Oklahoma Branch for AALAS

04/10/2026

Scientists at UCL and Great Ormond Street Hospital have successfully engineered and transplanted a working oesophagus in pigs, restoring swallowing and normal growth without the need for immunosuppression.

How it works:
A donor scaffold is stripped of cells and rebuilt using the recipient’s own cells creating a personalised tissue that integrates and grows with the body.

Babies born with long-gap oesophageal atresia face multiple high-risk surgeries and long-term complications. This approach could one day offer a single, life-changing treatment. Researchers hope to begin clinical trials within five years.

👉 Read the full article here: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2026/mar/engineered-tissue-offers-hope-babies-born-missing-food-pipe-section

12/27/2025

A ground breaking immunotherapy for aggressive leukaemia has just been approved for NHS use, produced at UCL. The treatment, called CAR T-cell therapy, reprogrammes a patient’s immune cells to recognise and destroy cancer. In clinical trials, 77% of patients went into remission, with many remaining cancer-free years later.

Carefully regulated animal studies involving mice, rats, dogs, and monkeys were essential to develop CAR T-cell therapy; helping researchers refine the therapy so it would work better and more safely in people.

https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2025/nov/wondrous-drug-treat-aggressive-leukaemia-approved-use-adults

12/16/2025

HIV/AIDS Awareness Month reminds us how far science has brought us.

Nonhuman primates, humanized mice and other animal models made today’s HIV treatments – ART and new treatments like immunotherapy – possible.

10/09/2025

Fear is one of our most primal survival mechanisms. But when our brain’s threat system becomes unbalanced, it can lead to anxiety and PTSD.

With support from a Wellcome Trust Discovery Award, Prof. Tiago Branco at UCL’s Sainsbury Wellcome Centre is launching a seven-year programme to explore how genes and experience shape threat sensitivity in the brain.

By studying different species of mice the team hopes to uncover the genetic basis of fear and identify new therapeutic targets.

This work could open doors to new treatments for anxiety and PTSD, addressing the root causes of threat sensitivity.

🔗 https://www.understandinganimalresearch.org.uk/news/unlocking-the-secrets-of-fear-in-mice-a-wellcome-discovery-award

10/03/2025

09/27/2025

09/25/2025

Thank you to everyone that came out to our bowling social. It was great to see some familiar faces and a couple of new ones. Special thanks to our vendors for the support and coming out to spend a little time with us.

09/08/2025

Click the link to RSVP. We have 2 hours reserved. Come bowl for 1 hour or stay for 2 hours, or just come and enjoy the company of your peers and friends!

https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://doodle.com/sign-up-sheet/participate/1565c541-4943-4243-8da7-19027c5859b5/select__;!!GNU8KkXDZlD12Q!8QbZaMtFQzqbV6ngbCMzFdqFdimGZ-6GAMZocWOJN3o66uO184iYfqGQqvYdfMDRQxZhXHFXXt4f7NmRa-b6-WhJdcFRygM$

08/23/2025

Researchers looked at the axolotl to try and understand limb regeneration. Indeed, after losing a limb, an adult axolotl can grow it back fresh and new. In a new study, scientists used axolotls to understand the molecular underpinnings of this amazing trait. The animals were genetically engineered to glow in the dark in the presence of the retinoic acid, allowing for real-time tracking.

The researchers showed that retinoic acid helps cells determine their position in the body, guiding precise limb regrowth after amputation. Derived from vitamin A, retinoic acid is known for its regenerative ability and is related to retinol found in skin-care products.

When given a drug that blocks an enzyme responsible for breaking down retinoic acid, the axolotls regrew their missing limbs incorrectly, with an upper arm sprouting out where a forearm should be. A control group of animals that did not receive the drug regenerated normally. Retinoic acid acts like a GPS device, helping cells to determine their location : the higher the concentration of the acid, the closer to the centre of the body. The chemical appears to activate a gene or genes within the cells to regulate limb growth.

Animals used : axolotls

Doi : 10.1038/s41467-025-59497-5