Mar 10, 2016 | Conditions
Seven-month-old Lincoln Seay was in bad shape. Lincoln had been waiting since November for a heart transplant and now he was going into cardiac arrest. A donor heart had been located and was on the way, but the little boy was deteriorating rapidly. Even with the best care, Lincoln’s life was hanging in the balance. […]
Aug 21, 2015 | animal research, Medical Research, treatment
Rhinos continue to be in danger of poaching for their horns. In South Africa in 2014, 1,215 rhinos were killed, in comparison with only 333 rhinos killed in 2010. But recently, a 12-year-old rhino named Hope was given a second chance after poachers cut her horn off. Hope’s entire front horn was cut off, and […]
Mar 10, 2015 | Medical Research, treatment
You’ve likely seen recent headlines proposing that human head transplants could be possible in the next couple of years. To catch you up to speed, the idea would likely involve attempting to transplant the head of patient with healthy, normal brain function but a damaged body onto the body of a brain-dead patient by severing […]
Mar 1, 2015 | animal research, animals helping humans, Medical Research
Ticks are one of those arachnids that give most people the creeps. I know that I’ve shuddered when pulling them off my dogs during the spring and summer months, and they’re the last thing I want to see crawling on my leg! But these little bloodsuckers might actually be able to help humans in a […]
May 11, 2014 | animal research, animals helping humans, Conditions, Medical Research, treatment
Laboratory opossums (Monodelphis domestica) are marsupials that are native to South America. Unlike North American opossums, which are the size of a full-grown cat, they’re only about six inches long. But for such a small size, they’ve made quite an impact in the field of biomedical research. They are excellent research models for a variety […]
Sep 8, 2013 | Conditions, Medical Research
New information from research in Toronto could help improve the effectiveness of bone marrow transplants for patients suffering from leukemia (and other cancers and immune disorders). Studies in mice, which were confirmed with samples from humans, showed that stem cells from bone ends are better at regenerating blood cells and immune system cells than the stem […]