University of Melbourne Receives $35m in NHMRC Program Grants
Mar 11, 2010
University of Melbourne researchers were awarded more than $35 million in program grants from Australia’s National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC). The grants were won by researchers in the department of Medicine, Dentistry, and Health services for use on projects that include research on Alzheimer’s disease, epilepsy, knee osteoarthritis, and bacterial infections.
Research Finds Link between Repeated Anesthesia and Memory Impairment in Children
Mar 10, 2010
A new study in the Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow & Metabolism indicates that there is a link between repeated anesthesia in children and memory impairment.
The researchers, from the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, had previously discovered a link between stem cell loss and repeated anesthesia and decided to investigate what happens to brain stem cells when exposed to strong magnetic fields, for example, during an MRI.
JAX to Offer Free Nomenclature Webinar
Mar 10, 2010
Join JAX at your computer on Thursday, March 18, from 4:00-5:00pm (ET in the U.S.) for a free live tutorial on interpreting mouse nomenclature and more.
Agreement Enables Live Animal Imaging for Cancer Studies
Mar 10, 2010
Promega and TOP srl have combined their industry leading technologies to provide the most sensitive tools for monitoring apoptosis in live mammals, an important biomarker in cancer studies.
Scientists Identify Natural Compound that Inhibits Cancer Cell Migration
Mar 09, 2010
Investigators at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute led by Kristiina Vuori, M.D., Ph.D., have discovered that the natural compound sceptrin, which is found in marine sponges, reduces cancer cell motility (movement) and has very low toxicity. Metastasis is one of the deadliest aspects of cancer, so restricting aberrant cell movement is an important step towards advancing treatments.
NIH and FDA Announce Collaborative Initiative to Fast-track Innovations to the Public
Mar 09, 2010
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health unveiled an initiative designed to accelerate the process from scientific breakthrough to the availability of new, innovative medical therapies for patients.
Stem Cells Restore Sight in Mouse Model of Retinitis Pigmentosa
Mar 09, 2010
An international research team led by Columbia University Medical Center successfully used mouse embryonic stem cells to replace diseased retinal cells and restore sight in a mouse model of retinitis pigmentosa. This strategy could potentially become a new treatment for retinitis pigmentosa, a leading cause of blindness that affects approximately one in 3,000 to 4,000 people, or 1.5 million people worldwide.
Mother’s Milk Lowers Risk of Obesity in Mice
Mar 09, 2010
Newborn mice who receive their mother’s milk experience a process that boosts their metabolism, possibly lowering their risk of obesity and diabetes in adulthood, according to a study at the University of Barcelona.
West Virginia University Receives $14.5 million for New Animal Facility Annex
Mar 05, 2010
West Virginia University has received more than $14.5 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding for the construction of a new animal research facility annex at West Virginia University (WVU). The funding is being made available as a research facilities construction grant within the Department of Health and Human Services’ National Center for Research Resources.
Biomedical Facility Donated to Morgridge Institute for Research
Mar 05, 2010
The private half of the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery will have expanded research capabilities after a California drug company donated a $16 million facility.
District 8 Conference to be held May 5 - 7th in Tempe, AZ
Mar 05, 2010
The District 9 Conference will include workshops on rodent necropsy, swine anesthesia, rodent imaging and more. The keynote speaker is Rebecca Skloot author of “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks."
Global On-Line Training for the Biomedical Community
Mar 05, 2010
The Veterinary Bioscience Institute (VBI) provides online education to a globally dispersed biomedical community. Through innovation and research, VBI’s technologies advance the cause of animal welfare, while improving the quality of research and meeting the training needs of the biomedical community.
Worm-derived Proteins Reduce Colitis Symptoms in Mice
Mar 05, 2010
A recent study at the University of Antwerp in Belgium using a mouse model of experimental colitis found that worm-derived proteins had a therapeutic affect against inflammation and gastrointestinal mobility disturbances.
XJ Cage Passes International Third-party Velocity Testing
Mar 03, 2010
Allentown, Inc., a manufacturer of research animal housing solutions, has announced the results of recent third-party velocity testing conducted on its XJ cage. The testing, conducted by TÜV SÜD Industrie Service GmbH, an internationally recognized testing organization, concluded that airflow in the XJ cage complied with the industry accepted TIZ-BIFO guideline of less than 0.2 meters per second.
