Muscle Wasting in Cancer Does Not Spare Heart
Sep 09, 2010
The wasting disease associated with some cancers that is typically seen affecting skeletal muscles can also cause significant damage to the heart, new research in mice suggests.
Before now, cachexia, characterized by muscle wasting and dramatic weight loss, was believed to spare the heart. But an Ohio State University study showed that the condition reduces heart function and changes the heart muscle structure in mice with colon cancer.
Research Leads to New Mouse Model of Arthritis
Sep 09, 2010
Elimination of a molecular gatekeeper leads to the development of arthritis in mice, scientists report in a study published in The Journal of Experimental Medicine. The newly discovered gatekeeper is a protein that determines the fate – survival or death – of damaging cells that mistakenly attack the body’s own tissues and lead to autoimmune disorders such as arthritis.
Scientists Identifies New Gene for Memory
Sep 09, 2010
A team led by a Scripps Research Institute scientist has for the first time identified a new gene that is required for memory formation in Drosophila, the common fruit fly. The gene may have similar functions in humans, shedding light on neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's disease or human learning disabilities.
The study was published in the September 9, 2010 edition (Vol. 67, No. 5) of the journal Neuron.
Free Webinar on Cryopreservation Techniques
Sep 07, 2010
Join The Jackson Laboratory on Thursday, September 23, at 1:00 pm ET for a discussion of the nuts, bolts, and pros and cons of various methods of cryopreserving mouse strains (embryos versus sperm).
Recent sperm cryo technological improvements, which have revolutionized mouse cryopreservation, will be explored:
How embryo and sperm cryopreservation work
The advantages of JAX's new sperm cryo techniques
The benefits of cryopreserving unique models
Resources that can expedite your research
Cockroach Brains Could be Rich Stores of New Antibiotics
Sep 07, 2010
Cockroaches could be more of a health benefit than a health hazard according to scientists from The University of Nottingham.
Experts from the School of Veterinary Medicine and Science have discovered powerful antibiotic properties in the brains of cockroaches and locusts which could lead to novel treatments for multi-drug resistant bacterial infections. They found that the tissues of the brain and nervous system of the insects were able to kill more than 90 per cent of MRSA and pathogenic Escherichia coli, without harming human cells.
The Jackson Laboratory Collaborates with French Company Janvier
Sep 07, 2010
The Jackson Laboratory and JANVIER SAS in Le Genest Saint Isle, France, are collaborating to provide biomedical researchers in Europe with easy access to The Jackson Laboratory’ s JAX® Sperm Cryo Kit which is based on Jackson’s patent-pending mouse sperm cryopreservation technology.
Serendipity Contributes to MRSA Susceptibility Findings
Sep 06, 2010
Duke University Medical Center researchers have found two genes in mice which might help identify why some people are more susceptible than others to potentially deadly staph infections.
The researchers uncovered important genetic clues that ultimately could help inform patient management and drug development.
Light at Night and Cancer
Sep 06, 2010
A new study from the Center for Interdisciplinary Chronobiological Research at the University of Haifa has found an additional link between Light At Night (LAN) and cancer. This research joins a series of earlier studies carried out at the University of Haifa that also established the correlation. “High power light bulbs contribute more to ‘environmental light pollution’, which the study has shown is a carcinogenic pollution,” notes Prof. Abraham Haim, who headed the study.
Researchers Uncover Secret of Pregnancy Problems in Older Women
Sep 06, 2010
Scientists are a step closer to understanding why older women are more likely to produce abnormal eggs, increasing the risk of infertility, miscarriage, and birth defects such as Down's Syndrome.
The research has been carried out against the backdrop of dramatically increased cases of Down’s Syndrome pregnancy caused by the growing trend for women to postpone having babies until their late thirties and early forties.
Therapy Boosts Lymphoma Cure Rate
Sep 03, 2010
More than half of laboratory mice with human non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) are cured by a treatment involving just two monoclonal antibodies, researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have found. The therapy combines the activity of rituximab, an antibody currently in use to treat the disorder, with another that blocks a molecule called CD47 on the surface of the cancer cells. Together the two antibodies synergize to trigger the host’s own immune system to eliminate the cancer.
NIH-sponsored Research Yields Promising Malaria Drug Candidate
Sep 03, 2010
A chemical that rid mice of malaria-causing parasites after a single oral dose may eventually become a new malaria drug if further tests in animals and people uphold the promise of early findings. The compound, NITD609, was developed by an international team of researchers including Elizabeth A. Winzeler, Ph.D., a grantee of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health.
Functional Motor Neuron Subtypes Generated from Embryonic Stem Cells
Sep 03, 2010
Scientists have devised a method for coaxing mouse embryonic stem cells into forming a highly specific motor neuron subtype. The research, published by Cell Press in the September 3rd issue of the journal Cell Stem Cell, provides new insight into motor neuron differentiation and may prove useful for devising and testing future therapies for motor neuron diseases.
