Compound doubles up on cancer detection

Tagging a pair of markers found almost exclusively on a common brain cancer yields a cancer signal that is both more obvious and more specific to cancer, according to a study published last week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (P…

Model brain tissues could replace animal tests

UW–Madison stem cell scientists and biomedical engineers can grow three-dimensional models of brain tissue that could replace animals in screening studies that test the toxicity of chemicals such as new drugs, according to a study published this month in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The researchers were able to coax stem cells into differentiating into several different types of brain cells and begin to organize themselves into a structure that resembles a developing human brain. Employing rats and mice in toxicity screening tests protects humans from unknown dangers that may be caused by new drugs and chemicals used in commerce, but tissue grown from stem cells could make broader, faster testing work without employing animals. Read more from the Morgridge Institute for Research: Stem cells help predict neural toxicity … and at Scientific American: “Brain in a Dish” Could Replace Toxic Animal Tests

Proposed ban on fetal tissue would halt lifesaving research, scientists say

A bill before the State Assembly aimed at banning the scientific use of fetal tissue would halt work that could alleviate or end the suffering of innumerable patients struggling with diseases from Alzheimer’s to viral infections, scientists from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, the Medical College of Wisconsin and Wisconsin’s biomedical community told state legislators at […]

News coverage of inherited anxiety study

Earlier this month, a new study from the Department of Psychiatry and the HealthEmotions Research Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Madison of an extended family of monkeys provides important insights into how the risk of developing anxiety and depression is passed from parents to children.