Japanese scientists taught mice to sing

2024 Author: James Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 14:00

Japanese genetics made the mice literally flood like a nightingale. Yes, yes, a rodent, obtained as a result of the experiments of specialists, is capable of producing sounds similar to bird singing. The result, as is often the case, was achieved completely by accident. However, according to the creators, this is a major achievement. Now experts are working with a whole "singing group" of mice.

Experts from the Graduate School of Experimental Biotechnology (Osaka University, Japan), conceiving an experiment in the framework of the Evolved Mouse project, originally intended to breed mice with body mutations.

To do this, they crossed genetically modified rodents with each other, which were prone to errors in DNA replication, that is, to mutations. When checked, it was found that among the mice with shortened limbs or a modified tail, there is also a "singer" who made sounds very similar to birdsong.

The latter has already given offspring, and now scientists have at their disposal a whole "chorus" - more than a hundred "singing" creatures.

Geneticists hope with their help to study in detail the mechanisms of the appearance and transmission of human speech. Now, similar experiments are being carried out on birds, but mice, being mammals, are closer to humans on the evolutionary ladder. They have similar brain structures and other common biological features.

One of the directions of further work is to study the influence of "singers" on ordinary mice, in particular, the ability to transfer newly acquired communication skills. It has already been established that simple mice emit much less squeaky sounds inherent in them in the company of their mutated relatives.

In addition, mouse trills change depending on the situation, which means they serve the same purpose as a regular squeak, expressing emotions or informing about well-being.