With all of the news about the dangers of Ebola, you have to wonder how scientists are trying to come up with a cure. One of the ways is to test on mice. Scientists at the University of Washington gave mice a version of Ebola; however, they observed different symptoms than humans. They noticed that although the mice do end up dying, the infected mice did not contract hemorrhagic fever, like humans do. They had an absence of tiny blood clots, common in humans, despite receiving a sequence of Ebola that only differs in 13 out of 19,000 genetic letters. Despite this difference, the mice did show an important similarity. Like humans, each rat reacted differently to the infection. Some died with internal bleeding, swollen spleens, and damaged livers. On the other hand, some had a significant weight loss, but recovered with no damage. These results were analogous to humans. As some die, others miraculously survive. In fact, the proportions were nearly identical: in both humans and rats, half of those who contracted the infection, die. Before the studies with mice, it was unclear why some survived and others weren’t so lucky, however now we know. The data suggests that those who died had similar DNA, which reacted to the Ebola. In order to make this study as accurate as possible, scientists varied the genes in the rats to give a diverse population, just as humans have. Although this seems like common sense, most studies don’t take this into account, and without it you are only representing about 10% of the population. With this data, scientists can now identify the genes that are Ebola prone, and which are not. In addition to mice, researchers are studying this hypothesis in hamsters, guinea pigs, and most importantly monkeys. Monkeys must always be tested before humans, as they are so much like people. Although these are just the early steps in creating a vaccine for Ebola, it is a step in the right direction.
Submitted by Alex Frank
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