Animal Research

UBC study holds promise for novel and safe treatment for Type 2 diabetes

Reducing a specific protein in the fat cells of mice not only prevents onset of Type 2 diabetes but also appears to reverse the disease in the animals, researchers at the University of British Columbia and Sweden’s Karolinska Institute have found.

Jun 17, 2019

Matchmaking for healthier bees

While poor hygiene may be a deal breaker in human relationships, in bee colonies it can be a matter of life and death.

May 7, 2019

Good mousekeeping: en suite bathroom makes for happier mice

Mice have a strong preference to nest away from their own waste and should be housed in a system of cages that allows them to create a toileting area, according to work led by researchers at the University of British Columbia.

Apr 23, 2019

Cellulose nanocrystals used for bone implants. Credit: Clare Kiernan/UBC

From foam to bone: Plant cellulose can pave the way for healthy bone implants

Researchers from the University of British Columbia and McMaster University have developed what could be the bone implant material of the future: an airy, foamlike substance that can be injected into the body and provide scaffolding for the growth of new bone.

Mar 19, 2019

Left image: In this image, the researchers used a molecule called Gap19 to block the hemichannels, which resulted in smaller stroke damage.

Right image: This image shows the size of a stroke in a mouse’s brain without treatment by Gap19.

New approach to stroke treatment could minimize brain damage

A new treatment for a common type of stroke may soon be possible, thanks to a discovery by an international team of researchers led by the University of British Columbia.

Mar 14, 2019

Farmed salmon pens. Credit: Sam Beebe/Flickr

Cardiorespiratory fitness of farmed Atlantic salmon unaffected by virus

The respiratory systems of Atlantic salmon function normally even when carrying large loads of piscine orthoreovirus (PRV), new UBC research has found.

Mar 13, 2019

Honey bees can help monitor pollution in cities

Honey from urban bees can tell us how clean a city is and help pinpoint the sources of environmental pollutants such as lead, new University of British Columbia research has found.

Mar 11, 2019

New protein “switch” could be key to controlling blood-poisoning and preventing death

Scientists at the University of British Columbia have discovered a new protein “switch” that could stop the progression of blood-poisoning, or sepsis, and increase the chances of surviving the life-threatening disease.

Feb 25, 2019

UBC researchers discover how blood vessels protect the brain during inflammation

Researchers from the University of British Columbia have discovered how blood vessels protect the brain during inflammation—a finding that could lead to the development of new treatments for neurodegenerative diseases such as stroke, epilepsy and multiple sclerosis.

Feb 21, 2019

Arctic ground squirrels were the major seed eaters in the Yukon Credit: Sandra Angers-Blondin, University of Edinburgh

Mega experiment shows species interact more towards tropics and lowlands

One of the largest field experiments ever conducted is providing the best evidence yet in support of a key Darwinian theory—that interactions between species are stronger toward the tropics and at lower elevations.

Feb 20, 2019

The main study site at Kennedy Lake on Vancouver Island, British Columbia (left) and a threespine stickleback fish (right). Credit: Seth Rudman

Fish chemical cocktail reveals how a single gene may alter an aquatic ecosystem

Variations in a single gene in tiny stickleback fish alter how they interact with their environment and potentially trigger changes across an ecosystem, a new study from the University of British Columbia and the University of Pennsylvania finds.

Feb 6, 2019

UBC releases 2017 animal research statistics

The University of British Columbia’s summary of animals involved in research at the university in 2017 is now posted online here as part of UBC’s overall commitment to openness and transparency.

Dec 13, 2018

Industrial fisheries are starving seabirds all around the world

Industrial fisheries are starving seabirds like penguins and terns by competing for the same prey sources, new research from the French National Center for Scientific Research in Montpellier and the Sea Around Us initiative at the University of British Columbia has found.

Dec 6, 2018

Researchers measure calves’ sociability trait by the proximity they choose between themselves and other calves in a group pen.

Dairy calves’ personalities predict their ability to cope with stress

A UBC study published earlier this year found that dairy calves have distinct personality traits from a very young age. Now researchers have followed up that study by examining those same calves at four months of age, to find out how their personality traits govern their reactions to real-world situations.

Dec 4, 2018

Adult stage of the parasitoid Zatypota species wasp (left); Larva of Zatypota wasp attached to the abdomen of an Anelosimus eximius spider.

Newly discovered wasp turns social spiders into zombies

It sounds like the plot of the world’s tiniest horror movie: deep in the Ecuadorian Amazon, a newly discovered species of wasp transforms a “social” spider into a zombie-like drone that abandons its colony to do the wasp’s bidding.

Nov 27, 2018

3D illustration of immune system T cells attacking cancer cells.

Novel discovery could lead to new cancer, autoimmune disease therapy

A new discovery by an international research team—co-led by UBC Canada 150 Research Chair Josef Penninger and Harvard Medical School Professor Clifford Woolf—could have implications for therapies for cancer and autoimmune diseases.

Nov 7, 2018

Casino lights and sounds encourage risky decision-making

The blinking lights and exciting jingles in casinos may encourage risky decision-making and potentially promote problem gambling behaviour, suggests new research from the University of British Columbia.

Oct 29, 2018

Previous motherhood could affect hormone therapy’s ability to prevent memory loss

Researchers have established that the foggy feeling and forgetfulness that many new mothers report during and after pregnancy—known as “mom brain”— is real.

Oct 11, 2018

Lowering levels of mutant protein that causes Huntington disease can restore cognitive function in mice

New research from the University of British Columbia suggests that reducing mutated Huntington disease protein in the brain can restore cognitive and psychiatric impairments in mice.

Oct 3, 2018

J16 making rainbows while surfacing, near Saturna Island's East Point. Credit: Miles Ritter/Flickr

Climate change fuels accumulation of pollutants in Chinook salmon, killer whales

University of British Columbia researchers studying the marine food web of the Northeast Pacific Ocean have found that the exposure and accumulation of chemical pollutants, such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organic mercury, will be exacerbated under climate change.

Sep 11, 2018