Mouse Content

Eat Fat, Live Longer?

Katherine E Kerlin — September 05, 2017 - 10:53am

As more people live into their 80s and 90s, researchers have delved into the issues of health and quality of life during aging. A recent mouse study at the 51�ԹϺ�� Davis School of Veterinary Medicine sheds light on those questions by demonstrating that a high-fat, or ketogenic, diet not only increases longevity, but improves physical strength.

Mouse Genome Studies Show Disease Models and Sex Differences

Andy Fell — June 26, 2017 - 3:48pm

Two major studies by international teams published today (June 26) show the value and potential of genetically modified mice in biomedical research — and also the pitfalls of conducting research with subjects of only one sex. Researchers at the 51�ԹϺ�� Davis Mouse Biology Program collaborated on both studies, published in the journals Nature Genetics and Nature Communications.

Mice Provide Insight Into Genetics of Autism Spectrum Disorders

Andy Fell — June 26, 2017 - 3:01pm

While the definitive causes remain unclear, several genetic and environmental factors increase the likelihood of autism spectrum disorder, or ASD, a group of conditions covering a “spectrum” of symptoms, skills and levels of disability.

Essential Mouse Genes Could Guide Human Precision Medicine

Andy Fell — September 14, 2016 - 3:03pm

About one-third of 1751 genes studied in the first comprehensive survey of the mouse genome are essential to life, according to research by an international collaboration including the 51�ԹϺ�� Davis Mouse Biology Program. Mutations of these genes cause death at the embryo stage. Many of them have counterparts in the human genome, so understanding why these genes are so vital could help prioritize human genes for study.

NIH Renews Knockout Mouse Project

Andy Fell — September 12, 2016 - 5:20pm

51�ԹϺ�� Davis has been awarded over $29 million from the National Institutes of Health under the next five-year phase of the Knockout Mouse Project, or KOMP. 51�ԹϺ�� Davis is the lead organization in a consortium involving research partners at The Center for Phenogenomics in Toronto, Canada; the Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute, or CHORI; and Charles River Laboratories in Wilmington, Mass. “Knockout” mice are laboratory mice bred with specific genes silenced or “knocked out.” These mice have been an invaluable tool for fundamental research on a wide range of diseases and conditions.