plan experiments is a tricky job . In social club to prove or disprove a possibility , scientist first have to obviate or account for the influence of as many variables as potential . But in Holy Order to do that , first they must realize that these variables exist . A review article published today in the journalTrends in Cancershows that standard laboratory temperature — which are comfortable for humans but chilly for mice — are likely affecting biomedical subject field results .
As oversights go , this is a pretty big one . Lab mice and rats are the subject of more than100,000journal articles every year … and those are just the experiment that are bring out . But unlike dogs , cats , rabbit , or chimpanzees , mice and betrayer are not protect under the 1966Animal Welfare Act , which regulates how research animals are process . This want of protection means that there has beenrelatively niggling research , and less rule , regarding their treatment .
This is a uncollectible situation for betrayer and mice , and it ’s not large for us , either . The black eye role model , as it ’s fuck , is generally seen as a pretty good index of how a gift drug or medical occurrence may impress humans . So if test on a cold mouse yield different results from those done on a mouse at a well-heeled temperature , as two immunologists now argue , then millions of studies on drug and disease have been affected .
Today , rodent enquiry labs are keep between 68 ° Fand 78.8 ° F . Researchers bear layers of protective gear , including gowns , gloves , and masquerade , so a higher temperature might cause them to overheat . keep the thermostat down also helps keep down the smell .
Image Credit : Guanxi ( Christina ) Qiao
But a mouse ’s ideal temperature average between 86 ° Fand 89.6 ° F . A 70 ° Froom will cause mice to shiver , which uses up their energy and affect their metabolism , blood menses , and heart rate . Realizing this , immunologists Bonnie Hylander and Elizabeth Repasky decided to take a feel at the relationship between mouse temperature and study outcome . In 2013 , they launch that a cold black eye isless capable to stand off tumorsthan one that ’s toasty warm — a determination that had full-grown implications for malignant neoplastic disease drug research .
But these finding were just the start . Hylander and Repasky lead a sweep oar of scientific literature , looking for studies like theirs . They found that researchers of obesity , inflammation , coronary artery disease , and a number of other disease all concluded that keeping mice insensate take to “ significant deviation in observational outcomes . ”
" Most people only look at results from experiments at standard lab temperatures , " Hylandersaidin a press statement . " They ’re not necessarily aware that if you recapitulate the experiments with shiner at a different temperature , you might get a different outcome . "
Unfortunately , there ’s no immediate localization to be had here . “ The mouse require different temperatures for dissimilar part of the day , ” animal eudaemonia scientist Brianna GaskilltoldDan Engber at Slate . “ There is no way that humans can pick a single , utter temperature for mice . ” And , as mentioned earlier , what ’s good for mouse is not so good for researcher .
Hylander and Repasky are n’t suggesting that research lab simply turn up the warmth . One attack might be for investigator to experiment with continue the mice warm in incubators , or offering them more nesting material . They also urge that researchers consider the effects of temperature in both their experimental aim and their analysis of their results in the future .
