Paralysis can have tremendous negative consequences for a person's quality of life. In the US alone, there are more than 200 thousand people living with chronic spinal cord injury, which is a cause of immense suffering to them and their families. The disease generates economic burden for society as well. Thus, there has been … Continue reading Not Difficult To Grasp
Category: Science News
Frans de Waal’s Ethical Arguments Need Clarification
In a recent perspective, Professor Frans de Waal argues that chimpanzees deserve “special moral status.” The statement comes on the heels of a recent report by the Institute of Medicine who proposed strict criteria on the use of chimps on biomedical research. According to de Waal there are compelling ethical reasons to ban all invasive work on … Continue reading Frans de Waal’s Ethical Arguments Need Clarification
BrainFacts.org goes live!
The increased need and recognition for scientists to engage with public and policymakers on the importance and value of their work has been reflected by BrainFacts.org going live this week. This important public education initiative from The Kavli Foundation, the Gatsby Charitable Foundation, and the Society for Neuroscience is an exciting development. Leading scientists from … Continue reading BrainFacts.org goes live!
Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: Lessons From Monkeys
The following guest post is from David Abbott, a scientist at the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center and Professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Professor Abbott recently spoke about the goals of his work and the use of monkeys in research in a public forum series hosted by … Continue reading Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: Lessons From Monkeys
OHSU Rhesus macaque embryo research to improve Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis
Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis is used by parents to screen embryos produced through in-vitro fertilization (IVF) in order to ensure that the baby will be free of specific genetic diseases. New research from Oregon Health and Science University on the inheritance of the mitochondrial genome indicates that screening for genetic mutations that are located in the … Continue reading OHSU Rhesus macaque embryo research to improve Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis
What GM mice can tell us about pancreatic cancer (and medical charities)
I've written on the growing importance of genetically modified (GM) mice in cancer research before, but it's been a little while since I revisited the subject. So when I saw this BBC story yesterday on how scientists at the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Research Institute has used an elegant study in GM mice to identify a gene … Continue reading What GM mice can tell us about pancreatic cancer (and medical charities)
The Golden Goose Awards
Politicians sometimes deride research based on the what they perceive as being "silly" titles of federal funded grants. If they spot a title that deals with "games", for example, they may assume it deals with some sort of amusement of little value to society, instead of a deep, powerful branch of mathematics that describes the behavior of … Continue reading The Golden Goose Awards
Restoring vision in night blindness: Mice point way to stem cell therapy
Impaired vision and blindness are leading causes of disability, affecting over 3 million people in the USA today, so it’s no surprise that biomedical scientists are working hard to develop therapies to improve and restore vision. Over the past few years we have discussed several therapies that have been developed to treat different types of … Continue reading Restoring vision in night blindness: Mice point way to stem cell therapy
Speaking of Research 