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NEWS
MU Project Studies Increasing Prevalence of Chronic Wasting Disease
Findings help increase awareness for deer hunters, surveillance efforts in Midwest. Researchers at the University of Missouri have found chronic wasting disease – a fatal illness found in deer that affects their neurological system and causes chronic weight loss – has spread fivefold among Kansas state counties, raising concerns about the spread of the disease and the importance of educating hunters about it. “In 2009, there were only six Kansas counties with confirmed positive cases of chronic wasting disease, and by 2020, there were 32 Kansas counties with confirmed positive cases,” said Zoe Koestel, a doctoral student at MU. “There…
Cats Less Stressed After Adoption by Families with Children with Autism, MU Study Finds
While researchers have found that adding a shelter cat to the family can help lower stress and anxiety for children with autism, a new study at the University of Missouri shows that joining a family does wonders for the felines, too. “It’s not only important to examine how families of children with autism may benefit from these wonderful companion animals, but also if the relationship is stressful or burdensome for the shelter cats being adopted into a new, perhaps unpredictable environment,” said Gretchen Carlisle, a research scientist at the MU Research Center for Human-Animal Interaction (ReCHAI) in the MU College…
‘Dark Matter’ in Cat Genomes May Shed Light on Human Disease
MU researchers find cat genome resembles human genome more closely than nearly all other mammals. While dogs may be man’s best friend, cats are more genetically similar to humans than nearly any other mammal, according to a researcher and her team at the University of Missouri. The findings, published today in Trends in Genetics, come after decades of genome DNA sequencing by Leslie Lyons, a Gilbreath-McLorn endowed professor of comparative medicine in the MU College of Veterinary Medicine. “Comparative genetics can play a key role in precision medicine and translational medicine, particularly for inherited diseases that affect both cats and…
CVM Serves as Clinical Investigation Site for Liquid Biopsy Study
The University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine participated in what may be the largest-ever clinical research program in veterinary cancer diagnostics. In May, PetDx, a San Diego-based company, announced the launch of OncoK9 at select sites. According to PetDx, OncoK9 is a first-in-class multi-cancer test that allows early detection of the disease in dogs with a simple blood draw. OncoK9’s clinical validation involved collecting blood samples from more than 1,600 dogs across more than 50 clinical investigation sites spanning four continents. The MU CVM was one of the sites selected to participate in the study, which exemplifies precision medicine….
Ticking Upward: MU Researcher Studies Rise of Tick-borne Diseases in Midwest
When Ram Raghavan heard from a former colleague at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that a 7-year-old girl had died from Rocky Mountain spotted fever as the result of a tick bite, he thought of his own daughter, also 7 years old at the time, and the potentially fatal danger posed to vulnerable populations by tick-borne diseases. Now a professor at the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine and School of Health Professions, Raghavan is an epidemiologist studying how ticks, mosquitos and other arthropods spread disease that impact people, pets and livestock over time in various geographical…
Lighting Up Biology From Within
Researchers at the University of Missouri have created a low-cost, portable device that can apply non-invasive bioluminescent imaging technology to many uses in animals, humans. A biochemical reaction between an enzyme called luciferase and oxygen causes fireflies to glow and is considered one of the most well-known examples of bioluminescence in nature. Now, an international team of researchers led by Elena Goun at the University of Missouri is working to harness the power of bioluminescence in a low-cost, noninvasive portable medical imaging device that could one day be applied to many uses in biomedical research, translational medicine and clinical diagnoses….
Genetically Modified Mosquitoes Key to Stopping Zika Virus Spread
In 2016, the World Health Organization called the Zika virus epidemic a “public health emergency of international concern” due to the virus causing birth defects for pregnant women in addition to neurological problems. Since then, researchers have wrestled with different strategies for controlling the spread of Zika virus, which gets transmitted to humans from female mosquito bites. One approach, which was approved by the Environmental Protection Agency in May, will release more than 750 million genetically modified mosquitoes into the Florida Keys in 2021 and 2022. These “suicide mosquitoes” are genetically-altered to produce offspring that die before emerging into adults…
Cats May Help Increase Empathy, Decrease Anxiety for Kids with Autism
As a former school nurse in the Columbia Public Schools, Gretchen Carlisle would often interact with students with disabilities who took various medications or had seizures throughout the day. At some schools, the special education teacher would bring in dogs, guinea pigs and fish as a reward for good behavior, and Carlisle noticed what a calming presence the pets seemed to be for the students with disabilities. Now a research scientist at the MU Research Center for Human-Animal Interaction (ReCHAI) in the MU College of Veterinary Medicine, Carlisle studies the benefits that companion animals can have for families. Although there…
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