(Press-News.org) DENVER/Aug. 4, 2023 – A recent scientific paper published in the journal Microorganisms highlights the development of the first broad range of reptile cell lines, a significant feat that researchers say will help advance reptile conservation.
In the study, which was funded by Morris Animal Foundation and conducted by researchers at the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine, researchers established cell lines from a variety of reptiles, including crocodilians, snakes, turtles, tortoises and lizards. Cell lines are populations of cells from multicellular organisms that have been grown in a laboratory and can be used for a variety of research purposes, such as vaccine production and drug testing. In addition, cell lines can replace the need for live animals in scientific research, a significant advancement for animal welfare.
“This is going to provide a set of tools that previously was entirely unavailable,” said Dr. Robert J. Ossiboff, the lead investigator in the study and a clinical associate professor at UF. “It's hopefully going to push reptile disease research into the next generation.”
Ossiboff said funding for studies like this one is vital as work related to reptile and amphibian diseases continually lags research for almost all other animal species.
“When you have species that are not your charismatic megafauna – not everyone loves them all the time – it's really hard to find that type of funding,” he said. “That's why Morris Animal Foundation is so essential.”
About Morris Animal Foundation
Morris Animal Foundation’s mission is to bridge science and resources to advance the health of animals. Founded in 1948 and headquartered in Denver, it is one of the largest nonprofit animal health research organizations in the world, funding nearly $160 million in more than 3,000 critical animal health studies to date across a broad range of species. Learn more at morrisanimalfoundation.org.
Media Contact: Annie Mehl
END
Morris Animal Foundation-funded researchers establish new reptile cell lines
2023-08-04
[Attachments] See images for this press release:
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Medical student receives the ASH Medical Student Physician-Scientist Award
2023-08-04
Sarah Qureshy, a fourth-year medical student at Weill Cornell Medical College, has been selected by the American Society of Hematology (ASH) as one of four medical students nationwide to receive the 2023-24 ASH Medical Student Physician-Scientist (PhySci) Award.
The ASH PhySci Awards support first-, second- and third-year medical students looking to gain experience in hematology research under the mentorship of an ASH member and to learn more about the specialty. This award, which provides one-year $42,000 grant funding, will enable Qureshy to take a year off from her schooling to carry out an immersive project conducting laboratory, translational ...
Environmental evaluation: ONR part of joint effort to deploy data buoys across Arctic Ocean
2023-08-04
ARLINGTON, Va.—In July 2023, the Office of Naval Research (ONR) partnered with the 144th Airlift Squadron of the Alaska Air National Guard to deploy five different types of weather buoys across more than 1,000 nautical miles of the Arctic Ocean.
Such deployments are critical for maintaining the Arctic Observing Network (AON), which provides observations for weather and ice forecasting and related research.
The buoy air deployment supported the International Arctic Buoy Programme (IABP), a collaborative program comprising more than 32 different research and operational institutions from 10 different countries and four international agencies — including the International Cooperative ...
DOE awards $135 million for groundbreaking research by 93 early career scientists
2023-08-04
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced the selection of 93 early career scientists from across the country who will receive a combined $135 million in funding for research covering a wide range of topics, from artificial intelligence to astrophysics to fusion energy. The 2023 Early Career Research Program awardees represent 47 universities and 12 DOE National Laboratories across the country. These awards are a part of the DOE’s long-standing efforts to develop the next generation of STEM leaders ...
An adjuvanted intranasal vaccine for COVID-19 protects both young and old mice
2023-08-04
While much of the global concern has subsided, COVID-19 is still a very real threat, especially to people with compromised immune systems or who are over 65.
Vaccination offers excellent protection against serious illness and death, but the current vaccines have room for improvement in their ability to stop the spread of SARS-CoV-2 at the point of entry in the upper respiratory tract.
A collaborative research effort led by the University of Michigan and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai has resulted in a nasal vaccine adjuvant that stops ...
Five ORNL scientists to receive DOE Early Career Research awards
2023-08-04
The Department of Energy’s Office of Science has selected five Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientists for Early Career Research Program awards.
Since its inception in 2010, the program bolsters national scientific discovery by supporting early career researchers in fields pertaining to the Office of Science's eight major program offices: Advanced Scientific Computing Research, Biological and Environmental Research, Basic Energy Sciences, Fusion Energy Sciences, High Energy Physics, Nuclear Physics, Accelerator R&D and Production and Isotope R&D and Production.
Award ...
In the treetops: USU ecologist studies canopy soil abundance, chemistry
2023-08-04
LOGAN, UTAH, USA - When we think of soil, most of us think of dirt on the ground. But a surprising amount of the planet’s soil thrives in the treetops of old-growth forests, high above terra firma.
This organic matter, composed of decaying leaves and branches, airborne particulates and moisture, is called canopy soil or arboreal soil. Its study is relatively new, says Utah State University ecologist Jessica Murray. She’s among researchers unraveling mysteries of the dense, mossy humus that provides rich habitat for insects, birds, fungi, worms and plants, as well as a generous reservoir for carbon storage.
Murray and colleagues from Texas ...
HSE researchers question the correctness of experiments denying free will
2023-08-04
Neuroscientists from HSE University have criticized the famous studies that question the free will of our decisions. You can’t shift responsibility for your actions to the brain. The results of the new work were published in the Neuropsychologia journal.
The dispute about how much free will people have in making their decisions has been going for decades. Neuroscientists have joined this discussion thanks to the electroencephalographic (EEG) experiments of Benjamin Libet. In the 1970-1980s, he showed that 0.5–1.5 seconds before conscious awareness of the intention to perform a movement, subjects ...
Kordofan giraffes face local extinction if poaching continues
2023-08-04
For immediate release
Friday 4 August 2023
Kordofan giraffes face local extinction if poaching continues
Poaching of two Critically Endangered Kordofan giraffes per year could result in extinction in just 15 years within Cameroon’s Bénoué National Park without intervention. These are the alarming new findings of a University of Bristol and Bristol Zoological Society-led study published in the African Journal of Ecology.
One of the last populations of Kordofan giraffes roam Cameroon's Bénoué ...
Team creates power generator that runs on natural atmospheric humidity
2023-08-04
Scientists are looking for ways to use the low-value energy widely distributed in natural environments to generate electricity. A research team has created a power generator that collects the natural atmospheric humidity and produces continuous electrical signals. This is the first humidity generator designed using a nano-sized material called polyoxometalates. It holds the potential of being a new research direction for polyoxometalates in the sustainable utilization of low-value energy.
The team’s work is published in the journal Nano Research on August 01.
The team set out to solve ...
New deep-learning approach gets to the bottom of colonoscopy
2023-08-04
Researchers have developed a pair of modules that gives a boost to the use of artificial neural networks to identify potentially cancerous growths in colonoscopy imagery, traditionally plagued by image noise resulting from the colonoscopy insertion and rotation process itself.
A paper describing the approach was published in the journal CAAI Artificial Intelligence Research on June 30.
Colonoscopy is the gold standard for detecting colorectal growths or ‘polyps’ in the inner lining of your colon, also known as the large intestine. ...