Orphan Receptor GPR55: A New Therapeutic Target for Atherosclerosis?
Since the role of GPR55 in adaptive B cell response regulation has not yet been reported in the context of atherosclerosis, Guillamat-Prats et al. have investigated how GPR55 in B cells affects atherosclerosis development. In this blog post, we highlight the main findings from this study, which was published this month in Nature Cardiovascular Research.
Is DNA Vaccination the Future of Type 1 Diabetes Prevention and Management?
Given the fact that type 1 diabetes can vary considerably between individuals, a precision medicine-based therapeutic approach could revolutionize clinical care. Earlier this year, Postigo-Fernandez et al. evaluated a precision medicine approach to DNA vaccination in a mouse model of type 1 diabetes, which we review in this blog post.
Sugar, Spice, and a Troubling Vice: Cardiovascular and Cancer Risk with Artificial Sweeteners
Artificial sweeteners appear to be the perfect solution to many of the health problems associated with high sugar consumption, but two recent publications may change the public's opinion on these sugar substitutes.
Clearing the Brain Fog: Long COVID and Cognitive Impairment
One common post-COVID symptom is brain fog or "COVID fog," which may affect up to 25% of recovered individuals. Given the global prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 and the detrimental impact of such cognitive impairment, the public health implications are considerable. Fernández-Castañeda et al. recently examined the underlying neurological changes associated with COVID fog, which we review in this blog post.
Fright or Delight? Dopamine-Mediated Fear Response in the Amygdala
Since little is known about how dopamine affects aversive learning in humans, Frick et al. recently sought to describe the role of dopamine in fear memory formation within the human amygdala, which we review in this blog post.
Protocol Preview: Creating an Artificial Human Thymus in Mice
The majority of treatments for immunodeficiencies are temporary fixes, in part due to a lack of preclinical models that can accurately predict immune responses in humans. However, a novel model recently published in Nature Methods has potential to greatly improve future immune response studies, which we review in this blog post.
The Cancer-Immunity Cycle: Research Solutions for Preclinical Immuno-Oncology
Cancer immunotherapy has undoubtedly expanded the cancer treatment landscape and improved patient outlook, which can in part be attributed to the recognition of the importance of the cancer-immunity cycle as a whole. In this blog, we provide an overview of the cancer-immunity cycle and highlight some preclinical models that can facilitate cancer immunotherapy research.
Passive Avoidance Response in Rats: Effects of Handling and Novel Object Recognition
Storing aversive memories is important to survival, but learned avoidance responses decrease over time without reinforcement. Since little is known about the mechanisms behind this process, Bengoetxea de Tena et al. evaluated how naive rats respond to a learning and memory task under fear conditions in a recently published study, which we review in this blog post.
Long-Term Cardiovascular Symptoms of Mild COVID-19
Although the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has been ongoing for more than two years, a clear understanding of the symptoms of long COVID remains elusive. In this blog post, we review a recent study published in Nature Medicine that investigated cardiovascular symptoms in individuals with prior mild SARS-CoV-2 infections.
Skin-on-Chip for Preclinical Herpes Disease Modeling
Organs-on-a-chip are attractive alternatives for bridging the translational gap between preclinical and clinical stages in vaccine development, particularly for herpes simplex virus (HSV). In this blog post, we review an article from Nature Communications on a skin-on-chip device for modeling HSV infection, as well as evaluating immune responses and antiviral drug efficacy (featured image © 2022 Sun et al., licensed under CC BY 4.0).
Biomarker Imaging for Preclinical Cancer Research
Cancer biomarkers that do not cross the translational gap to clinical practice can still further research and drug discovery. In this article, we review several techniques commonly used for cancer biomarker imaging at preclinical stages, as well as recent technological advances.
Overcoming Critical Issues in Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM) Therapeutic Development
This article, originally published on Scientist.com, reviews the current standard of care for glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), challenges in developing accurate preclinical GBM models and effective therapies, and the future of GBM drug discovery.
Functional Ultrasound: Pushing the Boundaries of Neuroimaging
Although ultrasound has been used clinically for decades, advances in its temporal and spatial resolution have opened the door for its use in neuroscience research. In this blog post, we review a very recent and outstanding example of functional ultrasound neuroimaging published in Nature Methods in 2022 (featured image © 2022 Renaudin et al., licensed under CC BY 4.0).
Extracellular Vesicles as Breast Cancer Biomarkers
Triple-negative breast cancer is particularly aggressive, challenging to treat, and accounts for 15-20% of all breast cancers. In this blog, we review a study published in Nature Communications that examines the transforming growth factor-β targetable signaling pathway, its role in malignant cancer progression and immune suppression, and tumor-derived extracellular vesicles as diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers.
Combination Therapy for Cancer Treatment
The combination of anti-cancer drugs, or combination therapy, has been hailed as a “cornerstone of cancer therapy” since it targets key pathways synergistically, thereby enhancing efficacy compared to monotherapies. This blog takes a look at a recent publication in Nature, which reported the effects of 2025 pairwise drug combinations in breast, colon, and pancreatic cell lines.
Inhalable COVID-19 Vaccines: Recent Findings and Breakthroughs
Given that SARS-CoV-2 is primarily transmitted through respiratory droplets, with respiratory mucosa being the main viral entry route, is intramuscular administration the most effective vaccine delivery method to fight COVID-19? In this blog post, we have reviewed one recent study that reported the design and preclinical testing of an inhalable, exosome-based COVID-19 vaccine.
Does Diabetes Promote COVID-19, or Does COVID-19 Promote Diabetes?
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many of those living with diabetes were required to follow strict guidelines to protect themselves against infection as they were at high risk of morbidity and mortality. This blog takes a look at the links between angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) expression and diabetes, as well as incident diabetes and long COVID.
Alzheimer’s Disease: Recent Research & Therapeutic Advances
A review of Alzheimer's disease pathology, conventional treatments and their limitations, as well as emerging and potential therapies including monoclonal antibodies, metabolic therapies, and stem cell therapies.
Recent Advances in Anti-Obesity Pharmacological Research
A review of current obesity treatments and their limitations, the need for animal models in obesity research, and emerging anti-obesity medications including incretin-based therapies, mitochondrial uncouplers, and various phytochemicals.
Milestones and Recent Advances in HIV Research
In honor of World AIDS Day, InsideScientific has set out to provide information on the historical significance of HIV and AIDS, recent advances in anti-HIV therapy, and the impact that COVID-19 has had on HIV testing, diagnosis and treatment around the world.
White Paper – Advancing Cancer Treatments with ALZET® Osmotic Pumps
Success is in the delivery. This white paper from ALZET reviews applications and benefits of osmotic pumps for [...]
Purple Day 2020
Purple Day for Epilepsy awareness was started by a young Canadian back in 2008 with the goal of spreading awareness [...]
InsideScientific: 2019…That’s a wrap!
2019 has been a busy year for us at InsideScientific! Not only have we produced a number of webinars [...]
InsideScientific: 2019 Mid-Year Review
2019 has been a busy year for us at InsideScientific! Not only have we produced a number of webinars [...]
White Paper Review – Infusion vs. Injection: Considerations for Administering Drug Compounds in Small Animal Research
White Paper Review – Infusion vs. Injection: Considerations for Administering Drug Compounds in Small Animal Research Download [...]