Models Suggest Treatments for Fractures that Won't Heal
Sep 03, 2010
New models, reinforced by in vivo experimentation, show why 5-10% of bone fractures don't heal properly, and how these cases may be treated to restart the healing process. Results of the model, published September 2 in the open-access journal PLoS Computational Biology, may benefit the ageing population in which the occurrence of bone fractures is expected to rise substantially in the near future.
Capacity for Exercise Can Be Inherited
Sep 02, 2010
Biologists at the University of California, Riverside have found that voluntary activity, such as daily exercise, is a highly heritable trait that can be passed down genetically to successive generations.
Working on mice in the lab, they found that activity level can be enhanced with “selective breeding”–the process of breeding plants and animals for particular genetic traits. Their experiments showed that mice that were bred to be high runners produced high-running offspring, indicating that the offspring had inherited the trait for activity.
Protecting Nerve Cells from Death in a Model of Stroke
Sep 02, 2010
A team of researchers, led by Yizheng Wang, at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, China, has identified a way to preserve nerve cells in a rat model of stroke.
New Study Strengthens Link between Everyday Stress and Obesity
Sep 02, 2010
Stress can take a daily toll on us that has broad physical and psychological implications. Science has long documented the effect of extreme stress, such as war, injury or traumatic grief on humans. Typically, such situations cause victims to decrease their food intake and body weight. Recent studies, however, tend to suggest that social stress—public speaking, tests, job, and relationship pressures—may have the opposite effect—over-eating and weight gain. With the rise of obesity rates, science has increasingly focused on its causes and effects—including stress.
Scientist Discovers New Target for Alzheimer’s Drugs
Sep 01, 2010
Scientists may have a new area of the brain to target in the quest to cure Alzheimer’s due to a discovery by Paul Greengard of Rockefeller University. Greengard, who won the Noble Prize in 2000 for his work on signaling in brain cells, discovered one of the proteins responsible for making beta amyloid, which makes up the plaque in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s. The protein discovery could lead to targeted drug therapies that could slow or halt the effects of the currently untreatable disease.
Social Isolation Worsens Cardiac Arrest Effects on Heart Regulation
Sep 01, 2010
A new study in mice shows how social support can help minimize some of the worst physical damages to the brain caused by a heart attack.
From cell death to depressive symptoms to regulation of the heart, mice that lived with a partner after a heart attack suffered less damage than did similar mice that were housed alone.
“The results really get at the profound influence that the social environment can have on health after cardiac arrest,” said Greg Norman, lead author of the study and doctoral student in psychology at Ohio State University.
Study Points to Key Genetic Driver of Severe Asthma
Sep 01, 2010
Scientists have identified a genetic basis for determining the severity of allergic asthma in experimental models of the disease.
The study may help in the search for future therapeutic strategies to fight a growing medical problem that currently lacks effective treatments, researchers from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center report in the Aug. 29 Nature Immunology.
Scientists Discover New Protein That Gets to the Roots of Obesity and Osteoporosis
Sep 01, 2010
Here's good news for anyone trying to lose weight or has osteoporosis: Scientists from Maine are on the trail of a weight loss drug that may revolutionize how we treat these two conditions. In a new research report published in the September 2010 print issue of The FASEB Journal, the researchers describe a newly discovered protein, called "Sprouty," responsible for regulating body fat and bone mass. Then they manipulated how much of this protein was expressed in different groups of mice specially bred to have some human genes.
Treatment for S. aureus Skin Infection Works in Mouse Model
Sep 01, 2010
Scientists from the National Institutes of Health and University of Chicago have found a promising treatment method that in laboratory mice reduces the severity of skin and soft-tissue damage caused by USA300, the leading cause of community-associated Staphylococcus aureus infections in the United States. By neutralizing a key toxin associated with the bacteria, they found they could greatly reduce the damaging effects of the infection on skin and soft tissue. Community strains of S.
For the First Time, Researchers Identify and Isolate Adult Mammary Stem Cells in Mice
Sep 01, 2010
For the first time, researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have identified and isolated adult mammary stem cells in mice. Long-term implications of this research may include the use of such cells to regenerate breast tissue, provide a better understanding of the role of adult stem cells in breast cancer development, and develop potential new targets for anti-cancer drugs.
“Co-conspirator” Cells Could Hold Key to Melanoma Prediction, Prevention
Aug 31, 2010
New research on how skin cancer begins has identified adjacent cancer cells that scientists are calling “co-conspirators” in the genesis of melanoma, in findings that could someday hold the key to predicting, preventing, and stopping this hard-to-treat cancer before it spreads.
Changes in the body’s pigment-producing cells, where melanoma—the most dangerous form of skin cancer—takes hold are only part of the story, according to a new study by researchers from Oregon State University.
Surgery Could Increase Risk of Alzheimer’s
Aug 30, 2010
Researchers at Imperial College London have started a two year study to determine whether the anesthesia used in surgery causes Alzheimer’s later in life.
Ant Colonies Shed Light on Metabolism
Aug 30, 2010
A recent study of California seed harvester ants (Pogonomyrmex californicus) examining their metabolic rate in relation to colony size may lead to a better appreciation for the social, six-legged insects, whose colonies researchers say provide a theoretical framework for understanding cellular networks.
The Study
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