Mice

Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is one of the deadliest forms of the disease, but now scientists may have a promising new avenue for treatment. By combining a new drug with an outdated one, the team found that they could halt growth of tumors in mice.

Japanese scientists have successfully cloned mice from freeze-dried adult cells, which can be stored easily for long periods of time. The cloned mice were later able to have their own offspring, potentially aiding conservation of endangered species.

Scientists have used the CRISPR gene-editing system to produce litters of mice that are 100 percent either male or female. The technique could help prevent the unnecessary culling of animals of unwanted sex in agriculture or scientific experiments.

The results of an interesting experiment in which muscled-up mice were sent into space has shed some new light on how the low-gravity environment impacts physiology, with the rodents retaining muscle mass when engineered to lack a certain protein.

A study is offering new evidence of a link between ALS and the gut microbiome. One researcher described the discovery as “remarkable”, finding genetically identical mice displayed different health outcomes determined by their gut microbiome.

An examination of the tissues ​of rodents that orbited the Earth in a Russian spacecraft revealed that the reduced load on their joints caused the breakdown of cartilage and signs of arthritis-like degradation​.

If you want to study a mouse's behaviour, then perhaps it isn't best to grab it and put it in a setting where it has to perform a certain task. That's the thinking behind Autonomouse, a cage that's designed to make life easier for lab mice, and to produce better results in behavioural studies.

Scientists have genetically engineered female mice to develop super strong, dense bones by altering neurons in the rodents' brains. The development could be the first step towards a novel treatment for the brittle bone disease osteoporosis in women.

While investigating a protein whose production is known to be elevated in a wide range of cancers, a team of researchers has inadvertently discovered a powerful new metabolic regulator that in early mouse experiments has reduced the animal's fat levels by a third.

In a remarkable proof-of-concept study, scientists from the University of Pennsylvania and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia have, for the first time, successfully used CRISPR gene-editing technology on mice in utero, to prevent the animals being born with a lethal metabolic disorder.

New research has revealed that fisetin – a natural flavonoid found in many fruits and vegetables – functions as an effective senolytic agent by clearing out damaged aging cells, improving health and extending lifespan.

It’s long been believed that cytomegalovirus (CMV) probably weakens the immune system in older people, but now mice tests have shown that the opposite is true – somehow, the virus gives the immune system a bit of a late-stage boost.