Category: Research

Monkeys infected with Zika virus are protected from future infection, and pregnancy dramatically prolongs infection in monkeys, findings that could help fight the virus in people, UW-Madison researchers said Tuesday.

Scientists have developed a nonhuman primate model of Zika virus infection to better understand its course in humans, especially in pregnant women. David O’Connor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and colleagues injected eight rhesus macaques—two of them pregnant—with the Asian strain of the virus currently circulating in South and Central America. The non-pregnant and pregnant monkeys were still infected 21 days and up to 57 days later, respectively, and all animals were immune to reinfection 10 weeks post-injection, the researchers reported today (June 28) in Nature Communications. Prior to publication, the team was posting its data online in real time.

Scientists have successfully infected a group of rhesus macaque monkeys with Zika, marking the first time that non-human primates have been shown to be susceptible to the mosquito-borne virus. That’s good news for researchers, as it potentially opens up a new animal model to study Zika. Scientists could use the monkeys to trace how the virus spreads and test new vaccines or treatments on the animals.

A new animal study adds to the complexity of Zika infection during pregnancy

Infection with the Zika virus may protect against future infection, but pregnancy seems to extend how long the mosquito-borne virus stays in the body, a new study in monkeys suggests.

A batch of new studies show the Zika virus is trickier than it appeared at first glance, lurking for months in pregnant females and interfering with the immune system’s response.

Rhesus macaque monkeys make a good model for studying how Zika infects people, researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison concluded Tuesday in Nature Communications.

“A sustained [Zika] infection during pregnancy is completely different from a normal infection,” study senior author David O’Connor of the University of Wisconsin, Madison, told BuzzFeed News. The monkey results make sense, he said, given that other research has shown that the virus prefers the fetal brain and placenta over other tissue types.

In another advance, researchers at the University of Wisconsin reported on Tuesday that they have successfully infected rhesus macaques with an Asian strain of the Zika virus that is currently circulating in the Americas. The study, published in the journal Nature Communications, shows that monkeys – which have immune responses similar to humans – can be used to study Zika.

Monkeys infected with Zika virus are protected from future infection, and pregnancy dramatically prolongs infection in monkeys, findings that could help in fighting the virus in people, UW-Madison researchers said Tuesday.

Scientists have developed a nonhuman primate model of Zika virus infection to better understand its course in humans, especially in pregnant women. David O’Connor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and colleagues injected eight rhesus macaques—two of them pregnant—with the Asian strain of the virus currently circulating in South and Central America.

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin at Madison and Duke University found the virus persisted in the blood of pregnant monkeys for much longer — up to 70 days — compared to the 10 days it lasted in males and non-pregnant female monkeys.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers say this is good news for vaccine developers. Lead researcher Prof David O’Connor said: “It suggests the sort of immunity that occurs naturally is sufficient. If you can mimic that in a vaccine, you’ll likely have a very successful vaccine.”

New research from the University of Wisconsin-Madison found opioid addiction is related to the brain’s prefrontal cortex, the part responsible for self-control and planning.

Noted: BadgerLoop, from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, received the Pod Technical Excellence award for its design.

Wisconsin consumers widely agree that “local” food means food grown in Wisconsin, according to a new statewide survey conducted by faculty affiliated with the University of Wisconsin-Extension, UW-Madison, and UW-River Falls. Food from Michigan, Iowa, Illinois, and Minnesota, meanwhile, is not considered “local” by most Wisconsin shoppers.

iPS cells have made their mark in a different way. They have become an important tool for modelling and investigating human diseases, as well as for screening drugs. Improved ways of making the cells, along with gene-editing technologies, have turned iPS cells into a lab workhorse — providing an unlimited supply of once-inaccessible human tissues for research. This has been especially valuable in the fields of human development and neurological diseases, says Guo-li Ming, a neuroscientist at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, who has been using iPS cells since 2006.

Snapshot Wisconsin, as the project has been named, is “an unprecedented effort to capture in space and time the deer, bears, elk, coyotes, bobcats, badgers, and any other wild animal that lumbers, hops, lopes or slithers across the Badger state,” according to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the school leading the charge on this project. “Snapshot Wisconsin aims to provide one of the richest and most comprehensive caches of wildlife data for any spot on our planet.”

Like some humans, giant pandas struggle with digestion due to changes in diet – an affliction that could be interrupting their reproduction, according to a new study.

Coinciding with National Beach Safety Week and Rip Current Awareness Week from June 4th to the 11th, the WIsconsin Sea Grant Program is continuing a couple of projects at the Park Point Beach in Duluth designed to save lives.

An impressive cadre of researchers just launched a new initiative to install trail cameras throughout Wisconsin that will help scientists keep track of the state’s wildlife populations.

Musician David Teie composed music inspired by cats’ vocalizations and matching purr frequencies. “An independent study conducted by researchers at the University of Wisconsin and published in Applied Animal Behavior verified that Music for Cats resonates conclusively with its audience,” Music for Cats says on its site.

During the 2014-15 flu season, the poor match between the virus used to make the world’s vaccine stocks and the circulating seasonal virus yielded a vaccine that was less than 20 percent effective.

Editor’s note: The Water Sustainability and Climate project at the University of Wisconsin–Madison collaborated with other groups to launch the Our Waters, Our Future Writing Contest in January. The group—including the UW–Madison Center for Limnology, Sustain Dane and the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts & Letters—sought short stories reflecting visions for positive futures for the watershed. This is the winning piece. To read the entry chosen as the runner-up, see the June tablet edition of Madison Magazine.