Lucky lab mice get to live in a 'smart house'
March 7 (UPI) -- Scientists have developed a "smart house" for mice, which will allow scientists to observe the behavior of tested mice while limiting disturbance levels. Researchers are constantly working to ensure external factors and outside influence, like the presence of a peering scientists, aren't influencing test results. Designers of the new digs claim their "Autonomouse" system will improve the welfare of lab mice, while ensuring greater consistency across different tests results. "We want to understand how the brain works, and for that we need to measure behavior," Andreas Schaefer, neuroscience researcher at the Francis Crick Institute in England, said in a news release. "In mice, this is normally done in a very manual and laborious way, which limits the amount of questions w...
