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If you want to be perceived as a leader, new research from Vanderbilt University suggests investing in the latest technological gadgets is the way to go.

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Vanderbilt physicist John Wikswo reported significant progress toward creating “homo minutus” – a benchtop human – on Mar. 26 at the Society of Toxicology meeting in Phoenix. So-called organ-on-a-chip technology is being developed to provide a better and less expensive method of drug and toxicity testing.

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Vanderbilt neuroscientists show it is possible to selectively manipulate our ability to learn through the application of a mild electrical current to the brain, and that this effect can be enhanced or depressed depending on the direction of the current.

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By shifting evolution into reverse, it may be possible to use “green chemistry” to make a number of costly synthetic drugs as easily and cheaply as brewing beer.

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Clint Eastwood's more recent films reflect not only an extraordinary new level of artistic achievement, but also keen insight into and understanding of the nature of American society and its search for meaning and purpose, according to English professor and film expert Sam B. Girgus.

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A brain-mapping study of patients with schizophrenia has found that areas associated with the ability to imitate are impaired, providing new support for the theory that deficits in this basic cognitive skill may underlie the profound difficulty with social interactions that characterize the disorder.

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An ultra-fast and ultra-small optical switch has been invented that could advance the day when photons replace electrons in the innards of consumer products ranging from cell phones to automobiles.

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Vanderbilt researchers report that they have taken an important step toward the goal of growing replacement heart valves from a patient’s own cells by determining that the mechanical forces generated by the rhythmic expansion and contraction of cardiac muscle cells play an active role in the initial stage of heart valve formation.

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Income inequality is making Americans sick, according to a groundbreaking Social Science and Medicine article by Jonathan Metzl and Helena Hansen.

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Vanderbilt biologists have discovered that mosquito sperm have a “sense of smell” and that some of same chemicals that the mosquito can smell cause the sperm to swim harder.

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A study has found that the time it takes neural networks in the brain to make decisions is remarkably stable regardless of size: a finding that could make it easier to achieve the goal of the President's BRAIN Initiative established last spring.

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More independent work environments may lead to reductions in autism symptoms and improve daily living in adults with the disorder, according to a new study released in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.

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An international team of astronomers has discovered a surprising new class of “hypervelocity stars” – solitary stars moving fast enough to escape the gravitational grasp of the Milky Way galaxy.

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Insider trading may be too engrained in the financial system in transactions such as credit default swaps to make banning them feasible, says a Vanderbilt law professor.

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Preschool-aged children require the majority of their waking day, approximately 11 hours, to achieve their recommended daily physical activity, a Vanderbilt study published in Obesity found.

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Gifted children are likely to be the next generation's innovators and leaders—and yet, the exceptionally smart are often invisible in the classroom, lacking the curricula, teacher input and external motivation to reach full potential. This conclusion comes as the result of the largest scientific study of the profoundly gifted to date, a 30-year study conducted by researchers at Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College of education and human development.

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New research by Vanderbilt marketing professor Kelly Haws found that consumers may be just as willing to buy healthy food if they feel they’re still getting a "supersize" deal.

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Two philosophy professors who are passionate about the importance of political argument to democracy have written a guide that blasts many of the so-called debates in current media. They contend too many commentators on talk radio and cable focus on deriding the opposition as silly or bad.

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Peer solicitation – a child inviting another to play – can improve reciprocal social interaction among children with autism, according to a Vanderbilt University study released today in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry.

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A psychological study has found that skilled typists can’t identify the positions of many of the keys on the QWERTY keyboard and probably didn’t memorize them even when they first learned to type.