Did you know C. elegans are an ideal model for disease modeling? It may seem unlikely that such a tiny animal would work well for modeling and studying human diseases, but we believe in their power and want you to as well, so we’ve outlined a few of their strengths so you can learn more about the benefits of using C. elegans for disease modeling.
With the advent of the molecular biology revolution and the human genome project in the 1990s there was a historic shift toward target-based drug development. Target-based drug development, or TDD, relies on prior knowledge of disease mechanisms and targets before development can begin.
We created over 90 point mutations in the STXBP1 gene via CRISPR. A map of these point mutations can be seen above. Clinical variants were selected from the ClinVar database, literature, the Gnomad database, clinical researchers, and the STXBP1 foundation.
Our CSO, Dr. Chris Hopkins presented at DR. GPCR SUMMIT 2020 on why C. elegans is an ideal model to study the underlying principles of GPCRs.
Using zebrafish modeling in a rare human disease may be the perfect physiologic model to better understand the disease and generate more individualized therapeutic medical responses and positive outcomes for higher risk COVID-19 groups.
Our CSO recently helped write a letter expressing the need for animal models in COVID-19 research
C. elegans and Zebrafish have been used to study the effects of ultraviolet radiation (UVR) for decades. August is Summer Sun Safety Month so in this month’s Research Spotlight we wanted to highlight sun safety and how C. elegans and zebrafish are helping in this field.
Dr. Vollmer shares his experience working with us and how the Longevity Platform delivers the results he needs within his timeline and budget.
In an effort to create better models for epilepsy, we’ve been working on a grant-funded project to humanize important synaptic machinery by replacing endogenous coding sequences with human coding sequences. Syntaxin is a key synaptic protein, encoded by the gene STX1A, that helps synaptic vesicles dock, fuse with the membrane, and release neurotransmitters. Syntaxin has …
A View From the Bench: Roadblocks and Frustrations When Expectation Meets Reality. Read More »
June is Alzheimer’s & Brain Awareness Month. We wanted to take a few moments to spotlight some of the awe-inspiring research on Alzheimer’s disease taking place in alternative animal models: C. elegans: Kumar DK, Choi SH, Washicosky KJ, et al. Amyloid-β peptide protects against microbial infection in mouse and worm models of Alzheimer’s disease. Sci …
