Rats

Rats infected as newborns grew up vulnerable to memory problems during an immune challenge

Underscoring the value of good prenatal care, new research suggests that early infection may create a cognitive vulnerability that appears later during stress on the immune system. Researchers at the University of Colorado at Boulder have reported that rats who experienced a one-time infection as newborns didn't learn as well as adult rats who were not infected as pups, after their immunity was c...

Gene Therapy Cures Inherited Liver Disease In Rats

A single dose of gene-virus combination cured rats of a inherited liver disease in which lack of a gene causes the accumulation of bilirubin –which, untreated, results in jaundice and brain damage, said researchers at Baylor College of Medicine in a report in the Proceedings of the Natural Academy of Sciences. "This is the first time this disease (Crigler-Najjar syndrome) has been complete...

Gene therapy cures inherited liver disease in rats

A single dose of gene-virus combination cured rats of a inherited liver disease in which lack of a gene causes the accumulation of bilirubin –which, untreated, results in jaundice and brain damage, said researchers at Baylor College of Medicine in a report in the Proceedings of the Natural Academy of Sciences. "This is the first time this disease (Crigler-Najjar syndrome) has been complet...

Combination therapy leads to partial recovery from spinal cord injury in rats

Combining partially differentiated stem cells with gene therapy can promote the growth of new "insulation" around nerve fibers in the damaged spinal cords of rats, a new study shows. The treatment, which mimics the activity of two nerve growth factors, also improves the animals' motor function and electrical conduction from the brain to the leg muscles. The finding may eventually lead to new ways...

Oh, rats! Designer animals reveal possible heart disease genes

Every year, heart disease claims an estimated 7 million lives, according to the World Health Organization. Scientists have struggled to pinpoint the precise genes behind this complex disease. Now, however, they have a new research ally: the designer rat. , researchers at The Institute for...

How nice, brown rice: Study shows rice bran lowers blood pressure in rats

Thousands of years ago, humans began scrubbing off and discarding the outer layer of long-grain rice, preferring the polished white kernel beneath. Now, for the first time, scientists in Japan have shown that this waste product of rice processing, called rice bran, significantly lowers blood pressure in rats whose hypertension resembles that of humans. The team reports their findings in th...

Neurons grown from embryonic stem cells restore function in paralyzed rats

For the first time, researchers have enticed transplants of embryonic stem cell-derived motor neurons in the spinal cord to connect with muscles and partially restore function in paralyzed animals. The study suggests that similar techniques may be useful for treating such disorders as spinal cord injury, transverse myelitis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and spinal muscular atrophy. The st...

Gene expression becomes heterogeneous with age in humans and rats

In a study of the effects of aging on gene expression, researchers have found that variation in gene expression among individuals tends to increase with age. The findings, which impact our understanding of the molecular forces that govern age-related changes, are reported in the May 23rd issue of Current Biology by Mehmet Somel and colleagues at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropol...

Orange, grapefruit juice for breakfast builds bones in rats

It may sound like Saturday cartoons: a strong-boned rat that can't be broken. But a couple of Texas researchers say the real hero is citrus juice. Orange and grapefruit juice regularly given to lab rats prevented osteoporosis, long considered an unavoidable aging disease in which bones become more likely to break, according to a study by Texas A&M University's Vegetable and Fruit Impro...

Temperament linked to onset of cancer and early death in female rats

Female rats that are apprehensive of new experiences as infants maintain that temperament and die earlier from mammary and pituitary tumors than do their more adventuresome sisters, according to new research by a team based at the University of Chicago. The apprehensive rats were more likely to have irregular reproductive cycles than adventuresome rats, and that disruption could account fo...

Brain protein improves stroke symptoms in rats, even when injected after 3 days

A protein naturally occurring in the brain improves recovery from stroke when injected up to three days after the onset of the stroke, and could be used as an effective stroke drug. A study in rats published today in the open access journal BMC Biology shows that an injection of Granulocyte-Colony Stimulating Factor (G-CSF), whose function in the brain is to control the formation of neurons and c...

Human stem cells delay start of Lou Gehrig's disease in rats

Researchers at Johns Hopkins have shown that transplanting human stem cells into spinal cords of rats bred to duplicate Lou Gehrig's disease delays the start of nerve cell damage typical of the disease and slightly prolongs life. The grafted stem cells develop into nerve cells that make substantial connections with existing nerves and do not themselves succumb to Lou Gehrig's, also known as amyot...

Rewarding fat rats

We all remember a time when we were paralyzed in the face of a tough decision. For animals in the natural world, making the right choice can mean the difference between life and death. When rats and other animals choose the thing that leads to a "reward," such as food, changes happen in the body and the brain. Describing and understanding those changes has been the focus of Natural Scienc...

Metacognition: Faced with a test, rats can check their knowledge first

Researchers have found evidence that rats are capable of metacognition—that is, they can possess knowledge of their own cognitive states. This ability, which can also be thought of as the capacity to assess or reflect on one's own mental processes, was previously only recognized in humans and other primates. The findings are reported by Allison Foote and Jonathon Crystal of the University of Geor...

Glucose triggers brain cell death in rats after hypoglycemic coma

Brain damage that was thought to be caused by hypoglycemic coma actually occurs when glucose is administered to treat the coma, according to a study in rodents led by researchers at the San Francisco VA Medical Center. The results are surprising, say the authors, and may be of clinical significance for the treatment of diabetics in hypoglycemic coma, though they caution that the results c...

Human stem cell treatment restores motor function in paralyzed rats

Rats paralyzed due to loss of blood flow to the spine returned to near normal ambulatory function six weeks after receiving grafts of human spinal stem cells (hSSCs), researchers from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine report. The study, led by Martin Marsala, M.D., UC San Diego professor of anesthesiology, is published in the June 29, 2007 issue of the journal N...