Reversal of Parkinson’s symptoms by use of brain cell grafts

March 8th 2021 Renée Hartig, PhD Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison recently published a scientific report detailing an innovative procedure to treat one of the most prevalent neurodegenerative diseases amongst the older population: Parkinson’s disease. This procedure utilized grafts of brain cells to replenish dopamine neurons in the adult brain. Grafts, along with stem … Continue reading Reversal of Parkinson’s symptoms by use of brain cell grafts

The #AnimalResearch behind the 2021 Brain Prize

March 5th 2021 The Lundbeck Foundation in Denmark announced on Thursday that the British researcher Peter Goadsby, Michael Moskowitz of the US, Lars Edvinsson of Sweden and Jes Olesen of Denmark had won the ~1.6 Million US dollar Brain prize. Their research delineated the neural basis of migraine, a neurological condition characterized by throbbing head … Continue reading The #AnimalResearch behind the 2021 Brain Prize

Research with mice heralds a major breakthrough in organ regeneration

March 3rd 2021 America is facing a national organ crisis with over 109,000 men, women and children on the organ transplant waiting list—a new person is added to that list every 9 minutes. Organ transplants have always been complicated due to high organ rejection rates and a limited donor supply; yet major breakthroughs in transplant … Continue reading Research with mice heralds a major breakthrough in organ regeneration

#Evergreen: Is Animal Research Worth the Expense?

February 26th 2021 The US has tragically surpassed 500,000 COVID-19 related deaths this week. At this juncture, it is worth reflecting on the historical context that got us here. We have written about the leadership failure and the sidelining of science during the pandemic in the Trump administration. We have also detailed the irresponsible behavior … Continue reading #Evergreen: Is Animal Research Worth the Expense?

Progress in Parkinson’s disease depends on Primate and other #AnimalResearch

February 24th 2021 Marina Emborg, MD PhD, Jeremy Bailoo, PhD and Doris Doudet, PhD Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer’s disease. The population prevalence of PD increases from about 1% at age 60 to 4% by age 80. From 1999 to 2017, the age-adjusted death rate for Parkinson disease … Continue reading Progress in Parkinson’s disease depends on Primate and other #AnimalResearch

#Evergreen: Opponents of animal research should refuse medical treatment

February 19th 2021 We are in the midst of a global pandemic—with  105.4 million cases and 2.3 million deaths since the start of the pandemic. Fortunately, due to decades of animal research on coronaviruses, various vaccine candidates were expedited, and their safety and efficacy profile evaluated in animals and humans. As a consequence two vaccines … Continue reading #Evergreen: Opponents of animal research should refuse medical treatment

Absolutist Views Crumble As COVID-19 Vaccine Becomes Available

February 16th 2021 Michele A. Basso, Ph.D. Professor of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles I am stunned. Cory Mac (full name Cory Mac a’Ghobhainn), the leader of a group called Progress for Science (P4S) either is a hypocrite, or she is ignorant of how science works, in spite of the name … Continue reading Absolutist Views Crumble As COVID-19 Vaccine Becomes Available

Why 40% of Americans are unwilling to get the COVID-19 vaccine

January 26th 2021 TL:DR Vaccines work. Vaccines save lives. Safety and efficacy will continue to be monitored for the life of any FDA approved vaccine. There are reasonable scientific and ethical concerns which remain with respect to COVID-19 vaccines—however, the benefits of taking either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine outweigh the costs of not doing … Continue reading Why 40% of Americans are unwilling to get the COVID-19 vaccine