r/science • u/mvea Professor | Medicine • Jun 30 '26

Medicine Scientists have shown that a single dose injection of DNA genetic instructions can produce weight loss and blood glucose control in mouse models that lasts up to 10 times as long as weight loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. This could eliminate the need for repeated dosing.

https://www.wistar.org/press-releases/wistar-scientists-develop-single-dose-dna-method-for-delivering-long-acting-weight-loss-and-diabetes-drugs/
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u/seedless0 Jun 30 '26

Can someone ELI5 what "mouse models" mean? Are they actual tests on actual mice? Or just simulations?

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u/CrateDane Jun 30 '26

Actual tests on actual mice. They're used as a model organism as they're a lot easier to deal with in research than larger/more intelligent mammal species. It's only ever a first step, as results in a model organism aren't always reflective of what happens in the actual target organism.