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Animals in Research — From the UTMB Newsroom

  • SARS-CoV-2 can infect testes, UTMB researchers find

    Researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch have found SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, in the testes of infected hamsters. The findings, published in the journal Microorganisms, could help explain symptoms that some men with COVID-19 have reported and have important implications for men’s health. As the pandemic goes on... more   »

  • Why doesn’t Ebola cause disease in bats, as it does in people?

    GALVESTON, Texas – A new study by researchers from The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston uncovered new information on why the Ebola virus can live within bats without causing them harm, while the same virus wreaks deadly havoc to people. This study is now available in Cell Reports. The Ebola virus causes a devastating, often fa... more   »

  • Post-exposure antibody treatment protects those recently vaccinated against Ebola

    After Ebola vaccination, it takes three days to build enough immunity to protect against infection. If exposed to Ebola in this post-vaccination period, antibody treatment protects against disease. GALVESTON, Texas – With more widespread deployment of the Ebola vaccine to people living and working within hot zones, recently vaccinated peAfte... more   »

  • Researchers learn how Ebola virus disables the body’s immune defenses

    GALVESTON, Texas – A new study by researchers from The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston uncovered new information on why the Ebola virus can exert such catastrophic effects on the infected person. They’ve described for the first time how the virus disables T cells, an important line of immune defense, thus rendering the i... more   »

  • Researchers develop new vaccine against deadly Middle East Respiratory Syndrome

    Although the virus is initially spread from camel to human, it can then spread from person to person GALVESTON, Texas – A collaborative team from The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, Saudi Arabia and Canada developed a potent and safe vaccine that protects against the deadly Middle East respiratory syndrome, or MERS. The find... more   »

  • UTMB develops drug to rejuvenate muscle cells

    Elderly to feel fitter, faster and stronger GALVESTON, Texas – Researchers from The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston have developed a promising drug that has proven to significantly increase muscle size, strength and metabolic state in aged mice, according to a study just published in Biochemical Pharmacology. As we age, our ... more   »

  • Scientists gain new insight on triggers for preterm birth

    GALVESTON, Texas – A group of scientists led by Ramkumar Menon at The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston have gained new insight on a poorly-understood key player in the timing of labor and delivery. This new information brings scientists closer to being able to prevent preterm births. This study is in Scientific Reports. Accord... more   »

  • New insights into why we crave fatty foods when dieting

    GALVESTON, Texas – Have you ever wondered why we crave the very foods that we try to avoid when dieting? Or wish there was a way to turn off the craving? Researchers from The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston have identified new brain circuits that may act as a brake on binge eating and junk food craving. In rats who had spen... more   »

  • Scientists develop universal Ebola treatment effective in single dose

    GALVESTON, Texas – There is a new medication that in one dose successfully protected nonhuman primates against a lethal infection of all strains of the deadly Ebola virus. The findings are now available in Cell Host & Microbe. Dr. Thomas Geisbert, a world-renowned Ebola researcher at The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, s... more   »

  • Stopping inflammation before it starts could lead to longer, healthier lives

     Researchers find that blocking a specific DNA repair protein stops inflammatory response  GALVESTON, Texas – Inflammation is typically the body’s way of dealing with infections or irritants and starting the healing process. But like anything else, too much of a good thing can be harmful. Chronic inflammation is associat... more   »

  • Scientists identify protein in the brain that allows West Nile virus to invade

    GALVESTON, Texas –A recent study by The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston identified a protein that allows the West Nile virus to invade our bodies and replicate itself, causing infection and disease. The study is available in The Journal of Clinical Investigation. The UTMB scientists learned that the protein, Peli1, that norma... more   »

  • UTMB develops a universal vaccine platform that’s cheaper and shelf stable

    GALVESTON, Texas – Researchers at The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston have developed a less expensive way to produce vaccines that cuts the cost of vaccine production and storage by 80 percent without decreasing safety or effectiveness. The findings are currently available in EBioMedicine.  Vaccines are the most eff... more   »

  • UTMB adapts Zika vaccine to fight brain cancer

    Vaccine attacked cancer cells but not healthy ones GALVESTON, Texas – Researchers at The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston have successfully harnessed a Zika virus vaccine under development to target and kill the brain cancer known as glioblastoma. The findings are currently available in MBio. The Zika virus can cause microcep... more   »

