Scientists Breed A Mouse That Sings

Japanese scientists have produced a mouse that tweets like a bird in a genetically engineered 'evolution' which they hope will shed light on the origins of human language. A team of researchers at the University of Osaka created the animal in their 'Evolved Mouse Project,' in which they use genetically modified mice that are prone to miscopying DNA and thus to mutations.

They checked the newly born mice one by one. One day they found a mouse that was singing like a bird. The 'singing mouse' was born by chance but scientists hope that the trait will be passed on to future generations.

Two things: First, the mouse in the picture accompanying this post is probably not the mouse modified in the Japanese laboratory. And second, this is nothing new. It has been done before. Here's a video of a singing mouse.



YouTube link

(via J-Walk Blog)