A facility for high resolution synchronised quantification of in vivo metabolism and behaviour

Diseases affecting movement and behaviour (e.g. developmental or acquired brain disorders) or metabolism (e.g. obesity, diabetes, fatty liver) can only fully be studied in living people or animals where these abnormalities can be measured. Studying mice is immensely valuable in investigating such common diseases, for example allowing us to work out the role of inherited factors, and to test new treatments before they are risked in people. The state-of-the-art equipment we request allows eating, movement and metabolism to be recorded minute by minute, with the highest possible precision, for several days. When necessary this can be done under temperature conditions that make mice resemble humans most closely. This is combined with precision engineering which minimises disturbance to the mice studied and allows rapid turnaround. Together these technical advances will ensure the maximum information is gained about major human metabolic and behavioural disorders while minimising the number of mice used.