Researchers have successfully used a chemical called casein kinase 1 to reset and restart the natural 24-hour body clock in mice. This opens up the possibility of treatments for human mental illnesses such as bipolar disorder which are associated with abnormalities of the body clock.

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• Journal: PNAS
• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1005101107
• Publication date: 24 Aug 10

Animal research is a favourite topic when teachers are looking for a sure-fire way to get their students interested in the ethics of science, but are schools getting all they can from this complex, sometimes difficult, always fascinating subject?

This August, Understanding Animal Research invited 10 science teachers to spend three days at the National Science Learning Centre in York to to consider what resources teachers need to get to grips with animal research and to start the development of the first animal research educational resource created by teachers, for teachers, and a first step towards making animal research part of the secondary education of every young person in the UK.

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Monkeys treated with a therapy that targets specific viral genes survived deadly Ebola and Marbug infections.

Scientists working with ‘antisense' compounds developed a therapy which protected guinea pigs, mice and monkeys from exposure to the Ebola virus. It is believed that the antisense compound enters host cells and prevents the pathogen from replicating.

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• Journal: Nature Medicine
• DOI: 10.1038/nm.2202
• Publication date: 22 Aug 10

The recently published Annual Report (2009) of the Animals Scientific Procedures Inspectorate and Division highlights progress towards suitable alternatives to replace the use of mice in the testing for toxins in shellfish.

The Inspectorate has been working with the Food Standards Agency (which has funded a large amount of work on developing alternative methods) and the UK testing laboratories to find validated replacements for these mouse tests. A chemical method has been developed that is effective in detecting PSP in mussels, the shellfish species that is most frequently tested. This new method has therefore replaced mice in the majority of tests for PSP toxins, thus significantly reducing the number of animals that are used.

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