

Diabetes has a big impact on the brain.

By Bill Snyder
February 6, 2013

Linking oxygen, iron and red blood cells

The HIF oxygen-sensing pathway and its responses to low oxygen may be targeted for treatments of anemia and disorders of iron balance.

By Leigh MacMillan
December 12, 2012

Genes, nutrients interact to shape traits

A new study identifies interactions between genes and nutrients that may participate in determining levels of cholesterol and triglycerides.

By Leigh MacMillan
December 6, 2012

Research becomes personal for Delpire

Eric Delpire, Ph.D., professor of Anesthesiology, Molecular Physiology and Biophysics and director of the Anesthesiology Basic Science Research Division, has spent the past 15 years developing genetically altered mice for use in scientific research, and he now knows the value of his research in a very personal way.

By Jill Clendening
October 18, 2012

Setting traps to probe gene function

A new method for creating genetic mutations that can be activated at certain times or in specific tissues will enable studies to probe gene function.

By Leigh MacMillan
October 11, 2012

VU recruit’s work lights up genetic ‘dark matter’

They’ve been called “junk DNA” and genetic “dark matter” — the long segments of the human genome (98 percent of it) that do not encode protein.

By Bill Snyder
October 11, 2012

Amish aid search for Alzheimer’s genes

An analysis of Amish populations revealed novel risk genes for late-onset Alzheimer disease.
By Leigh MacMillan
September 13, 2012

Cells with LIP eat their neighbors

A transcription factor called LIP is capable of causing one cell to consume another.
By Leigh MacMillan
July 26, 2012

High school student speeds anti-obesity research at VU

A California high school student helped accelerate an anti-obesity drug discovery program at Vanderbilt University this summer — and provided the proof-of-principle for a new technique that could save the lab an estimated $250,000 in the process.
By Bill Snyder
July 24, 2012

Vanderbilt-led team to develop ‘microbrain’ to improve drug testing

Creating a device out of human cells that simulates brain chemistry is the goal of a $6.4 million grant which is part of major new federal initiative to develop a series of “organs on a chip” designed to improve the drug development process.
By VUMC News and Communications
July 3, 2012

Receptor’s role in nutrition brain circuitry

New findings point to brain circuitry that communicates about the body’s nutritional status and regulates how nutrients are mobilized.
By Leigh MacMillan
June 27, 2012

Probing the roots of depression by tracking serotonin regulation at a new level

An interdisciplinary team of scientists have successfully tagged a protein that regulates the neurotransmitter serotonin with tiny fluorescent beads, allowing them to track the movements of individual molecules for the first time. This capability makes it possible to study the manner in which serotonin regulates mood, appetite and sleep at a new level of detail.
May 15, 2012

New clue to ADHD

A rare genetic change adds support to the idea that altered dopamine signaling is a key risk factor for ADHD.
By Bill Snyder
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