ANIMAL RESEARCH NEWS - AUGUST 2026
The Biomedical Animal Research News (BARN) Digest collates animal research news from Concordat on Openness signatories and UAR’s 150+ member organisations into one, easy to access, feed. These animal research related stories include topics such as: basic biological research; medical studies and advancements; animal welfare and 3Rs news; funding, regulatory, and policy news; and conservation and environmental research that involves animal testing.
Each month, we pick the most interesting, groundbreaking, and important news to feature in a monthly news roundup.
View BARN to see daily news updates from UAR members.
CLINICAL TRIALS
World first as patient receives pioneering lung cancer vaccine
UNIVERSITY OF LIVERPOOL | CLINICAL TRIALS
The development of cancer vaccines has relied heavily on the use of animal models.
"Researchers and clinicians from the University of Liverpool and the Clatterbridge Cancer Centre (CCC) are leading a groundbreaking international clinical trial to investigate a personalised cancer vaccine for the most common type of lung cancer.
The team, which includes the Liverpool Clinical Trials Centre (LCTC), is studying a bespoke vaccine which is designed to target the unique genetic changes found in each patient’s tumour.
The trial has reached a significant milestone, with a patient at Clatterbridge Cancer Centre becoming the first person in the world to receive the pioneering vaccine."
Early trials for ‘common cold’ vaccine offer encouraging signs
IMPERIAL COLLEGE LONDON | CLINICAL TRIALS
The APL-10456 vaccine has been tested in mice.
"A vaccine designed to protect against rhinoviruses, which cause the great majority of common colds and exacerbate chronic respiratory illnesses, has shown encouraging early results in a Phase 1 clinical trial.
Initial findings from the study found that the vaccine candidate (APL-10456) was well tolerated in healthy volunteers and induced immunity against multiple rhinovirus species."
BASIC/DISCOVERY RESEARCH
Study finds immune cells help limit abnormal activity in Alzheimer's disease models
SWANSEA UNIVERSITY | MICE
"Researchers have discovered that microglia – the main immune cells of the brain – play a critical role in maintaining the stability of neuronal networks in Alzheimer’s disease. Crucially, this suggests treatments that indiscriminately suppress these cells could be counterproductive.
In this study, led by a team at Trinity College Dublin, mice were treated with a drug called GW2580, which blocks a receptor called CSF1R and reduces microglial numbers. The treatment did partially protect connections between neurons, but it did not improve memory, and it increased abnormal, epilepsy-like electrical activity in the brain.
The results suggest microglia are also doing some useful housekeeping work in the diseased brain, and that removing them altogether may cause problems of its own."
Researchers reveal how mitochondria drive chemotherapy resistance in colorectal cancer
QUEEN'S UNIVERSITY BELFAST | MICE
"A new study led by researchers from Queen’s University Belfast and funded by Cancer Research UK has uncovered why many colorectal cancers are resistant to the most common type of chemotherapy drug used to treat the disease, 5-fluorouracil (5FU). The results have just been published in Nature Metabolism.
The study sheds light on the underlying causes of 5FU resistance and could pave the way for more effective and personalised treatments for colorectal cancer, ultimately improving survival outcomes for patients."
DEVELOPING MEDICINES
New antimicrobials could help tackle deadly drug-resistant infections
UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER, IMPERIAL COLLEGE LONDON | MICE
"Researchers have discovered promising new antifungal drug candidates that were more potent and less toxic than existing treatments in preclinical tests
Scientists at Imperial College London and The University of Manchester have developed a promising new way to create safer and more effective treatments for life-threatening fungal infections.
The research, published today in Nature, describes a new family of antifungal agents, which - when tested in mice - are more potent and less toxic than existing treatments."
Researchers develop targeted approach to kill antibiotic-resistant gonorrhoea
UNIVERSITY OF LIVERPOOL, UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD | MICE
"Scientists at the Universities of Liverpool and Oxford have developed a promising new way to kill antibiotic-resistant strains of Neisseria gonorrhoeae, the bacterium that causes gonorrhoea, using a targeted therapy that is activated at the bacterial surface while minimising damage to human cells.
The study, published in PNAS, describes a novel antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) that successfully eliminated a multidrug-resistant strain of N. gonorrhoeae in laboratory tests. Researchers say the approach could offer a new direction for tackling drug-resistant bacterial infections, although further research is needed before it can be tested in people."
