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From the time the first primitive hunter discovered he could cover a lot more territory a lot faster on the back of a horse than on foot, equines have captured the human imagination. They are the trusted mount, servant, confidante, the silent supporter, the difference between seeing the world and staying put, the difference between eating and being eaten.
But what if that bond is more than emotional? What if at the very level of the cell, horses and humans are fundamentally, physiologically connected? And what if that connection provides a point of comparison that could help explain the cause of age-onset diseases like diabetes and cancer in humans?
In my opinion, those diseases are not inevitable. The same chemistry that led to the successful cloning of mule foals Idaho Gem, Utah Pioneer and Idaho Star already has shed new light on the cellular biology connected to the causes of prostate cancer. The research of the Northwest Equine Reproduction Laboratory now focuses on exploring the horse-human-health connection even further. I believe the horse can carry us to a new understanding of disease. I hope it’s a journey you will join.
Best regards,
Dr. Gordon Woods, DVM, Ph.D.
NERL Director |