Vanderbilt Basic Sciences
Eat breakfast and stop late-night snacking
Oct. 29, 2021—Researchers have confirmed that due to daily circadian rhythms regulating metabolism, when you eat is as important as the how much and what you eat when trying to gain, lose or maintain weight. Carl Johnson, professor of biological sciences, collaborated with graduate student Kevin P. Kelly to test how the timing of daily meals and snacks throughout the day affects weight maintenance. With 24-hour access to some food, those eating the biggest meal of the day in the morning gained...
AstraZeneca seeks emergency approval for COVID-19 antibodies isolated by Crowe lab
Oct. 7, 2021—The global biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca said Oct. 5 it has requested emergency use authorization (EUA) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for a long-acting antibody combination originally developed at Vanderbilt University Medical Center to protect against COVID-19. If the EUA is granted, the combination of long-acting monoclonal antibodies, called AZD7442, would be the first...
Sugar compounds in breast milk relieve uncomfortable side effects caused by chemotherapy
Oct. 4, 2021—Two Vanderbilt researchers have isolated sugar compounds in breast milk that can relieve hidden yet life-altering negative side effects of cancer treatment. Traditional chemotherapy destroys cancer by killing rapidly growing cancer cells has several visible, relatively minor side effects—rashes, hair loss and bruising. More severe patient reactions to chemotherapy include diarrhea, nausea, abdominal pain, bleeding...
Research by Mark Denison contributed to first COVID-19 pill now under review
Oct. 1, 2021—U.S.-based pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. on Friday, Oct. 1, said it would seek authorization for the first oral antiviral pill to treat COVID-19, after a clinical trial showed it cut the risk of hospitalization or death in half when given to high-risk people during infection. The drug, known as molnupiravir, was first shown to...
Jason Isbell to speak on addiction and sobriety with Vanderbilt Center for Addiction Research Oct. 12 at noon
Sep. 30, 2021—Four-time Grammy Award-winning musician Jason Isbell will talk about the impact of COVID-19 on addiction and sobriety and the intersection of sobriety, addiction and music in the next Lab-to-Table Conversation—a monthly series organized by the School of Medicine Basic Sciences. Director of the Vanderbilt Center for Addiction Research Danny Winder and Assistant Professor of Pharmacology Erin Calipari will talk with Isbell at noon Central time on Tuesday, Oct. 12. Isbell has personal experience...
Molecular imaging of C. diff infection
Sep. 30, 2021—Disruption of the gut microbiota, for example by antibiotics, allows the bacterium Clostridioides difficile (C. diff) to colonize and cause disease. C. diff is the leading cause of hospital-associated intestinal infections in the U.S., but the mechanisms of colonization are unclear. Eric Skaar, PhD, Jeffrey Spraggins, PhD, and colleagues used imaging mass spectrometry, a molecular imaging technique, to...