Vanderbilt University

The machine used to spin up cotton candy may also be the answer to a new generation of self-destructing electronics. A new form of electrical circuitry made of a spinable polymer must be kept above a temperature of 32° C (89.6° F) or it dissolves in water.

​Many wild elephants already wear GPS-equipped collars, which let wildlife officials track their whereabouts. An upgrade to those collars, however, could soon allow those officials to instantly know when poachers are shooting at the elephants.

​Next time your smartphone freezes, the culprit might actually be the cosmic rays that are constantly raining down on us from outer space. A new study has examined how modern consumer electronics are becoming more vulnerable to cosmic interference, and suggests ways to build better chips.

Scientists have discovered a Zika antibody that can potentially protect developing fetuses, probably the number-one victim of the disease.​

​​Using a millennia-old blueprint and two of the most abundant scrap metals in the US, scientists have developed a battery prototype that could one day offer a cheap and accessible way to store power off the grid.

Scientists have found that by delivering a mild electrical current to a certain part of the brain they can affect how it processes visual information, leading not only to sharpened focus for the subject, but new understanding of our sense of sight.

One of the hurdles in creating lab-grown organs is that the cells in such a structure need to be quickly and cheaply supplied with a way of receiving nutrients. Researchers at Vanderbilt University (VU) may have just leaped that hurdle using a most unexpected tool – a cotton candy machine.

To help find out if its worth going to a particular asteroid, scientists from Vanderbilt and Fisk Universities are developing a new gamma-ray spectroscope that's capable of scanning asteroids for valuable minerals.

A tiny mechanical wrist can make surgical incisions the diameter of a sewing needle and then bend inside your body by as much as 90 degrees, opening new doors in needlescopic surgery.

Researchers from Vanderbilt University have created the world's smallest continuous spirals. The spirals exhibit a set of very specific optical properties that would be difficult to fake, making them ideal for use in identity cards or other items where authenticity is paramount.

Those working through the night or regularly falling victim to jet lag may be familiar with the physical toll of disrupting our biological clocks. Research has now uncovered what scientists call a reset button, pointing to new possibilities for treatments to get our bodies back in sync.

Engineers at Vanderbilt University have developed a surgical robot that, rather than drilling through the skull and deep into the brain, offers a less invasive way to treat severe epileptic seizures by using an alternative point of entry – the cheek.