Question: are tests done on the mice?

Joanna Cruden answered on 19 Jun 2012:

Yes they are and I have tried to give a brief explanation, if you need further information please do ask for me to expand of the following:

Mice are the most common choice for research (although Zebra Danio fish are catching up) because mice are small, have a short lifespan and they reproduce quickly and scientists can get a lot of information from them through the generations

Both mouse and human genomes have been mapped (80% of human genes are exactly the same as those found in mice, and at least a further 10% are very similar) allowing human genetic disorders and diseases to be studied with greater accuracy. Often, the only way of determining the function of a human gene is to insert it into, or remove it from, the mouse genome.

A transgenic mouse is made when the genes are altered at the embryonic stage and this embryo will often pass the gene alterations on to their offspring.

Many thousands of mouse strains now exist, some frozen as embryos. Eventually, such techniques could lead to new methods of preventing, treating or even curing genetic diseases and other diseases with a genetic component. 92% of all genetically modified animals used in research are mice