News Archive
The mouse hospital at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Massachusetts, boasts resources rivalling those offered to human patients, including state-of-the-art medical-imaging facilities, round-the- clock nursing staff and access to cutting-edge cancer drugs. The goal is not to cure mice, of course, but to gain insight into clinical trials of those drugs in humans.
Wednesday, March 21, 2012 - 12:24
Researchers believe they have identified why a mutation in a particular gene can lead to obesity.
Monday, March 19, 2012 - 15:51
Researchers at the University of Colorado have found a cure for Type 1 Diabetes– in mice. The research team will determine if it could prevent the disease in humans as well.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012 - 15:52
A newly developed, genetically modified pig may hold the keys to the development of improved treatments and possibly even a cure for retinitis pigmentosa (RP), the most common inherited retinal disease in the United States. The pig model was developed by researchers in the University of Louisville Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences and at the National Swine Resource and Research Center at the University of Missouri.
Friday, March 9, 2012 - 11:07
Many medical studies involve laboratory animals, but when it comes to research on asthma, no creature provides a better model than the horse. Veterinarians at Virginia Tech believe our equine friends might help humans who struggle to breathe.
Thursday, March 8, 2012 - 17:14
New research offers potential insight into the connection between cancer, obesity and longevity in humans by showing that genetically modified mice live longer, skinnier and almost cancer-free lives.
Thursday, March 8, 2012 - 17:13
Dr. Zheng Xiaoxiang of the Brain-Computer Interface Research Team says that she has trained a monkey to control a robotic hand with its brain. What's especially interesting about this story is that scientists claim to have achieved a new level of fine motor control, allowing the monkey to articulate individual fingers, instead of using a "whole hand" approach, as we've seen previously. This is a vast improvement on previous models since the neuronal connections required for fine motor control are significantly more complicated.Just think about the improvements to quality of life that this kind of research can offer. Soon, it will no longer be the stuff of science fiction that people will wear robotic prosthetics
Wednesday, March 7, 2012 - 17:03
Scientists at the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute have developed a new mouse model for studying a childhood brain cancer called medulloblastoma. The animal model mimics the deadliest of four subtypes of human medulloblastoma, a tumor that is triggered by elevated levels of a gene known as Myc.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012 - 16:02
After 10 years in development, a novel mouse population proves its mettle in complex trait research.
Monday, March 5, 2012 - 17:20
New research in mice suggests that Alzheimer's disease triggers a protein that contributes to the breakdown of the brain's memory.
Friday, March 2, 2012 - 11:57
The quest for treatments for motor neurone disease, spinal cord injury and strokes could be helped by new research that shows how key cells are produced. Scientists at the University of Edinburgh have been able to manipulate the production of motor neurones – which control all muscle activity – in zebrafish.
Thursday, March 1, 2012 - 11:06
A UCSF stem cell study conducted in mice suggests a novel strategy for treating damaged cardiac tissue in patients following a heart attack.
Monday, February 27, 2012 - 13:56
Researchers at the Univ. of Copenhagen have designed, produced and patented a new chemical compound for the possible treatment of brain damage caused by stroke. The compound binds 1,000 times more effectively to the target protein in the brain than the potential drug currently being tested on stroke victims.
Friday, February 24, 2012 - 13:34
University of Texas researchers have found a new way to quickly repair damaged nerves in rats that might one day help people who suffer disabling injuries.
Thursday, February 23, 2012 - 13:38
Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have for the first time designed a series of small molecules that act against an RNA defect directly responsible for the most common form of adult-onset muscular dystrophy.
Thursday, February 23, 2012 - 11:15