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How Selective Breeding is Used in Behavioral Genetics
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One of the methods used by behavioral geneticists is selective breeding. Selective breeding often involves selecting animals that are very different on one measure of behavior. For instance, if scientists take 20 rats and test how quickly they can solve a maze, chances are that they will get some variability in the speed with which the rats can solve the maze. Scientists would take the two fastest animals and the two slowest animals and breed them together. They would continue to do this over 20 generations, until they had a group of animals that solved the maze very rapidly and a group of animals that solved the maze very slowly. They are then able to examine potential differences in their brains and behaviors that contribute to maze solvi ...
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666 |
bio_man |
A year ago |
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Stress-activated gray hair explained
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An unexpected link in mice has been found between gray hair, the transcription factor MITF, and the innate immune in a recent study published in PLOS Biology. First, a discussion on the innate immune system: The innate immune system is the immune system you're born with. This includes your skin and other barriers which prevent disease entering the body, in addition to specialized cells that activate inflammation in response to foreign invaders. Technically, every cell in your body except for red blood cells, are capable of generating an immune response, and this includes the production of a signaling protein known as interferon. Microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF) is best known for its role in regulating the many functions ...
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2401 |
bio_man |
5 years ago |
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How sleep affects memory
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For decades, scientists have debated whether rapid eye movement sleep - the phase where dreams appear - is directly involved in memory formation. Now, a study provides evidence that REM sleep does, indeed, play this role in mice. In this new study, the researchers used optogenetics, a recently developed technology that enables scientists to target precisely a population of neurons and control its activity by light. For this study, the neurons in the hippocampus were targeted (hippocampus being the structure that is critical for memory formation during wakefulness and is known as the 'GPS system' of the brain). To test the long-term spatial memory of mice, the scientists trained the rodents to spot a new object placed in a controlled environm ...
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4993 |
duddy |
7 years ago |
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Gut bacteria affects mood and brain function in mice
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According to a study published in the medical journal eLife, researchers found that specific combinations of gut bacteria produce substances that affect myelin content and cause social avoidance behaviors in mice. Researchers transferred fecal bacteria from the gut of depressed mice to genetically distinct mice exhibiting non-depressed behavior. The study showed that the transfer of microbiota was sufficient to induce social withdrawal behaviors and change the expression of myelin genes and myelin content in the brains of the recipient mice. In an effort to define the mechanism of gut-brain communication, researchers identified bacterial communities associated with increased levels of cresol, a substance that has the ability to pass the bloo ...
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3902 |
duddy |
8 years ago |
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Running reduces tumor size in mice by 50%
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According to a new study published in Cell Metabolism, mice who spent their free time on a running wheel were better able to shrink tumors (a 50 percent reduction in tumor size) compared to their less active counterparts. Researchers found that the surge of adrenaline ( epinephrine) that comes with a high-intensity workout helped to move cancer-killing immune (NK) cells toward lung, liver, or skin tumors implanted into the mice. While the research is hopeful for patients looking for inexpensive ways to manage their cancer, more needs to be learned about the effects of exercise on metastasis and longevity, as well as if the observations hold true in humans. Scientists also wants to explore the combined impact of anti-cancer treatments and ex ...
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11184 |
duddy |
8 years ago |
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Hair loss no more - a promising treatment for baldness
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Isn't it strange, two FDA-approved drugs - topical ruxolitinib or tofacitinib - can reawaken dormant hair follicles! According to the study, within 3 weeks, mice that received topical ruxolitinib or tofacitinib had regrown nearly all their hair (right photo; drug was applied only to the right side of the mouse). Little to no hair growth occurred in control mice during the same timeframe (left photo). According to researchers at Columbia University Medical Center, inhibiting a family of enzymes inside hair follicles that are suspended in a resting state restores hair growth. These drugs, known as JAK inhibitors have been approved to treat blood diseases (ruxolitinib) and the other for rheumatoid arthritis (tofacitinib). Both are being tested ...
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20470 |
duddy |
8 years ago |
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Did you know that a rat's ribs are hinged at the spine
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It's true, and this enables them to easily squeeze through the tightest spaces - like the pipes draining your toilet. And rats are great swimmers too; they can hold their breath for up to three minutes and swim non-stop for more than 48 hours! For more information, watch the video. ...
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13526 |
duddy |
8 years ago |
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Poor mice have no private life
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With its exceptional hearing, a red fox can target a mouse hidden under two feet of crusted snow. Springing high in the air, it can break through the crusted spring snow with its nose and body completely vertical under the snow.
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31702 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
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Good bacteria helps to defend your brain
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The microbes that live in your body outnumber your cells 10 to one. Recent studies suggest these tiny organisms help us digest food and maintain our immune system. Now, researchers have discovered yet another way microbes keep us healthy: They are needed for closing the blood-brain barrier, a molecular fence that shuts out pathogens and molecules that could harm the brain.
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6138 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
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Peanut allergies could be a thing of the past
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New research from the University of Chicago in the US shows that a class of bacteria known as Clostridia can block peanut allergies in mice, and suggests it could be used to treat similar conditions in humans. Clostridia is one of the types of bacteria killed off by antibiotic use in early childhood, and this research supports the emerging theory that increased antibiotic use is one of the factors that has caused food allergies in kids to rise by 50% since 1997. Source: http://www.sciencealert.com.au/news/20142708-26075.html ...
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6263 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
