Here is a selection of the most-read research stories in the EARA News Digest this year:
In April, a study at NERF (a centre at EARA members VIB and KU Leuven, Belgium) uncovered how the spinal cord can learn and memorise responses to possible threats, without needing the brain. Using mice, the team showed that two different groups of neurons in the spinal cord are responsible for this adaptive ability, offering new insights into how to treat spinal cord injuries.
Back in June, researchers led by EARA members the Max Delbrück Center and Charité Berlin, Germany, used gene editing to correct an exaggerated immune response that is a key feature of the rare childhood disease, familial hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (FHL).
At Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Netherlands, researchers developed an ‘organ-on-chip’ model, based on human blood vessels, to improve the study of the effect of snake venom on the body, hopefully leading to less reliance on the use of animals which have been used to study the effects of snakebites.
Later in the year, research from EARA member Uppsala University, Sweden, revealed a ‘three-in-one’ antibody treatment that successfully treated mice with cancer. The treatment could precisely target and deliver drugs to cancer cells, but also simultaneously activate the immune system.
Reports on the EARA Patient Discovery initiative from around Europe were also well received. In July, people with Parkinson’s learnt more about biomedical research on the condition, involving the use of monkeys, at an event at EARA member the Biomedical Primate Research Centre (BPRC), Netherlands. The initiative aims to bring better engagement between patients and researchers and the visitors were given a guided tour, presentations and practical demonstrations.
One person said: “I came in with some reservations, but all respect for how they do it here!" Similar events were also held at EARA members NOVA Medical School, Lisbon, Portugal, and in Basel, Switzerland, at Novartis.