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Ground-breaking science in the area of cannabinoid signaling holds great promise for new drug development, but an unintended consequence of this research has led to the emergence of an onslaught of deadly 'legal highs'. Providing public health scientists with access to laboratory resources designed to investigate emerging chemicals of concern is crucial for timely, sound evaluation of products that pose major threats to public health.
Treating costly conditions such as Alzheimer's disease may soon collapse healthcare systems around the world, yet companies hesitate to invest in the long, large clinical trials required to discover disease-modifying therapies. New incentives are necessary to turn this tide.
The International Mouse Phenotyping Consortium (IMPC), plans to document disease-related phenotypes for each generated mouse strain including metabolic, neurological and behavioral data. Hannah Waters spoke with Steve Brown, chairman of the IMPC and director of the UK Medical Research Council’s Mammalian Genetics Unit in Harwell, to learn more about the project.