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Hamster pups sleep on sawdust bedding.
Unveiling the Mysteries of Hibernation and Torpor
Neuroscientist Siniša Hrvatin explores how animals initiate and regulate states of dormancy.
Unveiling the Mysteries of Hibernation and Torpor
Unveiling the Mysteries of Hibernation and Torpor

Neuroscientist Siniša Hrvatin explores how animals initiate and regulate states of dormancy.

Neuroscientist Siniša Hrvatin explores how animals initiate and regulate states of dormancy.

lab mice

Image of methylated DNA
Stress Increases Biological Age, But Recovery Can Revert It
Alejandra Manjarrez, PhD | Apr 21, 2023 | 2 min read
A new study relying on DNA methylation clocks suggests that the biological age of mouse and human cells can fluctuate in response to stressful events.
Bladder epithelial tissue, where cell junctions are shown in green and nuclei in blue. This was grown in vitro from cells taken from mice with chronic cystitis.
Bladder ‘Memory’ Influences Urinary Tract Infection Recurrence in Mice
Alejandra Manjarrez, PhD | Apr 12, 2023 | 3 min read
Urinary tract infections leave permanent epigenetic marks in the mouse bladder epithelium, reprogramming its response to subsequent infections, a study finds.
Scientists or veterinary workers doing experiments in lab with experimental animals biological genetic engineering research
Addressing the Problematic Past of Animal Behavior Research
Holly Root-Gutteridge, PhD and Anna Korzeniowska | Apr 3, 2023 | 4 min read
Some of the foundational studies in the field were neither ethical by today’s standards nor replicable. But we can do better.
Image of the fly brain (grey) highlighting the population of neurons (pink) to which the gut-secreted peptide CCHa1 signals
A Protein-Rich Diet Helps Mice and Flies Sleep More Soundly: Study
Alejandra Manjarrez, PhD | Mar 24, 2023 | 3 min read
The effect appears to be mediated by a gut-secreted peptide that signals to neurons in the brain that modulate the response to mechanical vibrations.
Two pink-colored, rod-shaped bacteria interacting with a blue-colored human cell
Gut Bacterium Linked to Depression in Premenopause
Alejandra Manjarrez, PhD | Mar 17, 2023 | 2 min read
The opportunistic pathogen Klebsiella aerogenes degrades estradiol and induces depressive-like behavior in mice, a study finds.
A cross-section of mouse brain showing the locus coeruleus in fluorescent green
Hormone Sobers Up Drunken Mice: Study
Alejandra Manjarrez, PhD | Mar 8, 2023 | 3 min read
A hormone naturally induced by alcohol consumption accelerates the recovery of mice after binge drinking by activating neurons involved in arousal and alertness.
Pink neutrophils on a white background.
Mucus-Eating Gut Bacteria May Promote Fever After Cancer Treatment
Alejandra Manjarrez, PhD | Jan 5, 2023 | 3 min read
The expansion of mucus-degraders in the mouse gut—possibly due to poor nutrition—thins the colon’s mucus layer and may weaken defenses against blood-infecting microbes.
Drawing of a mouse scratching itself after watching a video of a different mouse scratching itself.
Specialized Brain Circuit Makes Mice Itchy When They See Others Scratch
Dan Robitzski | Oct 12, 2022 | 4 min read
A previously undetected pathway in the mouse brain bypasses the visual cortex to directly activate contagious itch.
White mice in a clear plastic cage
Different Genes Influence Lifespan in Male and Female Mice
Natalia Mesa, PhD | Sep 29, 2022 | 3 min read
Researchers say there may be similar, human genes whose effects on lifespan vary by sex.
blue-gloved hands injecting mouse with syringe
Sex of Researcher Influences Ketamine’s Effects in Mice: Study
Shawna Williams | Sep 8, 2022 | 3 min read
The findings likely have implications for animal research far beyond the study of antidepressants.
Bright purple and orange lactobacillus bacteria.
How a Specific Gut Bacterium May Trigger Type 1 Diabetes
Dan Robitzski | Aug 25, 2022 | 6 min read
What triggers type 1 diabetes has been difficult to prove, but a bacterium that produces an insulin-like peptide can give mice type 1 diabetes, and infection with the microbe seems to predict the onset of the disease in humans.
mouse nose peeking out from between two yellow objects
Not-so-Mellow Yellow: Pregnant Mice’s Urine Stresses Out Males
Sophie Fessl, PhD | Jun 20, 2022 | 3 min read
An odorant found in the pee of pregnant mice—and in bananas—induces stress but also relieves pain in male mice, a study shows.
A small, brown mouse runs on a narrow, miniature treadmill
How Exercise Helps Mice Fight Pancreatic Cancer
Dan Robitzski | Jun 15, 2022 | 5 min read
A study reveals a molecular pathway linking exercise to an amped-up immune response to pancreatic cancer and greater responsiveness to treatment.
Artist’s rendition of bright blue microbes among intestinal lining
Study Links Depression with High Levels of an Amino Acid
Dan Robitzski | Jun 14, 2022 | 5 min read
Experiments in animals and observations in humans suggest that the amount of proline circulating in one’s plasma has a strong association with depression severity.
A white lab mouse peers over the wall of a sprawling maze
Bacterial Metabolite May Regulate Cognition in Mice
Sophie Fessl, PhD | Jun 3, 2022 | 3 min read
Microbes in the gut influence the death of support cells in the brain by producing isoamylamine, a study suggests.
A colorized transmission electron microscope image of an oligodendrocyte (blue) surrounded by cells that it coated in myelin (red outlines).
Brain Fluid from Youngsters Gives Old Mice a Memory Boost
Dan Robitzski | May 11, 2022 | 3 min read
A growth factor found in the cerebrospinal fluid of young mice triggered the proliferation of myelin-making cells when injected into the brains of older mice.
A white mouse huddles with some of her nine-day-old pups.
In Vivo Gene Therapy Cures Infertility in Mice
Dan Robitzski | May 2, 2022 | 2 min read
Mice rendered infertile through ovary cell–targeting mutations gave birth to seemingly normal offspring through natural mating after a virus-based gene therapy was injected into their ovaries.
A two-pronged needle, a glass vial of smallpox vaccine, and a syringe sit on a blue surface.
Smallpox Vaccine Recruits Skin Bacteria to Fight Disease
Patience Asanga | Apr 26, 2022 | 3 min read
A mouse study points to a possible mechanism by which the smallpox vaccine helped eradicate the disease in the 1980s.
Ken Paigen
Former Jackson Lab Director Ken Paigen Dies
Shawna Williams | Feb 20, 2020 | 3 min read
The geneticist’s long career included leading the laboratory’s recovery from a devastating 1989 fire.
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