Tag Animal research
Ebola vaccine inches toward human clinical trials
The need for an Ebola vaccine is acute. Periodic outbreaks of the disease in sub-Saharan Africa, including an epidemic between 2013 and 2016, caused major loss of life and serious economic disruption.
New hope for stopping an understudied heart disease in its tracks
Thanks, in part, to pigs at the Arlington Agricultural Research Station, scientists now are catching up on understanding the roots of calcific aortic valve disease.
To help kids battling a rare disease, scientists forge a genetic link between people and pigs
Scientists and physicians needed a better model to understand neurofibromatosis in order to help affected children. A groundbreaking research partnership at UW–Madison is showing the way.
Monkey study shows a path to monitoring endangered species
“We think this may be one of the most comprehensive efforts to analyze the data monitoring needs for ensuring the survival of an endangered animal,” says Karen Strier, who has observed muriquis in Brazil for 35 years.
Chimpanzee deaths in Uganda pinned on human cold virus
Scientists investigating an outbreak of respiratory disease in a community of wild chimpanzees in Uganda were surprised and dismayed to discover that rhinovirus C was killing healthy chimps.
Estrogen discovery could shed new light on fertility problems
Researchers have upended the traditional understanding of the hormonal cascade that leads to release of an egg from the ovaries.
Decades-past logging still threatens spotted owls in national forests
Researchers say despite protections put in place in the 1990s, owls may still be paying an “extinction debt” that was created by historical logging of large trees.
Veterinary students work with endangered cranes
Each year, a group of Veterinary Medicine students perform health checks on the captive flock residing at the International Crane Foundation in Baraboo, Wisconsin. These critical check-ups are essential for providing the best care possible, and the experience also provides a unique opportunity to get firsthand experience working with an endangered species. Video by Craig Wild/University Communications
Scientists explore national security implications of gene editing
Experts from the United States and across Europe, China and India, including UW and Morgridge Institute researchers, shared ideas for harmonizing genome editing policies across borders.
A little myelin goes a long way to restore nervous system function
New research shows that in long-lived animals, renewed but thin myelin sheaths are enough to restore impaired nervous systems and can do so for years after the onset of disease.
New study shows how cells can be led down non-cancer path
As cells with a propensity for cancer break down food for energy, they reach a fork in the road: They can either continue energy production as healthy cells, or shift to the energy production profile of cancer cells.
Marmoset babies get a boost from attentive fathers
A researcher expects better human dads have similar good effects on their kids, and she wonders whether — for both the marmoset and the people — good fathers produce offspring who grow up to make good parents.
With deer season on horizon, lab ramps up for CWD testing
Chronic wasting diesease (CWD), an infectious neurological disease, has been found in both wild and captive deer in at least 24 Wisconsin counties, mostly in the southern half of the state.
Microbes compete for nutrients, affect metabolism, development in mice
While research suggests that the complex link between nutrition, gut microbes, and host metabolism is vital for health, many questions remain about how to improve outcomes, either in mice or in humans.
New measure of insulin-making cells could gauge diabetes progression, treatment
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison have developed a new measurement for the volume and activity of beta cells, the source of the sugar-regulating hormone insulin.
Zika infections unlikely to be passed by kissing, casual contact
UW-Madison researchers have found in a study of monkeys that casual contact through saliva is not enough for the virus to move between hosts.
Stem cell advance brings bioengineered arteries closer to reality
New techniques have produced, for the first time, functional arterial cells at both the quality and scale to be relevant for disease modeling and clinical application.
Plants under attack can turn hungry caterpillars into cannibals
A researcher found a tomato plant can make itself taste so horrible that a caterpillar, which would typically munch on its leaves, might eat another caterpillar instead.
Old bones lead to new strategy for drug delivery
An engineering team has developed a new way to seed biomedical devices with agents that promote tissue growth and healing.
Plant derivative could help patients reliant on tube feeding
Experiments suggest it could help people who must obtain "enteral nutrition" — often due to swallowing problems related to cancer, neurological disease, surgery or developmental delay.