Quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs) are disinfectants that were first introduced in the 1950s and are now commonly used in laboratory settings. They are generally considered safe, although their toxicity has never been rigorously evaluated. The lack of thorough toxicity testing of QACs recently came to light as two independent laboratories observed changes in the breedingContinueContinue reading “Common disinfectants impair reproduction in mice”
Author Archives: monicascicom
Genomic insight from the common marmoset
The Marmoset Genome Sequencing and Analysis Consortium, an international group led by researchers at Baylor College of Medicine (Houston, TX), Washington University in St. Louis (MO) and University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, has sequenced the whole genome of a female common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus) and published its initial analysis (Nat. Genet. 46,ContinueContinue reading “Genomic insight from the common marmoset”
How an acquired trait can be inherited
Starvation can induce epigenetic changes in famished individuals and can affect the health of their progeny, but it is not known whether or how acquired epigenetic changes are transmitted to future generations. Oded Rechavi and Oliver Hobert (Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY) studied the epigenetics associated with starvation in Caenorhabditis elegans roundworms. LabContinueContinue reading “How an acquired trait can be inherited”
The lives and times of prosimian primates
Prosimian primates—lemurs, lorises and galagos—form a sister group to the other nonhuman primates: apes, Old World monkeys and New World monkeys. Many prosimian species are endangered in the wild and can be very difficult to observe and monitor, limiting our knowledge of their life histories. Lab Anim. (NY) 43, 302 (2014). view full text (loginContinueContinue reading “The lives and times of prosimian primates”
Dopamine pathway induces emergence from anesthesia
Surgical procedures typically require patients to be placed under general anesthesia, which is usually well-managed and very safe. Emergence from anesthesia can have clinical complications, however, including delayed emergence, intraoperative decreases in oxygenation and emergence delirium, which can be associated with cognitive dysfunction and morbidity. There are no approved strategies for reversing the effects ofContinueContinue reading “Dopamine pathway induces emergence from anesthesia”
Negative pressure limits traumatic brain damage
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) carries a high risk of death or disability, owing in part to a lack of treatment options. In previous studies, Louis Argenta (Wake Forest University Health Sciences, Winston-Salem, NC) and colleagues found that controlled application of negative pressure to localized areas of TBI in rats promoted healing and improved outcomes. WithContinueContinue reading “Negative pressure limits traumatic brain damage”
Sea urchins point the way
Arbacia punctulata, the purple-spined sea urchin, is native to the western Atlantic Ocean along the eastern coast of the US and the Gulf of Mexico, where it usually lives on rock or shell substrates. It is spherical in shape and bristled with long, slender, dark purple spines, which are shorter on the lower aspect ofContinueContinue reading “Sea urchins point the way”
Locating ‘working memory’ in crows
Intelligence relies in part on ‘working memory,’ which temporarily stores information needed for ongoing cognitive processes. In mammals, working memory is housed in the prefrontal cortex. Corvids (birds including crows and ravens) are known for their intelligence and also have a working memory. But their brain structure is different from that of mammals and lacksContinueContinue reading “Locating ‘working memory’ in crows”
Wiping out malaria by wiping out mosquitoes
Scientists have developed a radical new strategy for eradicating malaria, which remains a global health threat despite prevention and control activities. Distorting the sex ratio of Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes, the primary malaria vectors, to heavily favor males, which do not bite humans or transmit the disease, effectively eliminated mosquito populations in the lab. Lab Anim.ContinueContinue reading “Wiping out malaria by wiping out mosquitoes”
Bromine is essential to animal development
In a paper published in Cell (157, 1380–1392; 2014), researchers led by Billy G. Hudson (Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN) report that the chemical element bromine is essential for tissue development in animals, from fruit flies to humans. “Without bromine, there are no animals,” said Hudson in a press release. Lab Anim. (NY) 43, 258 (2014).ContinueContinue reading “Bromine is essential to animal development”
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