Animal Behavior Research Blog Posts

Does pesticide resistance make malaria mosquitoes “smarter”?

In one of my previous blog posts, I wrote about the success of insecticide treated bed nets in preventing malaria. In the past five years, mortality from malaria has dropped with 60%.

Seizing fish: a high-throughput screen for novel antiepileptic drugs

The lab of Prof. Richard Baines investigates how the electrical development of neurons is regulated. His research was long based on the larvae of fruitfly, but the lab recently started using zebrafish larvae.

How to capture the 3D swimming patterns of fish

Zebrafish have more in common with humans than meets the eye. This is why they have become a “go-to” model in neuroscience research. But one difference remains: we walk and they swim.

A new fish on the block: Japanese medaka in toxicology studies

We are all very familiar with zebrafish as a model species in neuroscience research. Today, let's talk about another fish, the Japanese medaka.

Dementia symptoms following surgery

This week we have a guest post by Iris Hovens. She has done some really interesting research into the consequences of surgery in terms of reduced memory and concentration problems.

Bigger is not always better: hypothesis testing in sexual evolution

Sexual selection can lead to fascinating phenomena. We are all familiar with the fabulous color display of male peacocks to attract females. Less well known, but definitely not less interesting, are stalk-eyed flies.

A new approach in the battle against malaria

Bed nets treated with insecticide (ITNs) greatly decrease malaria illness and mortality. ITNs can decrease infant mortality from all causes by more than 20%.

How to let rats run perfectly

Letting animals walk freely in gait research. At Noldus, we strongly believe this is the way to go, so that is how our CatWalk XT system works.

Mice in the spotlight: why you should perform your tests in a home cage

Mouse models are essential for neuroscience research. Many tests are susceptible to bias. Home cage testing provides a number of solutions.

How you can efficiently screen for plant resistance to aphids

Aphids are small insects that pierce plant leaves and suck out their contents. Although they inflict limited physical destruction to the plant, aphids commonly infect plants with viruses, which can destroy complete harvests.

Revealing the secret social role of the CA2 hippocampus

Aggressive behavior is adaptive for most species. But how is this aggressive behavior mediated in the brain? A study indicates that the hippocampus is a crucial neural component in mediating social recognition.

Behavioral effects of optogenetically induced myelination in mice

Myelination, the ‘ensheathment’ of neurons, is essential to the functioning of the central and peripheral nervous systems. So it is not surprising that problems with myelination can lead to a number of crippling diseases.