science Archives
Study links genetic variants, protein expression and human diseases
Oct. 21, 2021—An international research team has developed a new resource that connects genetic variants and protein expression, which is expected to speed the identification of genes that cause disease — and point to novel treatment strategies.
Study reveals missing link between high-fat diet, microbiota and heart disease
Aug. 12, 2021—A high-fat diet disrupts the biology of the gut’s inner lining and its microbial communities — and promotes the production of a metabolite that may contribute to heart disease, according to a study published Aug. 13 in the journal Science.
VUMC’s Byndloss recognized for microbiome research
Jul. 9, 2020—Mariana Byndloss, DVM, PhD, assistant professor of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, has been selected as a runner-up of the inaugural NOSTER & Science Microbiome Prize.
Study reveals mysteries of critical brain receptor complex
Dec. 5, 2019—Poorly functioning AMPARs have been linked to a wide range of neurological and psychiatric disorders including seizures, Alzheimer’s disease, major depression and autism spectrum disorder. Understanding how AMPARs are formed and operate is essential for the rational design of pharmacological compounds that, by tuning AMPAR activity up or down, could improve treatment of these conditions.
Study details regulation of a multi-drug transporter
May. 29, 2019—P-glycoprotein distinguishes between chemicals that it will expel from a cell and inhibitors that block its action.
Vanderbilt scientists report new modeling of brain signaling
Mar. 7, 2019—The release of neurotransmitters and hormones in the body is tightly controlled by complex protein machinery embedded in cell membranes.
Vanderbilt experts discuss potential of universal genetic database to balance privacy, law enforcement concerns
Jan. 3, 2019—The pivotal role that long distance familial genetic searches played in the apprehension of the notorious Golden State Killer — and as a tool in dozens more cases since — has led experts from Vanderbilt University and Vanderbilt University Medical Center to make a provocative proposal about how investigative use of DNA should be regulated.
Study reveals frogs bouncing back in Panama
Apr. 5, 2018—A new study reports that some Central American frog species are recovering from a deadly fungal epidemic, perhaps because they have better defenses against the pathogen.
Study spots undiagnosed genetic diseases in EHR
Mar. 15, 2018—Patients diagnosed with heart failure, stroke, infertility and kidney failure could actually be suffering from rare and undiagnosed genetic diseases.
Team identifies ‘switch’ involved in DNA replication
Feb. 23, 2017—DNA replication is an extraordinarily complex multi-step process that makes copies of the body’s genetic blueprint. It is necessary for growth and essential to life. Now researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and Vanderbilt University have found evidence that one of those steps may involve the telephone-like transmission of electrical signals regulated by a chemical “switch.”
Investigators create ‘Trojan Horse’ to fight Ebola
Sep. 8, 2016—A multi-center research team including scientists from the Vanderbilt Vaccine Center has come up with a clever “Trojan Horse” strategy for thwarting the highly lethal Ebola virus.
Study reveals neurotransmitter glutamate’s molecular structure
Aug. 11, 2016—Terunaga Nakagawa, with colleagues from Japan and Oxford University in England, has discovered the bridgelike molecular structure of a mysterious glutamate receptor.
