Thousands of mutant mice are being bred in a project that will help decode our genetic make-up. Deborah Smith reports. In each room there are about 400 plastic boxes. In each box there are two to three black mice. Up to 25,000 of the furry little creatures are housed in the cloistered, germ-free environment of this Canberra laboratory.
Every mouse is a mutant.
And every one is precious, says Dr Chris Goodnow, of the John Curtin School of Medical Research at the Australian National University. The mice nest on soft tissues. He creates the mutants by injecting a potent chemical into male mice, which randomly alters the DNA in their sperm. For some offspring, the result of this genetic lottery is catastrophic. They die in the womb or soon after birth.