The effects of parasitic infections on learning and memory in mice
Worm infections can cause cognitive problems. But it’s unclear if it affects learning, memory, or both.
A new rat model for neonatal white matter injury
Preterm birth is a major problem in neonatal healthcare. Erik van Tilborg developed a new animal model to closely mimic this clinical situation, an important step in finding new treatment options.
Exercise vs anabolic steroids: a rat study
A recent study shows that the use of anabolic steroids diminishes the positive effects of exercise in rats.
Tracking chickens: A promising approach for identifying feather-peckers
Manually observing chickens in barns is a tedious job to which ultra-wideband tracking offers a solution. But does it interfere with normal behavior?
Why it doesn’t seem fair to prefer male mice in behavioral studies
Is it justified to use male mice only in behavioral studies, as many diseases affect men and women differently? This might be the most important argument to favor including female mice in certain studies.
IR backlight in rodent behavioral testing
How do mice act in complete darkness? Ann-Kristina Fritz and her colleagues ordered a large, round open field with IR backlight, custom made by Noldus, to investigate.
Brain & behavior: data integration in horse studies
EEG recordings – they produce useful data, but are not always easy to obtain in animal studies. You can’t really ask a horse to sit still, so these researchers invented a promising new system for EEG recording.
Behavioral tests to select police horses
The personality of police horses influences how well they do in their ‘job’. That’s why personality tests are important for both animal and human welfare and safety.
Video tracking makes bird watching much easier
Everyone with children knows the phenomenon that what is good for a child is not always the best for a parent. The same counts for birds.
Ticking clocks – tides and activity peaks in American horseshoe crabs
Recently, I came across an interesting paper in which American horseshoe crabs were video-tracked to investigate their internal clocks.