From the Guardian in Britain today:

`From the outside, the brave new world of genetics is all about computers and cutting edge technology. In fact, it's dependent on something much simpler: mice. Obese mice, diabetic mice, musclebound mice, even fluorescent mice. And now, reports James Meek, a bitter legal battle over a new variety.'

Mighty Mouse

-- Anonymous, April 18, 2000

Answers

Thanks for posting the link, David. It's an interesting article that explains a lot of the controversial issues surrounding biotechnology.

To me, the most difficult dilemma is the issue of intellectual property, and the rights of drug companies to refuse to share their research with others. This isn't a new issue at all, but it is becoming more prevalent as the yields of private research become greater and more valuable. On the one hand, it seems deplorable that lives are wasted because drug companies won't share their research. But on the other hand, drug companies have to make money, or they'll cease to exist, and less research will be done, which isn't beneficial to society, either.

-- Anonymous, April 18, 2000

Mighty Mouse? Isn't that, like, a cartoon?

-- Anonymous, June 09, 2000

Mice now have legal rights in the United States:

http://foxnews.com/science/100300/usda.sml

-- Anonymous, October 04, 2000

Yeah, the USDA thing was expected. It's actually not going to change anything for people in the public sector, since we've been subjected to government animal handling regulations all along.

-- Anonymous, October 04, 2000

Jen, I don't know if you enjoy mystery novels, but if you are ever stuck in an airport you might enjoy "The First Eagle" by Tony Hillerman ( http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0061097853/o/qid=970864980/sr=2 -2/102-3128301-1116134 ). It's a murder mystery set on the Navaho reservation in the "four corners" area. It involves a group of researchers studying the transmission of bubonic plague and hantavirus by rodents. There are a lot of mice and prairie dogs dissected in the course of solving the mystery.

Hillarman is definately the thinking person's mystery writer.

-- Anonymous, October 06, 2000

I don' really understand why these specific transgenics would be so expensive. So many labs now can do mice genetic ingeneering, and I doubt it would be so difficult, or expensive for another team, or a pharmaceutical to create another equivalent strain of "Alzeimher mice" (haha).

Also: "genetically modified have a failed immune system, they are kept in an airtight, windowless, germ-free world. No one can have access to them without stripping, showering, shampooing and going through an airlock." This is total bullshit. Or more exactly, it is a stupid legend about transgenics. Many labs all over the world raise genetically modified mice without having any budget to afford a "germ- free world" for their mice, and they get plenty of interesting results from happy healthy transgenic mice. Besides, it is another debate, whether colonies offering "germ-free worlds" are or not More susceptible to epidemics than simple Clean colonies.

And what about " It is born to contract Alzheimer's disease.". Didn't any scientist Read this paper before print, and correct it to "develop" Alzheimer's disease?

-- Anonymous, October 09, 2000

oops, I hadn't noticed that this thread was started in April!!

-- Anonymous, October 09, 2000

a mouse waysas much as your hand.

-- Anonymous, October 08, 2002