Rat

:This is an article about wild rats; for pet rats, see fancy rat

Rats in the laboratory

Like mice, rats (especially albino Rattus norvegicus) are frequently subjects of medical, psychological and other biological experiments. This is only partially due to their rapid growth to sexual maturity and because they are easily kept and bred in captivity. Rat are, in fact, socially, behaviorally, and in many ways physiologically similar to humans. Scientists have bred many strains or "lines" of rats specifically for experimentation. However, these lines are generally not transgenic because the easy techniques of genetic transformation that work in mice do not work in rats. This has frustrated many investigators, who regard many aspects of behavior and physiology in rats as more relevant to humans and easier to observe than in mice, but who wish to trace their observations to underlying genes. As a result, many researchers have been forced to study questions in mice that might be better pursued in rats. In October 2003, however, researchers succeeded in cloning two laboratory rats by the problematic technique of nuclear transfer. This may lead to more rats being used as genetic research subjects

Related Topics:
Mice - Albino - Lines - Transgenic - Genetic transformation - Behavior - Physiology - Gene - Cloning - Nuclear transfer - Genetic

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