Related topics: mice · species · brain · neurons · fossil

Spiny mice found to have bone-plated tails

Mammals are a bit odd when it comes to bones. Rather than the bony plates and scales of crocodiles, turtles, lizards, dinosaurs and fish, mammals long ago traded in their ancestral suit of armor for a layer of insulating ...

Rodent extinctions in Hispaniola may have been caused by humans

The island of Hispaniola once had among the highest diversity of rodents in the Caribbean, supporting 11 species that coexisted for thousands of years. Today, only one rodent species remains within the island's two countries ...

In defense of rodents: Why healthy ecosystems need them

You might think you have the measure of the rodent family. Perhaps just the word "rodent" conjures images of invasive rats, those urban denizens accused of spreading pathogens and parasites, chewing through wires and spoiling ...

Why humans get infected with rodent-borne diseases

The COVID-19 pandemic has stressed the need to better understand the transmission routes of animal-spread diseases. A study published in Nature Communications demonstrates how the risk of pathogen transmission from rodents ...

Novel sex-determination mechanism revealed in mammals

In mammals, the distinction between male and female at the chromosomal level is due to the X and Y chromosomes. Typically, females have two X chromosomes (XX) while males have an X and a Y chromosome (XY). The Sry gene on ...

Using artificial intelligence to improve tuberculosis treatments

Imagine you have 20 new compounds that have shown some effectiveness in treating a disease like tuberculosis (TB), which affects 10 million people worldwide and kills 1.5 million each year. For effective treatment, patients ...

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