Mice

In an age of long commutes, late sports practices, endless workdays and 24/7 television programming, the image of Mom hanging up her dish towel at 7 p.m. and declaring "the kitchen is closed" seems a quaint relic of an earlier era. It also harks back to a thinner America. And that may be no coincidence. A new study, conducted on mice, hints at an unexpected contributor to the nation's epidemic of obesity - and, if later human studies bear it out, a possible way to have our cake and eat it too, with less risk of weight gain and the diseases that come with it. Just eat your cake - or better yet, an apple - earlier.

In an age of long commutes, late sports practices, endless workdays and 24/7 television programming, the image of Mom hanging up her dish towel at 7 p.m. and declaring "the kitchen is closed" seems a quaint relic of an earlier era. It also harks back to a thinner America. And that may be no coincidence. A new study, conducted on mice, hints at an unexpected contributor to the nation's epidemic of obesity - and, if later human studies bear it out, a possible way to have our cake and eat it too, with less risk of weight gain and the diseases that come with it. Just eat your cake - or better yet, an apple - earlier.

Fire killed about 500,000 laboratory mice and injured five people in a blaze at a genetic research center that one lab official said would set back scientific research worldwide. Four construction workers and a firefighter were injured in the midday fire at Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor, Me., the world's leading nonprofit supplier of genetically identical mice used in research on cancer, AIDS, diabetes and other human diseases. Kenneth Paigen, the lab's director-designee, said, "We managed to save what are called the foundation stocks . . . the original genetically defined strains."

Scientists have developed a “proof of concept” drug for stroke patients that helped afflicted mice recover the ability to walk normally. In laboratory experiments, the researchers also found biological evidence that the drug helped grow new neurons in the brain, according to a study published online Tuesday by the journal Stroke. An estimated 795,000 Americans have a stroke each year, according to the National Stroke Assn. in Centennial, Colo.  They occur when the brain is suddenly deprived of oxygen and nutrients, either by a blockage in a vessel (which causes an ischemic stroke)

In August 2003, when scientists first revealed the life-extending powers of trans-3,4,'5-trihydroxystilbene-- also known as resveratrol -- its earthly form had all the allure of an apple in the garden of Eden. Ruby red, delicately fragrant, shapely in a rounded nest of glass, red wine can deliver as much as 1.5 milligrams of the plant compound resveratrol per four-ounce serving.

Growing up in a stressful environment isn't conducive to becoming a well-adjusted adult. Studies have shown that people who faced constant stress during childhood have an increased risk of being depressed later. How are the two related? A study published this week by the journal Nature Neuroscience may have found a link. It reports that stress at a young age permanently alters the activity of a key gene in the brain, resulting in a lifetime of elevated levels of a hormone that contributes to depression.

Scientists have developed a “proof of concept” drug for stroke patients that helped afflicted mice recover the ability to walk normally. In laboratory experiments, the researchers also found biological evidence that the drug helped grow new neurons in the brain, according to a study published online Tuesday by the journal Stroke. An estimated 795,000 Americans have a stroke each year, according to the National Stroke Assn. in Centennial, Colo.  They occur when the brain is suddenly deprived of oxygen and nutrients, either by a blockage in a vessel (which causes an ischemic stroke)

Want to live longer? One of the most sure-fire strategies is caloric restriction . Going on what amounts to a permanent diet has been shown to stave off age-related diseases and death in worms, flies, rodents and monkeys. But caloric restriction isn’t for everyone. Thankfully, scientists have been looking for ways to get the same benefits with less sacrifice. A group of Italian researchers is offering up one potential alternative – water fortified with a cocktail of branched-chain amino acids , or BCAAs for short.

A drug that has been approved for the treatment of a type of skin cancer since 1999 appears to reverse Alzheimer's symptoms -- in mice.  Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine neuroscientist Gary Landreth and colleagues reported Thursday that bexarotene quickly cleared away beta-amyloid plaque, believed to cause the cognitive deficits of Alzheimer's disease, from the brains of genetically engineered mice.  Mice who received bexarotene...

The Chiodo brothers — Stephen, Edward and Charles — recently crafted more than 100 model mice for the new Steve Carell-starring comedy "Dinner for Schmucks," but it was a great ape that initially set them on a path to filmmaking: The New York natives as children made 8-millimeter stop-motion animated movies in their parents' basement, inspired by the work of special effects legends Ray Harryhausen and Willis O'Brien. "When we went to one of our first trips to New York City after seeing 1933's 'King Kong,' we were at the Empire State Building looking for the cracks in the sidewalk where he might have fallen," said Charles.

