Obesity has become a significant healthcare problem throughout the United States. Interestingly enough, new research shows that the bacteria in the gut of obese people may have much less diversity than the microbiome of thin people. The research goes on to illustrate that this outcome has been found in dogs. The Science Magazine reports on […]
With the rise in obesity over the last few decades, scientists have grown interested in studying this condition and the illnesses that come with it – type 2 diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, and various types of cancer are directly linked to obesity. For one researcher, brown adipose tissue and its connection with obesity was intriguing. […]
Childhood obesity has been a growing issue in the United States throughout the last several decades. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that childhood obesity has doubled in the last 30 years while the obesity rate in adolescents has quadrupled. Obesity is associated with a wide variety of medical complications such as type […]
The obesity epidemic seen in the United States has been studied extensively over the years. One truly intriguing finding some scientists have discovered is the link between obesity and cognitive decline. A paper published in The Lancet by Dr. Amanda Kiliaan and colleagues discussed the association between being obese over a lifetime and the risk […]
Overweight individuals are at a much higher risk for serious health complications including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, musculoskeletal diseases, and even cancer. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the percentage of overweight and obese adults in the United States, aged 20 years and older totaled 69%, between 2011 and 2012. Given such […]
Obesity has become an epidemic throughout the United States over the last decade. Medical professionals, political figures, health advocates, and even the First Lady are all attempting to put an end to the spread of obesity. The pre-clinical research sector is also studying the link between energy intake and expenditure to have a greater understanding […]
Over twenty years ago, the agouti mouse was the first model cloned from which an obesity gene was described. Mutations in the agouti gene are associated with variations in coat color (stripes in cats and tigers), when an animal carries a single copy (or allele) of the gene. When the animal is homozygois for the […]
Wound repair involves a number of highly complex biological processes that can be studied in a comprehensive manner through in vivo studies. Various murine models of wound healing have been effectively utilized to address several wound types. Hundreds of mouse models provide more validated reagents than other animals, and over 1,000 generated mutant loci, often […]
The design of pre-clinical studies is a complex task, and understanding the translation from animal model to human diseases requires a great deal of care and a high level of understanding of both the basic science and the clinical condition. Many drugs in clinical development flounder due to lack of efficacy or unacceptable side effects. […]