All rodents are regularly monitored for genetic purity and health status. Cage position on cage racks are routinely rotated to prevent retinal degeneration from lighting. Ad libitum access to acidified, chlorinated drinking water is provided. A health monitoring report for the room in which animals are raised accompanies each shipment of animals. These animals are in an approximate age range of 18 to 35 years.
Animals are available for both noninvasive and invasive research studies.
Some animals are maintained in group housing while others are individually caged. The purpose of this repository is to acquire, develop and characterize, store, and supply cell cultures for gerontological research. Currently, this repository contains over 900 cell cultures available for research on aging. Human endothelial cell cultures as well as mammary epithelial cell cultures are also available. When supplies permit resources are made available to other than NIA grantees.