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Scientists at Stanford University have developed a tiny but powerful microscope that can fit on a mouses head and peer inside their brains without interfering with their actions. Previously studying mouse brains involved the mouse being held down or at least having their head restrained. With this new system the mice are free to behave naturally and freely. The microscope that looks a like a hi tech top hat could also be mass produced cheaply.
A team from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute have managed to identify and map specific clusters of neurons that were activated in response to drops of four of the five taste groups placed on the tongues of sedated mice. In this way they produced a map of the areas in the brain that respond to saltiness, sweetness, bitterness and umami (or savoury) The only taste centre the researchers could not find was that for sour, possibly because the sedative used interfered with that taste.
In 1993 Australia was witness to a mouse plague of biblical proportions. Millions of mice attacked farms and homes with the residents helpless against such numbers. The mice attacked livestock, crops and destroyed farm equipment and buildings. The problem is that mice are SO prolific. One pair of mice can produce thousands of offspring within months. WARNING: This video shows scenes some may find distressing.
Scientists have been able to manipulate social hierarchy in mice. They first tested each mouse to find its natural position of dominance or submission. When pairs mice came face to face inside a narrow transparent tube, the subordinate animal would retreat and back out of the tube. Some of the mice were injected with a virus that inserts a gene called GluR4 (which amplifies transmission of electrical signals) or R4Ct (that reduces transmission of electrical signals) into the part of the brain, the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), that is responsible for emotion and decision-making.When the dominance test was then repeated, subordinate mice that had GluR4 became more dominant, while the previously dominant mice that had R4Ct became subordinate. The work could give new insights into the brain mechanisms that dictate social status in people and its effects on anxiety, motivation, addiction and relationships.
Not a new cartoon hero sadly. Scientists are using mouse genes to trace patterns of human migration as whenever humans moved on to new areas mice and rodents often traveled with us. Analysing the genes of house mice from more than 100 locations across the UK, researchers found that mice from the Orkneys have a DNA signature similar to Scandinavian mice, and to mice from around the Atlantic coast of Europe that were reached by the Vikings.
An SAS Airbus 330 flight from Stockholm to Chicago had to be grounded when a mouse was seen scurrying across the floor prior to boarding. The 250 passengers were stranded in the Swedish capital as the SAS staff attempted to capture the stowaway. Despite intensive searches & laying various mouse traps the rodent remains at large. The airline was concerned that, as well as upsetting passengers the mouse posed a safety risk as it could chew through the aircraft's cables.
A cafe in the Doncaster area had to be closed down for a week and a half by the local council's environmental health officers due to an infestation of mice. It has now reopened after inspectors were satisfied that the pests had been removed & the premises were seen to be clear for 3 days. As well as the loss of business incurred the owner was ordered to pay £1,046.98 in costs.
House Mice Mate With Related Species To Pick Up Poison Resistance
The European house mouse has become increasingly resistant to the poisons we use against them. It has been found that rodents have evolved this resistance with 10 different mutations in the gene that makes them suseptible to poison. Of those 10 mutations, while 6 are the rodent's own adaptations, 4 have been acquired by a cloe relative, the Algerian mouse found in northern Africa, Spain, Portugal & southern France. Although the two species separated 1.5 to 3 million years agothey can breed with each other & it is thought the Algerian mice transferred their resistance to the European mice in this way between 5 and 32 years ago.
Odd Zone: Larry deals with the rats at Downing Street
Jun 13 2011
Larry the Downing Street cat has made his first kills since being brought in to deal with rats at No 10, David Cameron has revealed.
The tabby tomcat has not been catching rats, but mice.
The prime minister revealed that his London townhouse is infested with mice, and he had spotted one in the family flat above 11 Downing Street.
"I'm a big Larry fan," the PM told ITV1's This Morning. "We have got big mouse infestation in Downing Street and Larry has caught some mice."
Larry was recruited from Battersea Dogs and Cats Home in February after a series of sightings of rats outside the Prime Minister's official residence
