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Study finds coordination of brain and breathing rhythms during sleep begins early in life
                  
  
      The findings could inform our understanding of sleep-related breathing disorders in children
  
                
                                                                           
Reversing high blood pressure in offspring of hypertensive rats
                  
  
      Findings may open new avenues of research to prevent transfer of health conditions from mothers to children
  
                
                                                                           
Brain stimulation improves schizophrenia-like cognitive problems
                  
  
      Researchers identified the cerebellum as a potential target for treating diseases that affect thinking, attention, and planning
  
                
                                                                           
Early UI research on coronaviruses sets the stage for COVID-19 vaccine
In 2007, two UI professors led a team in creating a genetically modified mouse susceptible to infection by SARS in order to study the coronavirus and its potential treatments. When the COVID-19 pandemic began, The Jackson Laboratory, the world’s largest supplier of research mice, re-created and bred this UI-developed mouse model that scientists around the globe could use in their quest for effective therapies against COVID-19. The UI team has since created other mouse models valuable for understanding the virus and the immune system’s response.
 
Finding more genes associated with cleft lip and palate
                  
  
      The research team identified three genes that cause cleft lip or palate, which occurs in about 1 in every 1,600 babies born in the U.S.
  
                
                                                                          UI biologists identify gene involved in kidney-related birth defects
                  
  
      The finding, which was confirmed using zebrafish and mice, allows for families carrying the mutation to be told in advance whether their children are at risk of inheriting the disorder
  
                
                                                                           
Creating nanoparticle-vaccine combination to target melanoma
                  
  
      Experiments in mice eliminated cancerous tumors or extended survival
  
                
                                                                           
Using nanoparticles to target, kill endometrial cancer
                  
  
      The new treatment could mean improved survival rates for the roughly 6,000 U.S. women diagnosed with type II endometrial cancer every year
  
                
                                                                           
Gut microbes: Burning calories while you sleep?
                  
  
      Study links changes in gut bacteria to lower resting metabolic rate and weight gain in mice
  
                
                                                                           
Vitamin nicotinamide riboside protects mice from diabetes complications
                  
  
      A naturally occurring vitamin, nicotinamide riboside, can lower blood sugar levels, reduce fatty liver, and prevent peripheral nerve damage in mouse models of diabetes
  
                
                                                                          For more background on the scientific advancements made possible by animal research, please visit Learn more.