Torrey Pines Instruments

08/16/2025

08/16/2025

As evidenced in mice cells:

Some cancer cells don't die after remission—they lie dormant for years, hidden deep within organs like the lungs and the liver. Now, new research reveals that common respiratory infections, such as the flu or COVID-19, may be able to wake them. In mice, these illnesses roused sleeping cancer cells, and early evidence suggests the same could happen in humans who are cancer survivors.

Learn more about this research: https://on.natgeo.com/41ETXXa

08/16/2025

We talk quite a bit on rodent modeling, here is equine modeling:

Sudden cardiac death in elite athletes, both human and equine, is rare but often devastating. Racehorses share heart anatomy and disease patterns closely resembling humans.

08/06/2025

A human-specific NOVA1 variant changed mouse vocalizations, potentially providing insights into the evolution of language.

08/06/2025

The use of rats in research academies to study deafness is widespread, meanwhile medicinal methods to eliminate hair cells is also increasing. Thus, aminoglycosides and loop diuretics have grasped more attention. This study aimed at establishing an animal model in which a rapid distortion of the hair cell of cochlear is analyzed.

The use of rats in research academies to study deafness is widespread, meanwhile medicinal methods to eliminate hair cells is also increasing. Thus, aminoglycosides and loop diuretics have grasped more attention. This study aimed at establishing an animal model in which a rapid distortion of the hai...

08/06/2025

Exploring how s*x differences regulate dopamine responses could inform novel interventions to prevent or treat substance use disorders.

08/01/2025

Improved hearing in mice, via stem cell therapy. Very promising.

As stem cell research gains momentum, researchers are looking at ways to use the therapy to treat hearing loss.

07/30/2025

Lab rodents have been used in animal testing for more than 150 years, and the number of rodent-based studies continues to grow

07/30/2025

We don't cover predator-prey dynamics, as our mice and rats are lab-bred. But this turn of events is indeed fascinating:

Recent research has shown surprising dietary behavior among California ground squirrels (especially the rock squirrel and golden-mantled ground squirrel).

While squirrels are traditionally seen as herbivorous or omnivorous, subsisting on seeds, fruits, and occasionally insects, researchers have observed increasing instances of these squirrels actively hunting and consuming small vertebrates, including birds, mice, and even reptiles.

A prominent 2021 study from the University of California documented multiple cases where ground squirrels preyed on nestlings and small rodents—suggesting that under certain ecological pressures, such as climate change, habitat loss, or food scarcity, they are adapting their behavior to include carnivory.

This is not entirely unprecedented—squirrels have occasionally been seen scavenging meat—but what’s new is the frequency and deliberate hunting behavior, as opposed to opportunistic feeding.

These findings may reflect broader behavioral adaptations in wildlife in response to environmental changes.

Such shifts raise important questions about predator-prey dynamics, competition, and ecosystem balance, as species begin to adopt new niches in response to changing conditions.

07/25/2025

The mice tolerated quite well.

New method places inactivated viruses directly into mice’s gums

07/24/2025

Great article on the ethic of care in handling of lab rodents.