-- Connecticut Clears $291M for Jackson Labs for Genomics Medicine
A $1.1 billion plan to build a Jackson Laboratory offshoot that will focus on personalized medicine and genomics in Connecticut passed that state's legislature last night with lawmakers agreeing to issue $290.7 million in bonds to build the new facility.

Raghu Mirmira Ph.D., M.D.
Associate Professor
Pediatrics, Medicine, and Cellular & Integrative Physiology
Herman B Wells Center for Pediatric Research
Indiana University

"Our laboratory is interested in the role of specific genes in the formation of function of pancreatic islet ?cells. ?cells are the only cell type that produce significant amounts of insulin to regulate blood glucose levels in animals.  A better understanding of the biology of the ?cell allows for the potential development of therapies or cures for diabetes mellitus, a disorder that results from dying or dysfunctional ?cells.  Our laboroatory uses genetically altered mice, in which genes that impact ?cell function are deleted.  As part of a contract, inGenious Targeting Labs has to date generated three genetically altered mouse lines for my laboratory.  These mouse lines include two loxed?mouse lines, in which our genes of interest were flanked by LoxP recognition sequences for the Cre recombinase, and one onventional?knockout mouse line.  The loxed?mouse lines allow for the inducible deletion of these genes by crossing these mice with a ?cell-specific Cre-expressing strain.  These two floxed mouse lines  were developed within the past 3 years, and initial studies have been performed with one of the lines.  To date, this line shows defective ?cell function, with mice having reduced insulin secretion and mildly impaired glucose tolerance.  The second line is still in the process of being crossed to the appropriate Cre driver strain."

Mouse Breeding Tips
Generating and maintaining a mouse colony is not a trivial task. Many factors influence breeding performance and colony maintenance. The following two guides from Charles River and The Jackson Laboratory provide excellent insight into many of the fundamental considerations to maximize effective colony management.

Mouse Colony Management
Animal husbandry and colony tracking are essential components of projects utilizing animal models.  The development of mouse colony management systems has revolutionized labs, by streamlining workflow and reducing human error.  This allows researchers to reduce costs and shift their focus away from colony management, towards other aspects of their research.