Research | LocalHealthGuide

Picture of a white rat in a researcher's gloved hand.

November 23, 2022 Ethics / Research

What is ethical animal research? A scientist and veterinarian explain

Federal research agencies follow guiding principles in evaluating the use and care of animals in research.These principles are summarized by the “3 R’s” of animal research: reduction, refinement and replacement. The 3 R’s encourage scientists to develop new techniques that allow them to replace animals with appropriate alternatives.

NIH initiative to systematically investigate and establish function of every human gene

Creating a catalog of what all human genes do is no easy feat. Most genes are likely to have more than one function and behave differently depending on the type of cell in which they are expressed. In addition, genes may turn on or off depending on the cell’s relationship to surrounding cells, environment and age.

1024px Alzheimer's disease brain comparison

August 8, 2022 Brain and Nervous System / Dementia / Drugs / Research

What allegations of Alzheimer’s research fraud mean for patients

It might be a stretch to say all Alzheimer’s research is now compromised. But the allegations can prompt us to ask whether the governing bodies of research and drug approvals are truly effective.

April 20, 2022 Biotechnology / Genetics / Research

Scientists set out to map the world’s genomic diversity

“The goal is to collect, organize and make accessible a representation of all the genetic variation that exist in humans, big, small, common and rare,” said Evan Eichler, a professor of genome sciences at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle and one of the organizers of the project.

January 18, 2022 Immunology / Research / Transplantation

The journey to a pig-heart transplant began 60 years ago

On Friday, January 7 2022, David Bennett became the world’s first person to successfully receive a transplant of a pig’s heart. The eight-hour-long operation by surgeons at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore, USA, was no doubt arduous. But it was a short final step in a 60-year-long journey to genetically alter the pig’s heart so that it would not be immediately rejected – a journey that began with a plane crash in Oxford in the summer of 1940.