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Genetically Engineered Mouse is Not Scared of Cats
Gary writes "A team from the University of Tokyo has genetically engineered a mouse that does not fear cats. By tweaking genes to disable certain functions of the olfactory bulb (the area of the brain that receives information about smells directly from olfactory receptors in the nose) the researchers were able to create a 'fearless' mouse that does not try to flee when it smells cats, foxes and other predators. 'The research suggests that the mechanism by which mammals determine whether or not to fear another animal they smell -- and whether or not to flee -- is not a higher-order cerebral function. Instead, that decision is made based on a lower-order function that is hardwired into the neural circuitry of the olfactory bulb.'"
Something tells me these mice are an evolutionary dead end...
Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
Easy, he just puts something slick like a banana peel on the floor and holds out a frying pan and waits for the cat to run face first into it.
Not news. They already engineering ones that do not fear my wife. It was only a matter of time.
Another team took the opposite approach and genetically engineered many people I know to have an irrational fear of global warming.
I'm glad their tackling this fear things from both ends.
"If you want to improve, be content to be thought foolish and stupid." - Epictetus
Once we have this treatment available for humans, Slashdotters will no longer be afraid of women!
In other news, Doraemon is still scared of mice.
In Soviet Russia, Jesus asks: "What Would You Do?"
There's ample prior art.
Welcome to the Panopticon. Used to be a prison, now it's your home.
The company that made mouse an integral part of personal computer also makes all the OSes named like panther, tiger and leopard. So I am not surprised the mouse does not fear the cat. Aren't mice intelligently designed by Steve Jobs?
sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact
This mouse is often seen wielding a large mallet.
See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.
these results to man. for unlike the lower animals, we are motivated by higher mental orders of conscience and reason. of course, some wankers will come along and say that we are also help captive to these lower impulses. but i say-
mmm... who's cooking brownies?
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
No, what really freaked the cat out was when the mouse tried to mate with it...
Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
Now we can finally disproof Darwinism!
Keep the whitehouse white, vote Trump & Palin 2020.
Well I bet you'll change your mind once you stand face to face with the new race of fearless, regenerating mice that can run six kilometres without rest and glow in the dark. But by then it will be far too late to do anything but welcome our new cheese-eating overlords.
Their only weakness is a slightly increased risk of cancer when exposed to various substances. Oh, if only we had invested equal resources in building better cats!
In a fair world, refrigerators would make electricity.
For the second application you need urine from a Targ.
My office has been taken over by iPod people.
How about try this on rabbits, then turn loose a whole bunch in Australia. A few years later you may have a boom in Dingo population, but if we then breed Dingo's that are scared of Kangaroos...
My cat doesn't have an eat mouse reflex - it's evolved into a "bat the mouse around for two hours until it dies of a heart attack, and then leave it somewhere that Food Bringing Slave can step on it!" reflex ...
A feral cat wouldn't have those issues, it would have slaughtered that mouse the second it didn't run fast enough. Yours is just a pussy.
I've been reading Slashdot daily for nearly a year. I don't usually post, I'm more interested in what the experts have to say. I'm getting a little fed up with the stupidly over used comments though. There are places (lots of places) online where you can go to say these things and get a laugh. Leave Slashdot as an intellectual retreat :)
We're engineering our mice to be stronger... faster... smarter... better... The new super-mouse will be able to take on a cat... and WIN! Immortality for mice is just around the corner. This is not an evolutionary dead end! This is the future of life as we know it!
I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?
and we won't be able to hide because of the giant ear on their backs
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