Another supermouse was kitted out with a human gene that made it resistant to heart disease. Faith in the mouse as model for human frailties is extraordinarily strong among scientists. It's no exaggeration to say drugs will be made that will actually treat this disease within five or 10 years. Figures from the British Home Office, which keeps records on every mouse that passes through British laboratories, tell the story. His speciality is deaf mice.
Researchers love tailor-made mice.
Because their natural lifespans are short, the effects of their altered genes show up early. They breed quickly. They don't take up much space. And scientists don't get as much flak from animal rights campaigners and anti-vivisectionists for using them. They're more like people than flies or worms are, but not as genetically close to us as monkeys, or as emotionally close as dogs.