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Research shows rats have best bite of rodent world

Scientists at the University of Liverpool have found that mice and rats have evolved to gnaw with their front teeth and chew with their back teeth more successfully than rodents that 'specialise' in one or ...

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Apr 27, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 4 | with audio podcast

Keeping track to selenium metabolism

Spanish and Danish researchers have developed a method for the in vivo study of the unknown metabolism of selenium, an essential element for living beings. The technique can help clarify whether or not it ...

Chemistry / Analytical Chemistry

created Mar 21, 2012 | popularity 4 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Scientists study how to improve pesticide efficiency

In 2007, a controversial pesticide was approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use on fruit and vegetable crops, mainly in California and Florida. Farm workers and scientists protested the approval of the pesticide ...

Chemistry / Biochemistry

created Feb 29, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

How the 'street pigeon' got its fancy on

Pigeons display spectacular variations in their feathers, feet, beaks and other physical traits, but a new University of Utah study shows that visible traits don't always coincide with genetics: A bird from ...

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Jan 19, 2012 | popularity 4 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Ruthless boas know when to ditch their squeeze

Boa constrictors can sense the heartbeat of their quarry as they suffocate it, thus giving themselves the signal to know when the prey is dead, scientists say.

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Jan 18, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Fewer animal experiments thanks to nanosensors

Experiments on animals have been the subject of criticism for decades, but there is no prospect of a move away from them any time soon. The number of tests involving laboratory animals has in fact gone up. ...

Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine

created Jan 03, 2012 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (5) | comments 0

Compound in Apples Inhibits E. coli O157:H7

A compound that is abundant in apples and strawberries inhibits the highly pathogenic E. coli O157:H7 biofilms while sparing a beneficial strain of E. coli that also forms biofilms in the human gut, according to a paper in ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Dec 16, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

Researchers uncover reason why mole rats are oblivious to acid pain

(PhysOrg.com) -- Mole rats aren't the prettiest things; living underground as they do, they more resemble Gollum from the Lord of the Rings trilogy than other rats or mice. But they’re interesting to ...

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Dec 16, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (5) | comments 4 | with audio podcast report

What do animals 'know'? More than you may think

(PhysOrg.com) -- Rats use their knowledge to make decisions when faced with ambiguous situations, UCLA psychologists report.

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Dec 09, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (9) | comments 28 | with audio podcast

Helping your fellow rat: Rodents show empathy-driven behavior

The first evidence of empathy-driven helping behavior in rodents has been observed in laboratory rats that repeatedly free companions from a restraint, according to a new study by University of Chicago neuroscientists.

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Dec 08, 2011 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (8) | comments 8 | with audio podcast

Bottom of the swimming league: Naked mole rat sperm

Naked mole rats (Heterocephalus glaber) live in a 'hive' society with one reproducing queen and between one and three reproducing males. The rest of the mole rats in the colony are workers either defending the bu ...

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Dec 05, 2011 | popularity 4 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Fleas collected from Norway rats in downtown LA carry human pathogen

Most fleas collected from rats trapped in downtown Los Angeles, California carried microbes from the genus, Bartonella, many of which are human pathogens, according to a paper in the November Applied and Environmental Mi ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Nov 17, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 1

Bats, dolphins, and mole rats inspire advances in ultrasound technology

Sonar and ultrasound, which use sound as a navigational device and to paint accurate pictures of an environment, are the basis of countless technologies, including medical ultrasound machines and submarine ...

Physics / General Physics

created Nov 14, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0

Naked mole genome sequenced

Scientists have sequenced the complete genome of the naked mole rat, a pivotal step to understanding the animal's extraordinarily long life and good health. A colony of more than 2,000 naked mole rats at The ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Oct 12, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Mole rat dental structure similar to a shark

(PhysOrg.com) -- Sharks are capable of continually growing new teeth. As the teeth age, they fall out and new ones move forward similar to that of a tooth conveyor belt. Humans, and most mammals, on the other ...

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Oct 11, 2011 | popularity 4 / 5 (4) | comments 0 | with audio podcast report

Rat

50 species

Stenomys Thomas, 1910

Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents of the superfamily Muroidea. "True rats" are members of the genus Rattus, the most important of which to humans are the black rat, Rattus rattus, and the brown rat, Rattus norvegicus. Many members of other rodent genera and families are also called rats and share many characteristics with true rats.

Rats are typically distinguished from mice by their size; rats are generally large muroid rodents, while mice are generally small muroid rodents. The muroid family is very large and complex, and the common terms rat and mouse are not taxonomically specific. Generally, when someone discovers a large muroid, its common name includes the term rat, while if it is small, the name includes the term mouse - scientifically, the terms are not confined to members of the Rattus and Mus genera. Compare the taxonomic classification of the Pack rat and Cotton mouse.

For more information about Rat, read the full article at Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.

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