The Nathan Shock President and Mrs. Harry Truman host a goodbye party for the Prescotts, who are in their 50s Center of Excellence in the Basic Biology of Aging, which is overseen by Dr. Richardson, is playing a major role in such studies. Sponsored by the National Institute on Aging, the San Antonio center is one of five national centers. The Shock Center is a joint effort with the South Texas Veterans Health Care System. Named for Nathan W. Shock, known in the scientific community as the father of gerontology, the center s research is based on the use of rodent models to study aging and age-related diseases. The Health Science Center was awarded the honor of receiving a Shock Center in 1995 because of its international reputation for transgenic rodent research.
Rodent systems are very similar to the human system.
Eighty percent to 90 percent of the things that you see change with age in rodents, you also see in humans, said Dr. Richardson. Examples of these similarities are the changes in the immune system and hormonal systems as well as the responses to disease. One of the main functions of the Shock Center is to provide special services to investigators who are performing research on aging using rodent models, he said. Maintains Shock Center rodents throughout their lifespans. This means a colony of rodents can be maintained for three years and remain free of disease.