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Follow us. Even though lab mice and rats are, at this point, genetically distinct from their wild counterparts, they retain many of the same instincts. Repressing these needs could cause undue stress on the animals and compromise scientific findings. Scientists, he believes, should consider the nature of rats when designing experiments to get the best results.
In some cases, the impacts of going against the biological grain have already been observed. While the genetic homogeneity of lab rodents helps to remove distracting variables from focused experiments, it may also, more subtly, be skewing scientific results. In other words, the use of static, homogenous, sheltered animals may not always be the best way to accomplish the ultimate goal of using lab rodents: to better understand, and in some cases cure, the human body and mind.
In general, the process of transitioning an experiment from rodents to humans is not haphazard. Besides the reams of paperwork, new drugs are required to be tested on two different animals—a small one, like a mouse or rat, and then a large one, usually a pig, dog or primate—before they move to human trials.
According to the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, only one out of every compounds tested on animals moves to human trials. For those that make it to approval, the entire process usually takes 10 to 15 years.
Even after the long road to human trials, many drugs and procedures that work on mice and rats do not work on people. The rodents' "couch potato" lifestyles could influence the results, or perhaps the slight differences between rat, mouse and human genomes produce different responses to drugs.
Thalidomide, a drug used to treat morning sickness in the s and 60s, caused deformities in human babies despite being successfully and harmlessly tested in rats. The drug breaks down much faster in rats, and their embryos have more antioxidant defenses against its nastier side effects.
In many cases, however, the reasons for a failed drug remain mysterious. Whether an experiment will end successfully may be uncertain, but one thing is always guaranteed: death of the lab rodents.
The body count is unavoidable; an estimated million lab mice and rats or more are killed every year in U. While some of the bodies are creatively repurposed as snacks for birds in sanctuaries , most are frozen and incinerated with the rest of the biological waste.
Rats and mice used in aging studies often live out their natural lives, but most lab rodents are terminated at the end of a study. Some are killed via lethal injection or decapitated with strict guidelines to reduce pain and suffering, but most often, they are suffocated in cages with carbon dioxide.
For some time CO 2 has been considered the most ethical end of life practice for these lab animals, but Joanna Makowska, adjunct professor at the University of British Columbia and Lab Animal Advisor for the Animal Welfare Institute, believes there is a better way. The carbon dioxide poisoning, she says, mimics the feeling of running out of air when you are holding your breath underwater, which causes undue fear and anxiety. My boy moved out of town and came home with a bony-azz lab rat!
A persons behavior or condition that is reminiscent of a laboratory rat that has been exposed to an excess of some chemical, toxin , or treatment, causing it to be or behave in an abnormal manner, rendering it useless for further scientific study.
We were drunk as lab rats. Her boyfriend is a lab rat, 'fucker drank all the tequila and most of the beer! Lab Rat. A person who's used for experimental reasons. Similar to the phrase " Guinea pig ". Tested , played with, fucked over , messed with, etc.
This applies to any situation in which you can be Tested, played with, fucked over, messed with, etc. Alyson : I think we should break up, I like another guy.
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