Peanut is a dog with a naturally-occurring form of muscular dystrophy. He is resting with his research technician after a round of walking across a specially-designed floor plate that measures and records the strength of his muscles to determine whether treatments to reverse the disease are effective.
View and ShareHamsters are important in many research areas, including cancer, reproduction, virology, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases. Hamsters and humans metabolize fats and sugars in similar ways, leading to susceptibility to atherosclerosis and diabetes. When fed high fat diets, hamsters’ LDL cholesterol (the bad cholesterol) will elevate, as in humans, and lead…
Visit Species PageRabbits are the reason our dogs and cats can live with us in our houses. Louis Pasteur worked with rabbits to develop the first rabies vaccine which made it safe to bring pets into our homes. Rabbits have a similar anatomy and physiology to humans, especially their cardiovascular system, and…
Visit Species PageImmunodeficient mice, like this one, need specialized care to ensure their health is not compromised. They are important for several research areas including immunology, infectious disease, cancer, and organ transplantation. These particular mice are bred so that they lack a thymus gland, which reduces the number of T cells in…
View and ShareTwirl is a rat within a training colony at a research facility. Her job is to help researchers become comfortable around rats and to ensure that they have the skills to humanely handle rats. Twirl's teacher spends time with her regularly to strengthen the human-animal bond making Twirl's role in…
View and ShareGuinea pigs are an excellent model for studying human hearing mechanisms because of the similarities in both outer and inner ear structures. They are especially valuable in cochlear implant research because their cochleae are easily accessible and large enough to implant multiple commercially-available electrodes to aid in gathering data for…
View and ShareUniversity of Oregon scientists have identified brain cells vital to how zebrafish socialize.
Read MoreShort-term strength training shows health gains even without weight loss.
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