Today’s dose is concerned with hungry rodents and deadly mosquitoes, and a possible budget shortfall in Britain’s plan to fund cancer treatments. Also, a Sequenom executive admits she lied about the success of her company’s Down’s Syndrome test.

— Normally, once a yellow-bellied marmot enters a hibernation state, it will not feed even if food is placed in front of it. But Colorado State University biologist Greg Florant was able to artificially stimulate the rodents’ appetites by administering doses of the molecule aminoimidazole carboxamide ribonucleotide (AICAR) to their hypothalamuses. Understanding the mechanics of AICAR’s role in appetite regulation may lend insight into the possible neurological causes of obesity. (J. Exp. Biol.)

— The former head of research and development at Sequenom admitted to disseminating false information to investors and analysts about the success of the San Diego-based company’s test that looks for genetic markers of Down’s syndrome in fetuses. Elizabeth Dragon pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, and claims the deception was part of an effort to drive up Sequenom’s stock price. Dragon will be sentenced August 30th; she faces more than $250,000 in fines and up to 25 years in prison. (Union-Tribune)

— A plan to slash the CDC’s funding for vector-borne disease research is raising fears that the US will be unprepared for future outbreaks of infections like West Nile virus and dengue fever. President Obama’s 2011 budget recommends removing $26.7 million from vector-borne research and $8.6 million from anti-microbial research. The American Society for Microbial Research, the Red Cross, and other groups have recently submitted testimony to Congress urging legislators to keep funding the programs. (Science)

— The British government may have vastly underestimated the cost of providing cancer drugs to patients, according to an investigation conducted by the BBC. &pound 200 million has been allocated for a new NHS cancer drug fund, but the BBC’s number-crunchers estimate the cost of providing the treatments to be as much as &pound 600 million. The fund will start making payments in April 2011. (BBC)

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