Much of biomedical research is aimed at understanding and treating diseases that affect humans. But sometimes the lessons learned from animal studies benefit the animals too, especially when veterinary medicine and research intersect. Holger Volk (Royal Veterinary College, London, UK), who studies epilepsy in dogs, recognizes the interplay between veterinary and biomedical research. In anContinueContinue reading “Biomedical research gone to the dogs”
Category Archives: research news
Induce HIV to neutralize HIV
HIV can be effectively suppressed using antiretroviral therapy but surges back once therapy is stopped. Latent reservoirs of infected cells, invisible to the body’s immune system and impervious to drugs, cause the infection to rebound if therapy is terminated. Researchers at Rockefeller University (New York, NY) led by Michel Nussenzweig designed a new, two-part strategyContinueContinue reading “Induce HIV to neutralize HIV”
Xenon gas helps rats forget fear
Reconsolidation occurs when memories are recalled and re-encoded in the brain; during this process, the memories become temporarily susceptible to modification. Therefore, the reconsolidation process may provide a therapeutic window for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other emotional memory disorders. Xenon gas can inhibit receptors that are involved in fear memory reconsolidation. Edward Meloni andContinueContinue reading “Xenon gas helps rats forget fear”
Interfering with filovrirus replication
Marburg virus, like its fellow filovirus Ebola virus, causes severe hemorrhagic fever with mortality rates reaching 90%. The Ebola virus outbreak currently sweeping western Africa has a mortality rate of 55–60%, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There are no approved treatments for viral hemorrhagic fever in humans; most infected individualsContinueContinue reading “Interfering with filovrirus replication”
Strengthening bone in neurofibromatosis type 1
Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is characterized by skeletal abnormalities such as scoliosis, fragility, fractures and pseudoarthrosis (failure of bones to fuse properly after fractures). The disorder is caused by mutations of neurofibromin, a protein that regulates cellular signaling pathways. New research from investigators at Vanderbilt University (Nashville, TN) suggests that treatment with the enzyme asfotase-α preventsContinueContinue reading “Strengthening bone in neurofibromatosis type 1”
Common disinfectants impair reproduction in mice
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”
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”
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