Mice

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.

Sweeping away so-called senescent cells -- aging cells that have stopped dividing -- can slow aging-related ailments, including cataracts and muscle loss, in mice, researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., said. According to the scientists' study, which was published online Wednesday in the journal Nature, the role of senescent cells in aging-related disorders is not well understood.   Senescence has a purpose: It slows the proliferation of damaged cells in the body, and thus plays a role in halting the growth of cancers.

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 at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Cañada Flintridge have succeeded in levitating mice, a feat that they say could lead to advances in treating bone loss for astronauts living for extended periods in low-gravity environments. Jet Propulsion Laboratory physicist Yuanming Liu said in an interview Thursday that the mice were levitated using a device called a no-gravity simulator, which is powered by a superconducting gradient magnet. "The reason we want to levitate mice is we are aware of the situation that astronauts who stay in microgravity environments long enough might lose some bone mass," Liu said.

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)

Mice appear to learn to sing from other mice in a manner similar to how humans and songbirds learn, according to a new study. Songbirds are a common model animal for studying language acquisition and learning. That's because they learn to sing from those around them, and because they have specific brain networks honed for this purpose. Researchers have long held that a small group of animals including humans, songbirds, dolphins, whales and elephants are "vocal learners," while most animals are not. Instead, other animals have vocalizations that are innate and do not change during the animal's lifetime.

Something strange is happening to rodents at a wildlife refuge where thousands of birds were poisoned by selenium years ago. Both male and female reproductive organs were found in one-third of the 87 field mice, house mice, harvest mice and California voles trapped last year on land that once collected toxic runoff at the Kesterson National Wildlife Refuge. Just 3% of rodents trapped there showed such characteristics in 1995.

Researchers have cured mice that had a version of Parkinson's disease by treating them with brain cells made from clones of their own skin cells. The findings are to be published today in the journal Nature Medicine. Before such a treatment can be tried in humans, scientists must make the procedure work with human cells, something they have been unable to do.

Eeeek! Mice may soon help scientists detect dangerous levels of antibiotics in meat and poultry. When drugs are given to livestock to protect them from worms or parasites, chemical residues can end up in the meat and poultry we eat. Although small amounts of these residues are not harmful, high levels can cause a host of problems such as headaches and nausea, according to Dr. David Brandon, a research scientist for the U.S.

Have scientists finally discovered the genetic fountain of youth? Hardly. But by creating a genetic switch that allows them to artificially age — and rejuvenate — lab mice, scientists have shown that it is possible to reverse some effects of aging in mammals. "It indicates there's a point of return if you remove the underlying cause of the aging," said Dr. Ronald DePinho, the molecular biologist at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute at Harvard Medical School who led the study, published online this week in the journal Nature.