Treatment and Male-Bias in Autistic Mice
Research Trend
Treatment and Male-Bias in Autistic Mice
Although humans and mice are separated by 100 million years of evolution, mouse and rat models have continually proven themselves as extremely powerful research tools. Many mouse and rat genetic models can even recapitulate complex and... Read More ›
Metastasis triggered by macrophage cytoplasm
Latest Discovery
Metastasis triggered by macrophage cytoplasm
Macrophages are the first line of defense against infections, playing important roles in consuming pathogens and in regulating inflammation. In general, these functions help maintain a healthy organism, keeping infections at bay and promoting... Read More ›
Anorexic mice
Latest Discovery
Anorexic mice
During the past several years, there has been an increasing public awareness of mental illness and their societal and health consequences. Eating disorders represent one of the most damaging groups of mental illnesses. Current estimates are... Read More ›
'Trimming the fat' with CRISPR
Latest Discovery
'Trimming the fat' with CRISPR
Around 20 million years ago, for unknown reasons, wild pigs lost an important metabolic gene known as uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1). In most mammals this gene plays a major role in generating body heat for thermoregulation by burning fat... Read More ›
A mammalian half-day clock
Latest Discovery
A mammalian half-day clock
Last month, the Nobel Foundation recognized Jeffrey Hall, Michael Rosbash, and Michael Young "for their discoveries of molecular mechanisms controlling the circadian rhythm". This 24-hour "clock" influences many physiological processes... Read More ›
Is ApoE the key to an Alzheimer's cure?
Latest Discovery
Is ApoE the key to an Alzheimer's cure?
Alzheimer’s disease has gained a lot of attention in the past week or so due to new findings about Apolipoprotein E (ApoE) published in Nature1. ApoE genotype has long been known to be a major risk factor for Alzheimer disease... Read More ›
Palmitoylation the key to redhead melanoma risk
Latest Discovery
Palmitoylation the key to redhead melanoma risk
Around 100 million people worldwide have red hair due to the variants of the melanocortin-1 receptor (MC1R) gene they carry. In addition to affecting hair color and skin pigmentation, red-hair-color (RHC) MC1R variants also... Read More ›
Inducing regeneration
Latest Discovery
Inducing regeneration
In many ways, regeneration is the ‘holy grail’ of medical research. To be able to completely heal from injuries and to regrow lost organs or tissues is a feat that most mammals are generally not capable of. However, many types of animals can regenerate... Read More ›
Controlling when and where: Conditional and inducible gene expression
Research Trend
Controlling when and where: Conditional and inducible gene expression
In the early days of engineered animal models, simple knockout and transgenic mice were used to examine gene function. Researchers began to dissect the roles of individual genes by studying phenotypes of mice lacking or... Read More ›
Optogenetics: Light-control of genes, pathways, and cells
Research Trend
Optogenetics: Light-control of genes, pathways, and cells
Optogenenetics refers to a family of techniques which allow modulation of biological processes using light. Over the past 12 years, optogenetics has... Read More ›