Scientists have all kinds of stem cell cures in mind: replacing dopamine-producing nerves in the brains of Parkinson's patients, fixing damaged spinal cords, curing Type 1 diabetes, etc.  The therapies are slow-coming, though researchers are learning lots about how cells and body parts form. Here's a study just published in the journal Nature that shows injecting rod precursor cells (cells destined to become rod photoreceptors) into the eye gives mice born without rods the ability to detect  dim light.

Blocking "don't destroy me" signals that normally sit on the surface of tumor cells and render them resistant to immune-cell attack slows the growth of a broad range of human cancers when they're implanted in mice, researchers have found. The approach, reported by immunologists at the Stanford University School of Medicine, was effective against ovarian, breast, colon, bladder, liver, prostate and brain cancer cells. If the work can be repeated in people, the approach may someday help doctors marshal defender cells in patients' own bodies to fight cancers, the researchers said.

Mousemorency Mouse stood in a velvet hat left by a member of a performance and spoke to a mouseling audience in the Opera House where they lived. "Today I will speak of another illustrious member in your heritage. Rosamunda Mouseworthy came from a renowned family of singing mice. Mice came from as far as the attic to attend their concerts. Rosamunda was their brightest star. By a month old she had mastered the mousic repertoire, including Mousart's classics. She was slender and attractive with a glistening white coat like a domestic mouse.

"Dogzilla" Dav Pilkey This story is about a dog and mice. The mice are scared and angry that the huge dog named Dogzilla is going to attack them and their city Mousopolis. Read this book if you want to find out what happens. Reviewed by Melani, 8 Glenoaks Elementary Glendale "The Flag With Fifty-Six Stars" Susan Goldman Rubin Did you know as the brave American troops were fighting the Nazis, the struggling prisoners in Mauthausen concentration camp used their tiniest bit of muscle left in themselves to stitch by hand, an American flag?

A compound that looked to be a possible wonder drug for obesity and metabolic disease, such as diabetes, may not make it to store shelves. Research published this week shows the hormone, called fibroblast growth factor 21, causes bone loss while it burns fat. The finding is yet another setback in the difficult field of drug development aimed at the country's obesity epidemic. Two studies, one published last week in the journal Cell, and another published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, used mice to examine the effects of FGF21.

A drug that has been approved for the treatment of a type of skin cancer since 1999 appears to reverse Alzheimer's symptoms -- in mice.  Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine neuroscientist Gary Landreth and colleagues reported Thursday that bexarotene quickly cleared away beta-amyloid plaque, believed to cause the cognitive deficits of Alzheimer's disease, from the brains of genetically engineered mice.  Mice who received bexarotene...

Cocaine addiction is difficult to treat. Doctors have no specific therapies for the addiction. However, an experiment in mice has produced promising results on a vaccine approach. Researchers at Weill Cornell Medical Center created a vaccine by using elements of a common cold virus that elicit an immune response and linking it to a chemical that is similar in structure to cocaine. They injected the vaccine into ordinary mice and found a strong immune response was generated by the vaccine.

Disease-modifying treatments for Alzheimer's disease have proved elusive. However, a study in mice published this week suggests that a treatment strategy relying on gene therapy may be worth pursuing. Researchers at the Gladstone Institute of Neurological Disease in San Francisco found that mice and humans with Alzheimer's disease have unusually low levels of an enzyme called EphB2 in the parts of the brain that control memory. EphB2 plays an important role in fostering communication between brain cells.

Remember this name: irisin. A newly described polypeptide hormone named after the Greek messenger goddess Iris, irisin may one day play a role in defeating the twin epidemics of obesity and Type 2 diabetes. It made its debut on Thursday in the journal Nature . To understand how irisin might help the lumbering masses lose mass, it helps to remember that mammalian fat comes in (at least) two colors. Brown is the new black: It's what you want more of. Unlike the white fat that lards the thighs and jiggles dangerously across the belly, brown fat's the stuff that boosts a mammal's energy expenditure.

Nicotine appears to be a potent "gateway" drug that enhances the effects of cocaine and possibly boosts the chances of becoming addicted, researchers reported Wednesday in a landmark paper on drug addiction. While the study was performed in lowly mice, the findings suggest that reducing smoking and the use of other tobacco products -- and even nicotine replacement products and exposure to secondhand smoke -- in humans may have the bilateral impact of curbing addiction to other addictive substances.