![]() ![]() The public interest is interesting in itself. One of those topics where the meta is richer than the actual science. I mean, theoretically if you could instantly crush a mouse, faster than brain/nerve signals can travel, that would be humane, right? But then a human has to deal with a gruesome crushed mouse. Something physical like direct concussion/blunt force trauma followed up by another method might be better (needs more studying) but there's also issues with physical methods because they require more skill to do correctly (or tools/machines developed to negate the skill factor).Īlso operators dislike physical methods compared to gassing so what's most practical might end up the standard even if it may not be the most humane. So there's been ongoing debate for 20+ years over how humane CO2 is and what the correct flow rate should be and if oxygen should be added (or not) or other gasses (or not). I guess I learned the weight of doing the right thing in a packed room full of people with contrary opinions, and learned that I was way less strong / bold / principled than I had believed myself to be which was remarkable, as that bar was already low.Įveryone agrees drowning is really not humane but nitrogen isn't approved either (rodents are not humans and so they might react to things like inert gas hypoxia differently).ĬO2 is common in labs though lab rats/mice do show aversion to CO2 which is interpreted to mean that it causes distress. That silence is still among the top few of my regrets. We were perfectly positioned to know it.ĭespite knowing what I knew, I didn't say anything. The presentor, his advisor, many of us in the department knew - or should have - how un-funny the joke was. He revealed their rich emotional worlds in glorious detail. A famous and well-regarded paragon of the field who had recently come to the university to give a talk spent his career characterizing animal emotions, especially of mice and rats. I remember in that moment bubbling with rage. In the presentation of results he lingers on a graph, and says, for effect: "That's right, they were scared shitless." ![]() I learned that when mice get scared enough they shit excessively. Many powerpoint details unfold of the hell he and his advisor had contrived to make the mice chronically afraid, and to be able to quantify the fear induced and its effects. Once in grad school I went to a talk where another grad student was presenting on his fear research with mice. ![]()
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