Conservation of sea turtles along much of Africa’s east coast has made good progress in recent decades – but tens of thousands of turtles still die each year due to human activity, researchers say.
Tag: Animal Research
Gene Therapy Could Treat Pitt-Hopkins Syndrome, Proof-of-Concept Study Suggests
University of North Carolina School of Medicine scientists, who report their results in the journal eLife, devised an experimental, gene-therapy-like technique to restore the normal activity of the gene deficient in people with Pitt-Hopkins syndrome.
Brain Size Determined The Chances of Survival Among Large Animals
Researchers at Tel Aviv University, and the University of Naples, have examined the mass extinction of large animals over the past tens of thousands of years and found that extinct species had, on average, much smaller brains than species that survived.
How Ant Teeth Cut Like a Scalpel
The built-in tools of ants have been imaged in atomic detail for the first time by materials scientist Arun Devaraj.
Research finally reveals ancient universal equation for the shape of an egg
Researchers from the University of Kent, the Research Institute for Environment Treatment and Vita-Market Ltd have discovered the universal mathematical formula that can describe any bird’s egg existing in nature, a feat which has been unsuccessful until now.
Southwest National Primate Research Center and Texas Biomed receive continued full accreditation from lab animal care association
AAALAC, the international organization setting the gold standard for research animal care and use, has continued full accreditation status for SNPRC and Texas Biomed, citing dedicated staff and “extremely well cared for animals.”
Apes show dramatically different early immune responses compared to monkeys
A new study out of the University of Chicago and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in humans, chimpanzees, rhesus macaques and baboons has found key differences in early gene expression in response to pathogen exposure, highlighting the importance of choosing the right animal model for the right questions.
Post-surgery Echocardiography Better Predicts Injury Severity, Scar Size in Mouse Model of Heart Disease
Article title: Post-surgery echocardiography can predict the amount of ischemia-reperfusion injury and the resultant scar size Authors: Yijun Yang, Giana J. Schena, Tao Wang, Steven R. Houser From the authors: “This improvement to study design could reduce the sample sizes…
NIH Grant aims to enhance scientific models of aging focused on creating better intervention tools for age-related decline
The Southwest National Primate Research Center (SNPRC) at Texas Biomedical Research Institute and the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio received a $1.3 million collaborative grant to continue the San Antonio Marmoset Aging Program (SA MAP) and further define the hallmarks of aging in a nonhuman primate (monkey) model. Developing the marmoset model will allow for eventual testing of interventions in additional model systems that could slow or change age-related decline in humans.
UW–Madison, FluGen, Bharat Biotech to develop CoroFlu, a coronavirus vaccine
An international collaboration of virologists at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and the vaccine companies FluGen and Bharat Biotech has begun the development and testing of a unique vaccine against COVID-19 called CoroFlu.

Does animal size in zoos matter?
As a sixth mass extinction sends shock waves through whole categories of species, modern zoos and aquariums stand as leading sources of conservation funding and safe havens for populations deemed threatened in the wild.
Extinction is difficult to prove for Earth’s ultra-rare species
A recent study by the University of Kent has called for an increase in scientific surveys and collection of specimens to confirm the extinction of ultra-rare species.

For the First Time: A Method for Measuring Animal Personality
A study on mice, conducted by the Weizmann Institute of Science’s Prof. Alon Chen and colleagues, shows that animal research may need to take into account the connection between genes, behavior, and personality

Southwest National Primate Research Center Welcomes New Veterinarian
Anna Goodroe, D.V.M., DACLAM, is the newest veterinarian to join the staff at the Southwest National Primate Research Center on the Texas Biomedical Research Institute campus. As an Assistant Veterinarian, she is part of the Veterinary Resources and Research Support team.