Mouse models

Altering the chemical properties of an anti-nausea drug enables it to enter an interior compartment of the cell and provide long-lasting pain relief, according to a new study led by researchers at NYU College of Dentistry’s Pain Research Center. The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), illustrates how pain […]

Dr Megan MacBride and Dr Caroline Horizny Mitchell, Taconic, examine recent changes to animal testing in drug design. Drug discovery and development is an arduous process that can cost upwards of $2.6 billion and take over 10 years. While the discovery phase – which includes target discovery, target validation, lead compound identification, and lead compound […]

This article is sponsored by Taconic. The cancer therapeutic landscape changed dramatically with the introduction of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) that target T cells and leverage a patient’s immune system. Success in targeting T cells as immunotherapy has prompted investigators to explore whether other immune cell types can be leveraged to develop efficacious oncology treatments. […]

Gut bacteria can influence brain health, according to a study of mice genetically predisposed to develop Alzheimer’s-like brain damage. The findings suggest a new approach to treating Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases.  Context   Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis showed that the tens of trillions of microbes that normally live in […]

Harvard investigators have developed a new cell therapy approach to eliminate established tumours and induce long-term immunity.   In this early research, Khalid Shah, Professor of Neurosurgery at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and colleagues tested the vaccine in an advanced mouse model of brain cancer glioblastoma, with promising results. The findings are […]

Researchers have identified the genetic links between muscle atrophy and two types of myosin, paving the way for a new disease model for scientific research and potential new treatments.  The synergistic action of the muscle proteins myosin and actin enables skeletal muscle movements. The skeletal muscle myosin heavy chain or “MyHC” is a fundamental component […]

CAR-T therapy can be used to eliminate unwanted cells that cause autoimmunity, according to the results of a new study in mice with an autoimmune disease similar to multiple sclerosis (MS).  CAR-T, which uses genetically altered immune cells to destroy cancer cells, has revolutionised treatment of some blood cancers since it was introduced in 2017.  […]

Neuroscientists have identified and developed a new drug candidate that has the potential to effectively treat temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) by suppressing neuroinflammation.  Although symptomatic medications are available, one-third of TLE patients remain unresponsive to current treatment, so new drug targets are critically needed. Most of these drugs target neurons and synapses in the brain, […]

As experimental data becomes bigger and more complex, scientists are challenged to make discoveries faster, consistently document and analyse their work, and easily collaborate across an organisation and with external partners. Electronic lab notebooks (ELN) provide access to all collaborators 24/7, wherever they are and whether they are employees or at contract organisations. If an […]

Mouse models with human immune cell engraftment provide platforms to evaluate compounds to treat a variety of human diseases. Humanised PBMC (hu-PBMC) mice feature quick engraftment of adult peripheral blood mononuclear cells and enable short-term studies requiring mature human T cells. Hu-PBMC mice are used as in vivo models to study and evaluate compounds for […]