News Bureau

Clinical trials of the anti-cancer agent PAC-1 are continuing to expand, thanks to a $7 million angel investment from an anonymous contributor who originally invested $4 million to help get the compound this far in the drug-approval pipeline.

Only a few cells in a cancerous tumor are able to break away and spread to other parts of the body, but the curve along the edge of the tumor may play a large role in activating these tumor-seeding cells, according to a new University of Illinois study.

Scientists have finalized a five-year study of newborn and fetal dolphins found stranded on beaches in the northern Gulf of Mexico between 2010 and 2013. Their study, reported in the journal Diseases of Aquatic Organisms, identified substantial differences between fetal and newborn dolphins found stranded inside and outside the areas affected by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

The enormous, solitary leatherback sea turtle spends most of its long life at sea. After hatching and dispersing across the world’s oceans, only the female leatherbacks return to their natal beaches to lay clutches of eggs in the sand. A new study offers fresh insights into their nesting choices and will help efforts to prevent the extinction of this globally endangered giant of the sea, researchers said.

Point your phone or tablet at the poster with a cow image and a small 3-D cow appears before you – Desktop Bessie, with her skeleton, circulatory, digestive and nervous systems, and various organs visible as you move around her.

If you’re a veterinary student, the augmented reality cow is a great way to learn a cow’s anatomy.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — A deadly fungal infection afflicting snakes is eerily similar to the fungus that causes white-nose syndrome in bats, researchers report.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Pet dogs may be humans’ best friends in a new arena of life: cancer treatment, said University of Illinois veterinary clinical medicine professor Timothy Fan. Physiological similarities between dogs and humans, and conserved genetics between some dog and human cancers, can allow pet dogs to serve as useful models for studying new cancer drugs, he said.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Dolphins found stranded on Gulf of Mexico beaches following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill were much more likely to have severe lung and adrenal gland damage “consistent with petroleum product exposure” than dolphins stranded elsewhere and prior to the spill, researchers report. One in five dolphins from the spill zone also had primary bacterial pneumonia.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - When scientists exposed pregnant mice to levels of bisphenol A equivalent to those considered safe in humans, three generations of female mouse offspring experienced significant reproductive problems, including declines in fertility, sexual maturity and pregnancy success, the scientists report in the journal Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - A new drug that prompts cancer cells to self-destruct while sparing healthy cells is now entering phase I clinical trials in humans. The drug, called PAC-1, first showed promise in the treatment of pet dogs with spontaneously occurring cancers, and is still in clinical trials in dogs with osteosarcoma.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - A new study of muskrats and minks in central Illinois indicates that toxoplasmosis, a disease spread by cats, is moving rapidly through the landscape and contaminating local waterways.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Two new drug compounds - one of which has already proven useful in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis - appear to be effective in treating endometriosis, a disorder that, like MS, is driven by estrogen and inflammation, scientists report in Science Translational Medicine.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Here are three disaster scenarios for zoo or aquarium managers: One, a wildfire lunges towards your facility, threatening your staff and hundreds of zoo animals. Two, hurricane floodwaters pour into your basement, where more than 10,000 exotic fish and marine mammals live in giant tanks. Three, local poultry farmers report avian influenza (bird flu) in their chickens, a primary source of protein for your big cats.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Researchers have developed a faster and more accurate way to test for infection with Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola, a fungus that is killing snakes in the Midwest and eastern United States. The test also allows scientists to monitor the progression of the infection in living snakes.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Rabbits that remain indoors may suffer from a lack of vitamin D, researchers report in a new study. In rabbits kept as pets or used in laboratory studies, the deficiency could lead to dental problems, undermine their cardiovascular health, weaken their immune systems and skew scientific findings.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Low-density lipoprotein (LDL), the "bad cholesterol" that doctors consider a sign of potential heart disease, is merely a marker of a diet lacking all of the essential amino acids, says University of Illinois comparative biosciences professor Fred Kummerow, 99, a longtime opponent of the medical establishment's war on cholesterol.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Technology that's used in smartphones and other electronic devices also is being used by veterinarians at the University of Illinois to help horses recover safely from anesthesia.

The small animal emergency service at the U. of I. Veterinary Teaching Hospital is one of nine U.S. veterinary hospitals and clinics to be provisionally designated as a Veterinary Trauma Center by the American College of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Advancements in the use of computed tomography (also known as CT) imaging by researchers at the University of Illinois Veterinary Teaching Hospital are enabling them to diagnose life-threatening conditions in dogs and cats faster, dramatically affecting the course, outcomes and costs of treatment.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The Web has become a little more wild with the introduction of a website that explores human interactions with the natural world. The Wildlife Medical Clinic at the University of Illinois recently created a classroom-focused website called Wildlife Encounters to educate students of all ages about the world around them.

Qigiq, the snowy owl that was brought to the UI Wildlife Medical Clinic on Jan. 3 with a broken wing, took an early flight to Alaska on April 1 to begin the next phase of his rehabilitation.

The people who have been taking care of the injured snowy owl that was brought to the UI Wildlife Medical Clinic in January are hoping he lives up to his name, Qigiq - Inuit for "white hawk that flies in the sky."

CHAMPAIGN,Ill. - Your dog may say "woof woof" (English), "ouah ouah" (Finnish), "gav gav" (Greek), or "bau bau" (Italian), but at the University of Illinois Veterinary Medicine Open House, there is bound to be a veterinarian who speaks your language.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Like any other newborn, the neonatal horse can be a challenging patient. Its immune system is still under construction, its blood chemistry can vary wildly, and - like most infants - it wants to stay close to mom.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Veterinary radiologists in the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Illinois recently obtained what are believed to be the first 3-D internal renderings of dogs' larynxes by using a restraint device they created that allows clinicians to perform CT scans on awake small animals without chemical restraint.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Anuk didn't want to sit on her perch, preferring instead to stand on the bottom of her cage. A recurring infection on Anuk's right foot had brought the gregarious and mischievous Moluccan cockatoo and her concerned owners, the Hess family - daughter Iiae and parents Patrick and Violeta - from their home in Lincoln, Ill., to see veterinarian Ken Welle at the Small Animal Clinic at the University of Illinois in Urbana.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Sketches by more than 40 celebrity artists - including Alan Alda and University of Illinois alumnus William Wegman - will be auctioned along with autographed photos, vacation packages and nature-themed artwork at the 10th Annual Doodle for Wildlife.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Researchers have found antibiotic-resistant bacteria in seven species of sharks and one redfish species captured in waters off Massachusetts, Florida, Louisiana and Belize. Most of these wild, free-swimming fish harbored several drug-resistant bacterial strains.

A Minute With™... wildlife veterinarian Mark A. Mitchell

The UI College of Veterinary Medicine has scheduled "Pix With Pets," a seasonal fundraiser, for Nov. 10 at Prairieland Feeds, 303 S. Dunlap Ave., Savoy.

A Minute With™... wildlife veterinarian Mark A. Mitchell

A Minute With™... Thomas K. Graves, a professor of veterinary clinical medicine

A Minute With™... Yvette J. Johnson, a professor of veterinary clinical medicine