Tag Animal research
Biomanufacturing center takes central role in developing stem-cell therapies
Developing a new drug takes enormous amounts of time, money and skill, but the bar is even higher for a promising stem-cell therapy. Many types of cells derived from these ultra-flexible parent cells are moving toward the market, but the very quality that makes stem cells so valuable also makes them a difficult source of therapeutics. Read More
Target of animal rights protests kicks off animal research ethics forum
Any research that includes animals presents ethical questions, but they are questions Dario Ringach believes we rarely address together. Read More
From football to flies: lessons about traumatic brain injury
Faced with news of suicides and brain damage in former professional football players, geneticist Barry Ganetzky bemoaned the lack of model systems for studying the insidious and often delayed consequences linked to head injuries. Read More
UW-Madison Statement in Response to Bill Maher Robocalls
It is no surprise that People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) continues its opposition to biomedical science through their sustained efforts to draw attention to research to which they object. PETA has tried mightily to stop important work on hearing at UW–Madison by making repeated, unsubstantiated and false claims about the work and its conduct. Read More
Mouse studies reveal promising vitamin D-based treatment for MS
A diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS) is a hard lot. Patients typically get the diagnosis around age 30 after experiencing a series of neurological problems such as blurry vision, wobbly gait or a numb foot. From there, this neurodegenerative disease follows an unforgiving course. Read More
New gene repair technique promises advances in regenerative medicine
Using human pluripotent stem cells and DNA-cutting protein from meningitis bacteria, researchers from the Morgridge Institute for Research and Northwestern University have created an efficient way to target and repair defective genes. Read More
Study puts troubling traits of H7N9 avian flu virus on display
The emerging H7N9 avian influenza virus responsible for at least 37 deaths in China has qualities that could potentially spark a global outbreak of flu, according to a new study published today (July 10, 2013) in the journal Nature. Read More
Waisman scientists model human disease in stem cells
Many scientists use animals to model human diseases. Mice can be obese or display symptoms of Parkinson's disease. Rats get Alzheimer's and diabetes. But animal models are seldom perfect, and so scientists are looking at a relatively new type of stem cell, called the induced pluripotent stem cell (iPS cell), that can be grown into specialized cells that become useful models for human disease. Read More
PETA’s Mixed Martial Assault on Scientists
From the website, Speaking of Research. Read More
Ned Kalin – revealing disorders of the brain
Dr. Ned Kalin, chair of the Department of Psychiatry, is an accomplished biological psychiatrist whose research focuses on anxiety. Through imaging studies and understanding the genetic and environmental components of mental illness, his lab is working toward discoveries that can form the basis of early interventions to treat children who are at risk of developing long-term anxiety and related psychiatric disorders. Read More
$18 million to study deadly secrets of flu, Ebola, West Nile viruses
In an effort to sort out why some viruses such as influenza, Ebola and West Nile are so lethal, a team of U.S. researchers plans a comprehensive effort to model how humans respond to these viral pathogens. Read More
Engineered stem cell advance points toward treatment for ALS
MADISON, Wis. — Transplantation of human stem cells in an experiment conducted at the University of Wisconsin–Madison improved survival and muscle function in rats used to model ALS, a nerve disease that destroys nerve control of muscles, causing death by respiratory failure. Read More
Adult cells transformed into early-stage nerve cells, bypassing the pluripotent stem cell stage
A University of Wisconsin–Madison research group has converted skin cells from people and monkeys into a cell that can form a wide variety of nervous-system cells - without passing through the do-it-all stage called the induced pluripotent stem cell, or iPSC. Read More
Stem cell transplant restores memory, learning in mice
For the first time, human embryonic stem cells have been transformed into nerve cells that helped mice regain the ability to learn and remember. Read More
Researchers discover the brain origins of variation in pathological anxiety
New findings from nonhuman primates suggest that an overactive core circuit in the brain, and its interaction with other specialized circuits, accounts for the variability in symptoms shown by patients with severe anxiety. Read More
Transplanted brain cells in monkeys light up personalized therapy
For the first time, scientists have transplanted neural cells derived from a monkey's skin into its brain and watched the cells develop into several types of mature brain cells, according to the authors of a new study in Cell Reports. After six months, the cells looked entirely normal, and were only detectable because they initially were tagged with a fluorescent protein. Read More
Research quest aims to cure hearing loss at its root
The ultimate cause of hearing loss is usually found in the tiny hair cells that play the crucial role of converting sound waves into nerve impulses for delivery to the brain. Read More
UW-Madison response to Board of Regents PETA protest
Following today's protest by actor James Cromwell at the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents, Eric Sandgren, director of the UW–Madison Research Animal Resource Center released the following statement. Read More