lab mice

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.

Urinary tract infections leave permanent epigenetic marks in the mouse bladder epithelium, reprogramming its response to subsequent infections, a study finds.

Some of the foundational studies in the field were neither ethical by today’s standards nor replicable. But we can do better.

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.

The opportunistic pathogen Klebsiella aerogenes degrades estradiol and induces depressive-like behavior in mice, a study finds.

A hormone naturally induced by alcohol consumption accelerates the recovery of mice after binge drinking by activating neurons involved in arousal and alertness.

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.

A previously undetected pathway in the mouse brain bypasses the visual cortex to directly activate contagious itch.

Researchers say there may be similar, human genes whose effects on lifespan vary by sex.

The findings likely have implications for animal research far beyond the study of antidepressants.

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.

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 study reveals a molecular pathway linking exercise to an amped-up immune response to pancreatic cancer and greater responsiveness to treatment.

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.

Microbes in the gut influence the death of support cells in the brain by producing isoamylamine, a study suggests.

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.

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 mouse study points to a possible mechanism by which the smallpox vaccine helped eradicate the disease in the 1980s.

The geneticist’s long career included leading the laboratory’s recovery from a devastating 1989 fire.