Scientists unmask immune cells that supercharge the fight against cancer
UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER | MICE
"A little‑known group of hard-to-find immune cells could help transform cancer treatment, scientists at the University of Manchester’s Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute, have found. Their discovery, published in the world leading journal Immunity on 04/08/26, centres on activated dendritic cells, a specialised population of immune cells that orchestrate the body’s attack on cancer.
To make the discovery, the researchers developed the first mouse models capable of specifically labelling or removing activated dendritic cells. This allowed them to determine exactly how activated dendritic cells contribute to anti-cancer immunity.
The models are expected to accelerate research into activated dendritic cells across cancer, infections and autoimmune diseases."
RVC research identifies potential new approach to treating osteoarthritis
ROYAL VETERINARY COLLEGE | MICE, HORSES, HUMAN TISSUE SAMPLES
"New research from the Royal Veterinary College (RVC), has identified a potential treatment for osteoarthritis (OA). The findings provide a potential first-of-its-kind disease-modifying strategy that could improve how the disease is managed in both humans and animals.
Over the course of the study, the researchers identified Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 8/19 (CDK8/19) – closely related proteins that control how cells make other proteins – as a mediator and drug target in OA disease cell models. The team then tested a CDK8/19 inhibitor in the STR/Ort mouse – an animal that like humans, spontaneously develops OA – to assess its impact on joint health and mobility.
The study found that those receiving the inhibitor treatment showed improved gait characteristics and greater ability to complete treadmill exercise tests, alongside reduced weight gain and lower levels of OA biomarkers in the blood. Histological analysis – the study of cells and tissues - of the treated mouse knee joints also revealed improvements in cartilage composition."
Pomegranates could unlock heart failure treatment
KING'S COLLEGE LONDON | ANIMAL MODELS, HUMAN TISSUE SAMPLES
"Scientists at King’s College London have discovered that urolithin A – a natural compound produced in the body after consuming foods such as pomegranates, walnuts and some berries – improves the heart’s ability to relax, reduces scarring and prevents harmful enlargement of the heart.
In a research first, the scientists discovered that urolithin A activates a protein called PKGlα, which plays an important role in both blood vessel function and heart muscle relaxation. Urolithin A targets a specific amino acid on the protein, activating a pathway resulting in cardiovascular benefits.
Animal models treated with urolithin A had improved measures of heart function by up to 80% compared to models which were not treated with urolithin A. The laboratory experiment revealed that urolithin A increased the heart tissue’s ability to relax and reduced harmful scarring, also known as fibrosis, compared to controls. The compound also reduced enlargement of heart muscle cells compared to controls, helping to preserve normal cell function."
https://www.kcl.ac.uk/news/pomegranates-could-unlock-heart-failure-treatment
ANIMAL HEALTH AND WELFARE
Immune 'reprogramming' could protect poultry from deadly diseases without antibiotics, study finds
UNIVERSITY OF BRISTOL | CHICKENS
"A naturally occurring gut molecule that could strengthen chickens’ immune response against a wide range of bacterial infections, has been identified by University of Bristol-led research. This new breakthrough, published in The Journal of Immunology today [12 August], offers a major step forward in sustainable farming and the global fight against antibiotic resistance."
‘World-first’ cancer treatment saves python after tumour destroys part of her jaw
UNIVERSITY OF LIVERPOOL | SNAKES
"A 15-foot python named after Hollywood star Jodie Foster has made a full recovery after becoming what is believed to be the first snake in the world to receive a pioneering cancer treatment usually used in humans.
The 50kg reticulated python, who lives at Chester Zoo, underwent electrochemotherapy after a cancerous tumour returned following surgery and began invading her jawbone.
Working alongside cancer specialists at the University of Liverpool, the zoo’s veterinary team adapted the treatment for use in a snake for the first time. Months after the procedure, Jodie is cancer-free, eating normally and back to her usual bright and feisty self."
NEW APPROACH METHODOLOGIES (NAMS)
Accelerating the use of non-animal reagents for in vitro research
NC3RS | NON-ANIMAL TECHNOLOGIES
"The NC3Rs has published a new report describing the outputs and impacts of a funding call to support a shift away from animal-derived products to animal-free alternatives.
Animal-derived products and reagents such as foetal bovine serum (FBS), extracellular matrices and antibodies are widely used in in vitro research. Their generation can involve significant suffering for the animals involved – in addition undefined composition, batch-to-batch variability and limited standardisation or quality control for many products and reagents can compromise the reproducibility of the experiments they are used in."
https://nc3rs.org.uk/news/accelerating-use-non-animal-reagents-vitro-research
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Last edited: 27 August 2026 11:04
