Thanks to a pretty well documented and uncomplicated genome, zebrafish are quickly becoming the first choice in genetic engineering models for researchers from a variety of fields. While understanding and tinkering with the DNA of a zebrafish may be easier than it is with other animals, genetic engineering is still a very difficult, time-consuming business. Researchers at the Mayo Clinic, though, have brought that dream closer to fruition, developing a toolkit that makes inserting, activating, and deactivating natural and synthetic genes in the zebrafish genome easier than ever and making it a much more reliable model for human disease.

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Finding a cure for cancer has been the mission of millions of scientists around the world. Significant breakthroughs have been made in developing treatments for cancer, and even some preventative measures have been developed like the HPV vaccine that guards against certain strains of the humanpapillomavirus, one of the few viral causes of cancer. But despite advances in immuno and virotherapy, there remains a need for an effective, easily produced, and easy to tolerate treatment for cancer.

Researchers working in part at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester MN, and St. James University Hospital in Leeds, UK believe they have developed a new virotherapy with tremendous potential. Their method focuses on prostate cancer in mice, and while very successful it remains to be seen whether this therapy could be translated with the same effectiveness into humans.

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