  • UTMB researchers successfully transplant bioengineered lung

    GALVESTON, Texas – A research team at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston have bioengineered lungs and transplanted them into adult pigs with no medical complication. In 2014, Joan Nichols and Joaquin Cortiella from The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston were the first research team to successfully bioengineer hu... more   »

  • Newly developed therapeutic shown to combat drug addiction

    GALVESTON, Texas – A new therapeutic may help reverse chemical imbalances made to the brain by habitual drug use and could one day help recovering drug addicts avoid future drug use. Researchers from The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston developed and tested a treatment on rats and found it effective in reducing the animals&rsq... more   »

  • New breakthrough paving the way for universal Ebola therapeutic

    GALVESTON, Texas –A new collaborative study has identified and studied Ebola antibodies that could be used to design universal therapeutics that are effective against many different Ebola species. The findings were recently published in Nature Microbiology. The Ebola virus causes a severe illness with high mortality rates in humans. Several ... more   »

  • Shining new light on halting the progression of Alzheimer’s Disease

    GALVESTON, Texas – A light that is barely visible to the human eye could be the key to stopping the terrible effects of Alzheimer’s. A new study from The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston shows that using near infrared light on the heads of mice can effectively reduce vulnerability to the damaging effects of a toxic che... more   »

  • Zika virus mimics host’s immune system, triggering hosts body to attack itself

    GALVESTON, Texas – A research team from the U.S., Germany and Singapore, led by The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, has uncovered evidence that parts of the Zika virus closely resemble parts of the host’s own immune system, which may trigger the host’s body to mount a defense against both the Zika virus as well as... more   »

  • Researchers develop Lassa fever treatment effective eight days after infection

    GALVESTON, Texas – A collaborative team of scientists, led by a group at The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, have successfully protected nonhuman primates against one of the most deadly viruses in the world, Lassa fever, eight days after they became infected. The findings are now available in Nature Medicine. The virus, for ... more   »

  • Zika vaccine protects fetus against infection and birth defects

    When given during pregnancy, the Zika vaccine protects unborn fetus against infection and birth defects. GALVESTON, Texas – Immunizing female mice with a Zika vaccine can protect their developing fetus from infection and birth defects during pregnancy, according to new research from The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. The fi... more   »

  • Researchers develop Marburg virus treatment effective five days after infection

    GALVESTON, Texas – An antibody treatment successfully protected nonhuman primates against the deadly Marburg and Ravn viruses even when given five days after becoming infected, according to the latest findings of a collaborative team from The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, Mapp Biopharmaceutical Inc., and Vanderbilt Universi... more   »

  • UTMB scientists uncover how Zika virus causes microcephaly

    GALVESTON, Texas – A multidisciplinary team from The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston has uncovered the mechanisms that the Zika virus uses to alter brain development. These findings are detailed in Stem Cell Reports. There are currently 70 countries and territories reporting active Zika transmission, according to the World He... more   »

  • UTMB researchers discover reason for permanent vision loss after head injury

    GALVESTON, Texas – Research from The University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston has shed new light on what causes the permanent vision loss sometimes seen in the wake of a head injury. The findings are detained in The American Journal of Pathology. When someone suffers a head trauma, sometimes there is damage to the optic nerve that is ... more   »

  • UTMB develops an oral vaccine against Salmonella

    GALVESTON, Texas – Researchers from The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston have developed a vaccine against salmonella poisoning designed to be taken by mouth. The findings are detailed in an article published in Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology. In earlier studies, the UTMB researchers developed potential vaccin... more   »

  • UTMB researchers develop new candidate vaccines against the plague

    GALVESTON, Texas – Researchers from The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston have developed new potential vaccines that protect animals against the bacteria that causes the deadly plague. These findings are detailed in NPJ Vaccines. The plague of Black Death infamy has had the power to strike fear in people since the Middle Ages ... more   »

  • New study uncovers mechanisms underlying how diabetes damages the heart

    GALVESTON, Texas – Cardiac complications are the number one cause of death among diabetics. Now a team of scientists has uncovered a molecular mechanism involved in a common form of heart damage found in people with diabetes. A research team from The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston in collaboration with Baylor College of Medi... more   »