Fearless Mice Cuddle with Cats
Scientists in Japan were able to genetically engineer fearless mice that are unfazed by felines. This new finding will allow mammal behaviorists to understand the nature of fear and how it develops. The researchers at Tokyo University claim to have successfully turned off the instinct of the mouse to flea in the presence of cat odor. This is a very interesting find because the fear of mice towards cats was thought to be a learned trait because cats prey on them, not hardwired as these findings suggest.
Naturally, mice will flea or panic when they smell a cat. In this study, researchers were able to remove certain nasal cells in the mice using genetic engineering, and observed their behavior with cats. In their experiments, they observed that the mice would approach the cats, snuggle with the cats, and would even play with the cats!
This interesting study will allow scientists to understand what fear is, and will also allow them to observe the neuronal networks and associate certain areas of the brain with fear. This association will be important in understanding the root of fear and how it is controlled.
Source.
Posted by Christine Tauras (12)
posted by PWH @ 9:57 PM
5 comments
5 Comments:
Awesome blog!! This subject is very interesting. The only possible error that I see is that I would place a "that" in the last sentence of the second paragraph right before "the mice".
The idea that fear of cats in mice is genetic versus learned is quite the idea. Good topic and good job!
Posted by Scotty Fay
I don't know what else to say except for that this blog really caught my eye and proved to be interesting as well.
Did the article you found talk about any other animals? Is this idea of genetic rather than learned fear plausible for all other kinds of mammals (specifically) too? Nice job!
Posted By: Natalie Nicholson
Awesome blog! Great subject! One of my questions is that do the mice show lack of fear towards other animals or is it just specific for cats? Great article!
Posted by:
Balkrishna Gantyala
This was a great article. I had no idea that it was the smell of cats that made mice afraid. I think it would be really interesting to hear more about this research and if it could apply to fear in other animals. I wonder if this could correlate to phobias in humans and whether they are genetically based or learned. I wonder if the mouse's fears are only genetically based because its important to their survival where as a lot of human fears are irrational. Great job
Posted by Hollis Martin
This is a very interesting article. I just wonder how the scientist were able to find and effectively remove this instinct from the mice and not cause any damage. Maybe in the future this discovery can lead to humans getting effective treatment for their phobias. Great work!!!
Posted by Joanne Philippeaux
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