Rodents News

June 24, 2025

Top Headlines

May 29, 2025 — The protein DNase1 is one of the oldest biological agents in history: It has been on the market since 1958 and is now used, among other things, to treat cystic fibrosis. However, it takes considerable effort to produce it in immortalized hamster ...

Evolution of a Single Gene Allowed the Plague to Adapt, Survive and Kill Much of Humanity Over Many Centuries

May 29, 2025 — Scientists have documented the way a single gene in the bacterium that causes bubonic plague, Yersinia pestis, allowed it to survive hundreds of years by adjusting its virulence and the length of ...

Researchers Identify a Dual Origin of Cells Controlling Puberty and Reproduction

May 22, 2025 — Researchers have shown that gonadotrophs, cells in the pituitary gland with a key role in puberty and reproduction, come from two different populations, with the majority produced after birth rather ...

Scientists Invent Breakthrough Device to Detect Airborne Signs of Disease

May 22, 2025 — If you've ever sat waiting at the doctor's office to give a blood sample, you might have wished there was a way to find the same information without needles. But for all the medical breakthroughs of the 20th century, the best way to detect molecules ...

New Research Reveals Puff Adders as an Important Conservation and Rodent Control Solution

May 20, 2025 — New research has revealed that puff adders (Bitis arietans) can be highly efficient at controlling rodent populations that threaten agricultural production on the ...

Key Player in Childhood Food Allergies Identified: Thetis Cells

May 15, 2025 — Thetis cells, a class of immune cells first described in 2022, play an essential and previously unknown role in suppressing inflammatory responses to food, a new study ...

Scientists Track Down Mutation That Makes Orange Cats Orange

May 15, 2025 — Many an orange cat-affiliated human will vouch for their cat's, let's say, specialness. But now scientists have confirmed that there is, in fact, something unique about ginger-hued domestic felines. In a new study, researchers have discovered the ...

Marsupial Research Reveals How Mammalian Embryos Form

May 15, 2025 — Researchers have revealed insight into why embryos erase a key epigenetic mark during early development, suggesting this may have evolved to help form a ...

Scientists Film the Heart Forming in 3D Earlier Than Ever Before

May 13, 2025 — Researchers have identified the origin of cardiac cells using 3D images of a heart forming in real-time, inside a living mouse ...

Urban Rats Spread Deadly Bacteria as They Migrate, Study Finds

May 5, 2025 — Urban rats spread a deadly bacteria as they migrate within cities that can be the source of a potentially life-threatening disease in humans, according to a six-year study that also discovered a novel technique for testing rat ...

Metabolism Shapes Life

Apr. 16, 2025 — New research shows Glycolysis -- the process of converting sugar into energy -- plays a key role in early development. More than fuel, Glycolysis doesn't just power cells -- it helps steer them toward specific tissue types at critical moments in ...

Guinea Pigs: Promising Animal Model to Study the Human Embryo

Apr. 14, 2025 — Researchers reveal that the guinea pig pre-implantation embryo is very similar to the human embryo, spurring a better understanding of infertility and early human ...

Latest Headlines

updated 11:55am EDT

600-Million-Year-Old Body Blueprint Found in Sea Anemones

June 16, 2025 — Sea anemones may hold the key to the ancient origins of body symmetry. A study from the University of Vienna shows they use a molecular mechanism known as BMP shuttling, once thought unique to ...

Deadly Rodent-Borne Hantavirus Is an Emerging Disease With Pandemic Potential

Apr. 13, 2025 — Virginia Tech researchers seek to understand the environmental factors that influence the distribution of hantavirus in rodent populations across the ...

Cartilage and Bone Development: Three Paths to Skeleton Formation

Mar. 27, 2025 — In vertebrates, the skeleton of different regions of the body arises from different precursor cells. Researchers have now discovered that these skeletal cells do not just differ in their ...

Tuberculosis Relies on Protective Genes During Airborne Transmission

Mar. 10, 2025 — Scientists discovered genes in the tuberculosis bacterium that becomes essential for the pathogen's survival when it's exposed to air through coughing. These genes could be targets for new therapies ...

Bite-Size Clue May Help Rediscover the Missing Desert Rat-Kangaroo

Feb. 28, 2025 — An intriguing native Australian rat-kangaroo, thought to be probably extinct, may still be running around in the inhospitable remote Sturt Stony Desert -- and researchers have discovered new details ...

A Treatment-Resistant, Severe Type of Asthma Successfully Modeled in Mice

Feb. 18, 2025 — Researchers are tackling neutrophilic asthma, successfully developing one of the first mouse models of the ...

Ventilation in Hospitals Could Cause Viruses to Spread Further, Study Finds

Jan. 31, 2025 — Increased use of ventilation and air cleaners, designed to mitigate the spread of viral infections in hospitals, is likely to have unpredictable effects and may cause viral particles to move around ...

Blood-Powered Toes Give Salamanders an Arboreal Edge

Jan. 29, 2025 — Wandering salamanders are known for gliding high through the canopies of coastal redwood forests, but how the small amphibians stick their landing and take-off with ease remains something of a ...

Many Roads Lead To... the Embryo

Jan. 22, 2025 — Is there only one optimal configuration an organism can reach during evolution? Is there a single formula that describes the trajectory towards the optimum? And can we 'derive' it in a purely ...

