In this review, the authors compare 28 freely available animal-tracking software applications, highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of the applications in the tracking pipeline, from video acquisition to trajectory generation and data analysis.

In this article, the authors evaluate the suitability and effectiveness of their micropipette-guided drug administration method as an alternative and non-invasive administration strategy for clozapine-N-oxide in chemogenetic studies using designer receptors exclusively activated by designer drugs.

Are your mouse colonies in the best state to resume experiments? A short commentary on some key issues to consider when moving forward.

Using behavioral assays, transcriptome analysis and viral approaches to manipulate gene expression in the mPFC, Zhang et al. identified an important role for early growth response 2 (Egr2/Krox-20) in the development of social and cooperative behaviors in mice.

A clinically relevant murine model of septic arthritis via direct inoculation of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus into the knee joint is described. This protocol details methods for serum, synovial fluid and knee joint tissue analysis that more closely mimic the workup of septic arthritis in human patients.

Rats undergoing the stress-enhanced fear learning procedure are usually housed in social isolation and exposed to a trauma-like experience of 15 massed electric footshocks. By showing that group-housed rats receiving fewer and lower-magnitude electric shocks still exhibit PTSD-relevant changes, this new study presents refinements of the procedure to reduce potential animal pain.

The authors describe an optimized protocol for rat sperm cryopreservation and in vitro fertilization using frozen–thawed sperm.

Sound levels, vibration, temperature, humidity and luminance were recorded in an animal facility that houses nonhuman primates; the findings may be used to characterize environmental conditions in similar primate facilities and inform best practices for nonhuman primate research and care.

Giannuzzi et al. present an integrated analysis of clinical features and exome and RNA sequencing data in a cohort of dogs with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma to better define the genetic landscape of this tumor and identify multiple mutations associated with the outcome.