Important: Thank you for the overwhelming support we've had. However please go and sign The Pro-Test Petition. It's a much bigger petition that aims to show the support for biomedical research among scientists and non-scientists alike. Added Note: We now have 100 signatories!! As students and scientists at UCLA stand up to support lifesaving medical … Continue reading Scientists dare to defend research
Category: Science News
How Monkeys Help to Prevent HIV Infection
With the European Parliament voting on the future of primate research there is no better time to discuss the medical benefits that such research provides - and which would be lost if primate research is severely restricted or banned. We are all familiar with the use of drug regimes such as HAART to control HIV … Continue reading How Monkeys Help to Prevent HIV Infection
Progress towards a cure for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy
Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a severe inherited muscular dystrophy that causes progressive muscle degeneration which eventually leads to loss of the ability to use muscles and death, and every year tens thousands of children are born afflicted with the disease. It is caused by mutations in the DMD gene that encodes dystrophin, a protein … Continue reading Progress towards a cure for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy
Animal Care Staff: ‘Why animal welfare matters’
Today begins a series of posts that try and show the activities and motivations of a handful of the dedicated animal care technicians from across the country's animal laboratories who work tirelessly to ensure animal welfare remains the highest priority. [Tom] For decades the animal rights movement has worked to define those working in animal … Continue reading Animal Care Staff: ‘Why animal welfare matters’
Restoring science to its rightful place
Yesterday President Barack Obama took a decision that the scientific community has been eagerly awaiting ever since he was sworn in last January, when he issued an executive order ending the severe restrictions that President George W. Bush imposed on federal funding of human embryonic stem cell research eight years ago. This was however not … Continue reading Restoring science to its rightful place
A passive defence against the flu?
Influenza is a disease that kills hundreds of thousands of people every year, and periodically causes global pandemics that kill many millions. There are three major types, A, B and C that can infect humans, although the A is responsible for the most cases and deaths. Within influenza A virus there are two major groups, … Continue reading A passive defence against the flu?
Shedding some light on the dark side of stem cells
In recent weeks we have discussed the potential of stem cells in developing new therapies, but stem cells also have a more sinister side. Over the past decade scientists have become increasingly interested in the possibility that in many, perhaps most, cancers there is a small population of cells that are the only tumour cells … Continue reading Shedding some light on the dark side of stem cells
Seeing is Believing
I recently disocvered http://www.jove.com - that is the Journal for Visualised Experiments. On this website you can see how animal (and non-animal) experiments are carried out with the utmost care and scientific precision. Everything from mice running mazes to invasive neurosurgery are carefully filmed and explained to show correct procedure. From various videos we can … Continue reading Seeing is Believing