Shanghai ChemPartner Receives Accreditation from AAALAC
Mar 01, 2010
Shanghai ChemPartner, a China-based contract research organization and wholly-owned subsidiary of ShangPharma, has announced that its animal facility has received accreditation from AAALAC. The accreditation was determined after an on-site evaluation.
"The AAALAC accreditation comes as a result of our efforts in expanding service capabilities from chemistry to preclinical drug development including in vivo pharmacology, drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics (DMPK) and toxicology," commented Michael Hui, founder and CEO of ChemPartner.
Pigs Show Promise as Type 2 Diabetes Model
Mar 01, 2010
A team of researchers from the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) in München, Germany have developed a genetically modified strain of pigs that display all the essential symptoms of type 2 diabetes. The pig is a good model for diabetes and other human ailments because pigs and humans have similar physiologies and metabolic reactions.
Mouse Model May Provide Insight into the Schizophrenic Brain
Feb 26, 2010
Schizophrenia is an incredibly complex and profoundly debilitating disorder that typically manifests in early adulthood but is thought to arise, at least in part, from pathological disturbances occurring during very early brain development. Now, a new study published by Cell Press in the February 25 issue of the journal Neuron, manipulates a known schizophrenia susceptibility gene in the brains of fetal mice to begin to unravel the complex link between prenatal brain development and maturation of information processing and cognition in adult animals.
Rapamycin Rescues Learning, Memory in Alzheimer's Mouse Model
Feb 26, 2010
Rapamycin, a drug that keeps the immune system from attacking transplanted organs, may have another exciting use: fighting Alzheimer’s disease.
Rapamycin rescued learning and memory deficits in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s, a team from The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio reported Tuesday (Feb. 23).
New Paper Shows Novel Way to Study Human Inflammatory Disease
Feb 26, 2010
A new University of Colorado at Boulder study shows mice infected with the bacteria salmonella develop clinical signs consistent with a deadly and poorly understood human inflammatory disease, a finding that may lead to new therapies.
JAX Offers DNA Microinjection Into NOD Embryos
Feb 26, 2010
Are you creating novel transgenic mice for type 1 diabetes or research or for research involving immunodeficient mice? The Jackson Laboratory is now offering an option that could save time and money. JAX® Microinjection Service offers DNA microinjection into NOD/ShiLtJ (001976) embryos. JAX microinjectionists have successfully provided transgenic mice on NOD backgrounds to JAX scientists for years. Now, their expertise is available to you.
Researchers Publish Computer Simulation of Mouse Model
Feb 25, 2010
Researchers from the National University of Singapore have published a genome-scale computer simulation of a mouse model. The computer simulation has updated information on gene-protein-reaction association and improved network connectivity through lipid, amino acid, carbohydrate, and nucleotide biosynthetic pathways.
The computer simulation was built with data mined from literature, including genome and enzyme activity. The model is comprised of 724 genes, 715 enzymes, 1162 internal metabolites, and 1494 reactions and was validated using published experiments.
Brain Study Examines Causes of Fragile X Syndrome
Feb 25, 2010
A new study has found that changes during the critical phases of brain development cause Fragile X syndrome in people. The changes result in inappropriate communication between brain cells and potentially cause Fragile X symptoms, including hypersensitivity to touch and sound, social withdrawal, hyperactivity, and anxiety.
Fragile X syndrome is a genetic condition that is one of the leading known causes of autism. It affects one in 4,000 males and one in 8,000 females worldwide. It can cause intellectual, social, language, and behavioral problems.
Genetic Link between Autism and Schizophrenia Inspires Study
Feb 24, 2010
A new study at the University of Leeds is looking at the effectiveness of drugs that treat both autism and schizophrenia.
Recently, scientists from the United States discovered that mice with a genetic mutation of the protein neurexin 1a displayed behavioral abnormalities consistent with both schizophrenia and autism, suggesting a genetic link between the two conditions.
Possible Virus Hybridization Cause for Concern
Feb 24, 2010
The H5N1 avian influenza and human seasonal influenza could potentially combine to create hybrid strains that combine the severity of the bird flu with the pandemic ability of H1N1, according to a study funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan, and the Japan Science and Technology Agency.
New Treatment to Prevent Cancer Recurrence Shows Promise
Feb 23, 2010
Glioblastoma is one of the most deadly human brain cancers. Radiation can temporarily shrink a tumor, but they nearly always recur within weeks or months and few patients survive longer than two years after diagnosis.