Many more strains of mice were originated beginning in 1929 with the founding of the Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor, Maine, now the largest supplier of mice. In 1962, the discovery of a mutant mouse with low immunity led to human tumor transplantations, a valuable breakthrough for cancer research. A further breakthrough in the late 1980s led to transgenic mice, those whose genes have been altered to produce a desired characteristic. Oncogenes, or genes that cause cancer, could then be studied in greater detail. Life in the Laboratory.
Mice adapt well to laboratory housing and can be housed socially or individually.
Significant numbers can be housed in relatively little space because of their small body size. They possess a surprising genetic similarity to humans. These features, combined with a rapid rate of reproduction, make mice the mammal of choice for fine-tuned genetic manipulation. Mice with many different special features have been bred or created, including some described here. The inbreeding of mice predisposed to developing cancer has led to a variety of specialized strains.