The Basics of Physiological Monitoring of Rodents
Working with rodents in biomedical research is a privilege granted to the scientific community on the expectation that studies will provide significant new insights into human health.
KentConnects Blog
Welcome to the KentConnects blog, where we provide tips, best practices, examples, and more helpful information to improve your processes, boost your efficiency, and make your lab work smarter and safer.
Women in Neuroscience: In History and Today
Women have made important contributions in the neuroscience field since even before it emerged as a specific discipline in the mid-20th century.
Animal Research Leads to New Breakthroughs in Breast Cancer
October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, and while the overall death rate from breast cancer has gone down 1% every year from 2013 to 2018, breast cancer is still the most commonly diagnosed cancer among American women and has the second-highest death rates, after lung cancer. In the United States, 13% of women (about 1 in 8) will develop breast cancer at some point in their lives.
Mice and Mental Health: New Mouse Studies May Help Us Understand Depression, Schizophrenia and Other Mental Disorders
For more than 150 years, researchers have used laboratory mice to study various physical diseases and conditions that occur in humans, in part because changes in the body of a rodent are relatively easy to control and study.
What Research with Mice is Teaching Scientists About Obesity and Weight Loss
Obesity is one of the most serious health issues in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, almost 72% of U.S. adults are overweight, more than 42% are obese, and more than 9% are severely obese. Not only does obesity increase the risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and some cancers, it also costs hundreds of billions of dollars a year. Dieting and exercise alone are rarely effective for significant and permanent weight loss, so scientists working with mice are looking for other solutions.
How Animal Research Is Helping Scientists Understand and Treat Parkinson’s Disease
Parkinson’s disease is a disorder of the brain and central nervous system that can cause tremors, stiffness, movement and balance issues, and cognitive impairment. Almost one million people in the U.S. are currently living with Parkinson's disease, about 50 percent more men than women.
The Role of Animal Research in Understanding and Alleviating Pain
Many of the conditions and functions studied by animal researchers are too specific or esoteric to be easily understood by the general public, but there’s one area of study everyone can relate to: pain.
Researchers Work on New Ways to Prevent and Treat COVID-19
We now have several very effective COVID-19 vaccines, but that doesn’t mean the research into preventing and treating the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus has slowed down. Researchers continue to find new and innovative ways to treat COVID-19 and its symptoms, from the use of an over-the-counter dietary supplement to a wide range of new vaccine candidates.
The Importance of Diversity in Biomedical Research
Diversity is a hot-button issue these days, with organizations from police forces to major corporations taking steps to address the lack of racial, cultural, socioeconomic, and gender diversity in their ranks. Biomedical research is no exception.
Mice Studies Help Researchers Understand the Role of Sleep
We know sleep is important: it helps us rest and recharge, and not getting enough can cause all kinds of problems, from depression and difficulty concentrating to an increased risk of chronic disease. Recent research with mice has shed some light on the importance of lights-out.