Glaucoma is a complex neurodegenerative disease with multiple subtypes, yet all are characterized by the progressive dysfunction and loss of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs), which ultimately results in vision impairment and blindness. Elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) is a major risk factor for glaucoma; however, it is neither necessary nor sufficient for glaucomatous neurodegeneration, as patients can exhibit high IOP without...

The first Vascular Contributions to Cognitive Impairment and Dementia (VCID) Workshop, held on May12-16, 2025 at The Jackson Laboratory, provided scientific content and career development training in the latest developments in VCID and Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and related dementia (ADRD). The Workshop aimed to foster interdisciplinary collaborations and empower the next generation of diverse scientists to advance ADRD research...

Rationale Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a stress and trauma-related disorder that is largely characterized by hyperarousal to fear-based cues. N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors are key mediators of fear learning behaviors. Altered NMDA receptor signaling is a hallmark of PTSD pathology that impacts fear memory learning and extinction processes. Objectives In the current study, we tested whether exposing adolesce...

Increasing trends of coral mortality are a challenge to coral reef management worldwide, and a need exists to identify the causes and pathways involved. Pathology is useful to help decipher potential causes of mortality in animals, because it illuminates agents associated with lesions and gives insights on the nature of how a host responds to said agents. To better understand the nature of threats facing corals in the Arabian...

Addressing urgent conservation issues, such as the drastic declines of North American migratory birds, requires creative, evidence‐based, efficient, and collaborative approaches. The abundance of over 50% of monitored North American shorebird populations has declined by over 50% since 1980. To address these declines, we developed a partnership of scientists and practitioners called the Shorebird Science and Conservation Collec...

The contraction and subsequent death of brain pericytes may play a role in microvascular no-reflow following the reopening of an occluded artery during ischemic stroke. Mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibition has been shown to reduce motility/contractility of various cancer cell lines and reduce neuronal cell death in stroke. However, the effects of mTOR inhibition on brain pericyte contraction and death during ischemi...

The efficiency of virtual field trips (VFTs) compared to their physical counterparts, is often regarded as one of their key benefits. Virtual field trips are typically more time, cost and environmentally efficient and logistically easier to plan and execute. This is largely due to the lack of travel, however, the nature of these efficiencies, which is essential for deciding whether a trip should be virtual, physical or blended...

Skin coloration and patterning play a key role in animal survival and reproduction. As a result, color phenotypes have generated intense research interest. In aposematic species, color phenotypes can be important in avoiding predation and in mate choice. However, we still know little about the underlying genetic mechanisms of color production, particularly outside of a few model organisms. Here we seek to understand the geneti...

Piñon–juniper (PJ) woodlands are a dominant community type across the Intermountain West, comprising over a million acres and experiencing critical effects from increasing wildfire. Large PJ mortality and regeneration failure after catastrophic wildfire have elevated concerns about the long‐term viability of PJ woodlands. Thinning is increasingly used to safeguard forests from fire and in an attempt to increase climate resilie...