Ancient Viral DNA Shapes Early Embryo Development

Jan. 20, 2025 — Over half of our genomes consists of thousands of remnants of ancient viral DNA, known as transposable elements, which are widespread across the tree of life. Once dismissed as the 'dark side' of the ...

Mussel Bed Surveyed Before World War II Still Thriving

Jan. 16, 2025 — A mussel bed in Northern California is as healthy and biodiverse as it was about 80 years ago, when two young students surveyed it shortly before one was sent to fight in World War II. Resampling the ...

Beach Guardians: How Hidden Microbes Protect Coastal Waters in a Changing Climate

Jan. 14, 2025 — Beneath sandy beaches, microbes filter chemicals from groundwater and safeguard ocean health. A new study reveals that sneaker waves provide a lens to explore the impending impacts of sea level rise ...

Scientists Unveil Surprising Human Vs Mouse Differences in a Major Cancer Immunotherapy Target

Jan. 3, 2025 — Much of our knowledge of the protein PD-1, a leading cancer treatment target, comes from studies in mice. In a comprehensive assessment of PD-1, researchers have found that PD-1 in mice is ...

Building a Backbone: Scientists Recreate the Body's 'GPS System' in the Lab

Dec. 18, 2024 — Scientists have generated human stem cell models which contain notochord -- a tissue in the developing embryo that acts like a navigation system, directing cells where to build the spine and nervous ...

Food Allergy Anxiety at 30,000 Feet

Dec. 5, 2024 — The skies aren't always so friendly for patients and families affected by food allergies, who may often experience worry and anxiety regarding airline travel, according to a new ...

Generation of Rat Offspring from Ovarian Oocytes by Cross-Species Transplantation

Nov. 15, 2024 — Attempts to obtain eggs and offspring using oocytes in ovary have been made for keeping desirable traits in livestock, preserving human fertility, etc. Ovarian transplantation, one of those methods, ...

Solar-Powered Animal Cells

Oct. 30, 2024 — Energy-making chloroplasts from algae have been inserted into hamster cells, enabling the cells to photosynthesize light, according to new research in Japan. It was previously thought that combining ...

Researchers' New Outreach Strategy Succeeds, Sets Blueprint for Detecting Invasive Species in Florida

Oct. 28, 2024 — Researchers are showcasing how a focused outreach initiative in Palm Beach County has led to a successful increase in reports of invasive reptiles in ...

Co-Culture System for Sustainable Cultured Meat Production

Oct. 28, 2024 — Cultured meat is grown from animal muscle cells, and animal serum is required to promote the growth of these cells. However, the use of serum poses significant challenges because of its high cost and ...

New Test Improves Diagnosis of Allergies

Oct. 15, 2024 — Researchers have developed a test to simplify the diagnosis of allergies. Its effectiveness has now been confirmed in clinical samples from children and adolescents suffering from a peanut allergy. ...

How a Bunch of Seemingly Disorganized Cells Go on to Form a Robust Embryo

Oct. 10, 2024 — Embryo development starts when a single egg cell is fertilized and starts dividing continuously. Initially a chaotic cluster, it gradually evolves into a highly organized structure. Scientists have ...

Syrian Hamsters Reveal Genetic Secret to Hibernation

Sep. 30, 2024 — A gene that limits cellular damage could be the key to surviving prolonged cold ...

Pigs May Be Transmission Route of Rat Hepatitis E to Humans

Sep. 25, 2024 — New research suggests that pigs may function as a transmission vehicle for a strain of the hepatitis E virus (HEV) common in rats that has recently been found to infect ...

New Insights Into DNA Organization During Embryonic Development

Sep. 16, 2024 — Researchers have gained new insights into the mechanism behind the spatial organization of DNA within the cells of early embryos. When an embryo is first formed after fertilization, each cell has the ...

Spiny Mice Point the Way to New Path in Social Neuroscience

Sep. 11, 2024 — Scientists zeroed in on brain circuitry powering the desire of spiny mice to live in large groups, opening the door to a new model for the study of complex social behaviors in ...

Researchers Identify Mechanism Underlying Allergic Itching, and Show It Can Be Blocked

Sep. 4, 2024 — Researchers identified a mechanism for why some people will itch from an allergen or mosquito bite exposure, while others will not in a new study, and showed this pathway can be targeted to prevent ...

CRISPR-Based Genome Editing in Nile Grass Rats

Aug. 23, 2024 — A team of researchers has discovered a set of methods that enabled the first successful CRISPR-based genome editing in Nile grass ...

Glossy Black-Cockatoos Prefer the Fruits of Ancient Rocks

Aug. 9, 2024 — New research has shown that glossy black-cockatoos prefer to feed from trees growing in acidic ...

Social Rank May Determine If Animals Live Fast, Die Young

Aug. 7, 2024 — Social rank may determine whether animals prioritize immediate fitness over long-term health, according to a study. Researchers studied macaques on a Thai island and found that the animals' ...

Nasal COVID-19 Vaccine Halts Transmission, Animal Study Finds

July 31, 2024 — A nasal COVID-19 vaccine blocks transmission of the virus, according to an animal study. The findings suggest that vaccines delivered directly to the nose or mouth could play a critical role in ...