Dengue fever is a viral febrile disease caused by flaviviruses carried by the Aedes aegypti mosquito vector. It affects tens of millions of people per year, primarily in tropical and African countries. The primary mode of prevention is through mosquito control, but typical mosquito control measures, such as using bed nets and draining areas ofContinueContinue reading “Bacterial infection may limit spread of dengue fever”
Author Archives: monicascicom
Vaccinating against autoimmunity?
Vaccines are already commonly used to prevent a variety of infectious diseases. Now they may become a key therapeutic strategy for a whole new host of disorders: autoimmune. New research from Peter Terness, Thilo Oelert, Sandra Ehser and their groups at Heidelberg University Hospital and German Cancer Research Center (Heidelberg, Germany) shows some success inContinueContinue reading “Vaccinating against autoimmunity?”
Marsupial genomics bounds along
Australian genomics has taken a big step forward with the completion of the genome map of the tammar wallaby. The wallaby (Macropus eugenii) is the first kangaroo species to have its genome mapped and sequenced. Researchers at the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Kangaroo Genomics (KanGO), based in Canberra, constructed the genome map,ContinueContinue reading “Marsupial genomics bounds along”
New porcine model for cystic fibrosis
Cystic fibrosis (CF) affects about 1 in 4,000 newborns in the US. This inherited disease involves the mucus glands of the lungs, liver, pancreas and intestines, causing progressive disability from multiple system failures. About 20 years ago, it was determined that CF is caused by mutation of the gene CFTR. Despite that discovery, however, the underlyingContinueContinue reading “New porcine model for cystic fibrosis”
Fishing for toxic bacteria
Bacterial pathogens in food and water cause more than 76 million infections per year in the US, which have symptoms ranging from mild gastrointestinal discomfort to severe illness and even death. Accurate detection of these pathogens is essential for avoiding infection. Although molecular and immunological detection methods have progressed, they do sometimes fail to identifyContinueContinue reading “Fishing for toxic bacteria”
Outreach and advocacy in the spotlight
The general public often perceives animal research in a negative light, largely because of animal rights activists who use heartbreaking images and misinformation as propaganda. As a result, legislation and public funding are diverted away from biomedical research, potentially jeopardizing scientific progress. To combat this phenomenon, numerous organizations have been established with the goal ofContinueContinue reading “Outreach and advocacy in the spotlight”
Mice, mitochondria and myopathy
New research has identified mitochondrial therapies that may benefit people who suffer from certain types of inherited neuromuscular disorders. Neuromuscular disorders affect a large number of children and adults worldwide, and mitochondrial involvement characterizes roughly 1 in 5,000 cases. Currently, treatments for mitochondrial diseases may relieve symptoms but do not target the disease itself. LabContinueContinue reading “Mice, mitochondria and myopathy”
How Drosophila dances away from danger
We have probably all witnessed an insect evading an imminent threat, such as a flyswatter or rolled-up newspaper. But how many of us have really thought about the details of entomological escape plans? A pair of researchers from the California Institute of Technology (Pasadena) has done so, applying high-speed video technology to find out exactlyContinueContinue reading “How Drosophila dances away from danger”
Etiology of a parrot disease
Avian proventricular dilatation disease (PDD) was first reported more than 30 years ago, but its cause has remained unknown until recently. An international group of scientists led by Amy L. Kistler (University of California, San Francisco) and Ady Gancz (The Exotic Clinic, Israel) has identified a new bornavirus (avian bornavirus, ABV) in affected parrots thatContinueContinue reading “Etiology of a parrot disease”
New UV switch makes worms move
Get out that disco ball—it seems mutant worms have some brand new moves to show us. New research, led by Kenneth Miller (Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, Oklahoma City), looked at phototaxia in Caenorhabditis elegans, which lack eyes as well as any of the proteins known to transduce light signals. The group used C. elegans mutantsContinueContinue reading “New UV switch makes worms move”
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