Animal Model News and Research

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Scientists discover way to protect against death following plague infection

Bacteria that cause pneumonic plague can evade our first-line defences, making it difficult for the body to fight infection. In fact, a signature of the plague is the lack of an inflammatory response.

3 Jul 2008

Quantum dot nanoparticles can penetrate skin through minor abrasions

Researchers at North Carolina State University have found that quantum dot nanoparticles can penetrate the skin if there is an abrasion, providing insight into potential workplace concerns for healthcare workers or individuals involved in the manufacturing of quantum dots or doing research on potential biomedical applications of the tiny nanoparticles.

2 Jul 2008

Canopus BioPharma enters phase II clinical trials with CB1400

Canopus BioPharma, Inc. has announced that the South African Medicines Control Council has granted approval for a Phase II study in 30 cancer patients evaluating the protective effect of CB1400 on the gastrointestional tract from radiation-induced mucositis. This new trial is an important step forward in the development of CB1400 as a novel, preventative, anti-mucositis agent.

23 Jun 2008

Discovery of gene linked to adult-onset obesity

Researchers at the University of Minnesota have discovered a gene that may provide a clue as to why obesity rates increase with age. The research was published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

11 Jun 2008

Australian researchers find important piece of Alzheimer's puzzle

Queensland Brain Institute (QBI) neuroscientists at UQ have discovered a new way to reduce neuronal loss in the brain of a person with Alzheimer's disease.

11 Jun 2008

Saving teeth by using periodontal ligament regeneration

Teeth may fall out as a result of inflammation and subsequent destruction of the tissues supporting the teeth. Dutch researcher Agnes Berendsen has investigated a possible solution to this problem. At the Academic Centre for Dentistry Amsterdam (ACTA), she has studied the regeneration of the periodontal ligament by use of tissue engineering.

4 Jun 2008

CSL Behring study shows extended half-life recombinant VIIa leads to longer biologic activity

CSL Behring today presented results of a pre-clinical study that not only demonstrates the feasibility of genetically fusing factor VIIa to human albumin, but that this therapeutic protein with a prolonged half-life can lead to a longer biologic effect.

3 Jun 2008

UT Southwestern mouse model mimics hyperglycemia, aids in diabetes research

UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have genetically engineered a laboratory mouse in which pancreatic beta cells can regenerate after being induced to die. The new animal model's regenerative ability may provide future insights into improved treatments of diabetes, which affects millions of Americans.

2 Jun 2008

Researchers pinpoint gene mutations responsible for 10 percent of non-familial cases of schizophrenia

Scans of the genome of patients with schizophrenia have revealed rare spontaneous copy number mutations that account for at least 10 percent of the non-familial cases of the disease.

1 Jun 2008

Tumor suppressor genes speed up and slow down aging in engineered mouse

Mayo Clinic researchers have developed an animal model that can test the function of two prominent tumor suppressor genes, p16 and p19, in the aging process. Scientists knew that both these genes were expressed at increased levels as humans and mice age, but their role in the aging process was not clear. Findings by the Mayo team show that p16 provides gas to accelerate cellular aging, while p19 stops that process.

1 Jun 2008

Magnetic nanoparticles for cancer therapy

A measuring procedure developed in the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) can help to investigate in some detail the behaviour of magnetic nanoparticles which are used for cancer therapy.

28 May 2008

Experimental drug blocks prostate cancer in animal study

An experimental drug has blocked the progression of prostate cancer in an animal model with an aggressive form of the disease, new research shows.

22 May 2008

Gene mutations in mice mimic human-like sleep disorder

Mutations in two genes that control electrical excitability in a portion of the brain involved in sleep create a human-like insomnia disorder in mice, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have found. The findings may help scientists better understand the disorder and provide an animal model for developing treatments.

20 May 2008

Investigational smallpox drug may treat adenovirus infections in humans

Scientists at Saint Louis University have made two key discoveries that could lead to the first-ever human testing of a drug to target the adenovirus, which causes a number of severe upper-respiratory infections and is one of many viruses that causes the common cold.

19 May 2008

microRNAs provide more clues to genetics of schizophrenia

Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center have illuminated a window into how abnormalities in microRNAs, a family of molecules that regulate expression of numerous genes, may contribute to the behavioral and neuronal deficits associated with schizophrenia and possibly other brain disorders.

11 May 2008

Hopkins researchers discover new link to schizophrenia

Neuroscientists at Johns Hopkins have discovered that mice lacking an enzyme that contributes to Alzheimer disease exhibit a number of schizophrenia-like behaviors. The finding raises the possibility that this enzyme may participate in the development of schizophrenia and related psychiatric disorders and therefore may provide a new target for developing therapies.

8 May 2008

Prana Biotechnology has discovered novel drug candidates for use in Parkinson's disease

Prana Biotechnology Limited has announced that it has identified novel therapeutic drug candidates from its Parkinson's disease program. Already, a lead candidate drug has demonstrated positive effects in pre-clinical studies, protecting the brain from damage to the substantia nigra, the area of the brain affected in Parkinson's disease.

6 May 2008

New model for embryonic limb development

A study led by a researcher at the University of Southern California has found a new model to explain how signals between cells in the embryo control limb development.

30 Apr 2008

U.S., British HIV/AIDS researchers pessimistic about prospects of vaccine, survey finds

Leading HIV/AIDS researchers in Britain and the U.S. are pessimistic about the prospects of developing an HIV vaccine following the recent failure of a Merck vaccine candidate, according to a survey conducted by London's Independent, the Independent reports (Connor/Green, Independent, 4/24).

26 Apr 2008