Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a prion disease of cervids (deer, elk, moose). It was first detected in Wyoming and Colorado, and has since spread rapidly throughout North America (illustrated; image credit). Because prions that cause bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE, mad cow disease) are known to infect humans, there is concern that CWD might also cross the …
Yesterday I terminated the last remaining mice in my small colony, including the line of poliovirus receptor transgenic mice that we established here in 1990. Remarkably, I had never written about this animal model for poliomyelitis which has played an important role in the work done in my laboratory. While I was still working on …
No, not yet. But the recent identification of human occludin as a cell protein required for entry of hepatitis C virus into mouse cells is a huge step in the right direction. Small animal models for virus infection are of great value for studying viral pathogenesis, testing new vaccines, and developing antiviral drugs. However, mice …
