They make a guest appearance in at least half of the articles on Medical News Today. They are responsible for many of the biggest breakthroughs in medicine. However, the humble lab mice also shoulder much of the blame when the failure of drugs to translate from animal models to humans keeps worrying the whole of medical research. Should scientists abandon lab mice altogether?
Mice were introduced into the lab back in the 1920s. An ambitious young American geneticist Clarence Cook Little strongly believed that cancer was an inheritable (有遗传性的) disease, and that mice were the ideal subjects for his experiments.
Other animals were, and still are, used to study disease. Cats and dogs are popular, as well as chimpanzees. Of course, ethical (伦理的) considerations get more complicated the further up the food chain you go. And mice are in sufficient numbers for researchers to conduct thousands of trials. Add to that the problem of cost: A standard lab mouse costs about $20---far cheaper than a healthy cat or dog. So their importance in scientific research has become well-established.
We share more than 97 percent of our working DNA with mice, a consequence of a shared ancestor 75 million years ago. This similarity has been both a blessing and a curse. While we share many basic biological processes, it is the three percent of the genes which set us apart from mice that can have a big influence on how our bodies work.
Mice may not always be the perfect model for understanding our own bodies, but they do hold real value to researchers. Their usefulness will only increase as scientists work out better ways to modify (修改) their genes to compensate for their shortcomings. The difficult part of the issue may be that researchers need to be more critical as they evaluate the type of model that is best for their experiment.
In the end, the story of scientists’ relationship with lab mice will possibly be one of gradual advances to improve an imperfect system. This is exactly how most scientific research progresses — by critically examining what we know to expand our knowledge of what we do not.
12. What does the underlined word “they” in the first paragraph refer to?
A. American geneticists B. cats and dogs
C. lab mice D. breakthroughs in medicine
13. Paragraph 4 mainly answers the question “________?”
A. Why do drugs that work in mice fail when tried in humans
B. Why are mice the ideal subjects for medical research
C. Why do we and mice share more than 97% of our working DNA
D. How can we understand our own bodies by studying lab mice
14. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
A. Mice are in sufficient numbers because they are at the lower part of the food chain.
B. Many scientist are considering stopping the use of lab mice.
C. More genetically modified mice will be used in medical research in the near future.
D. It will become easier for researchers to choose the proper type of lab mice.
15. What is the author’s attitude to the use of lab mice?
A. Disappointed B. Supportive
C. Indifferent D. disapproving
【答案】
Mice were introduced into the lab back in the 1920s. An ambitious young American geneticist Clarence Cook Little strongly believed that cancer was an inheritable (有遗传性的) disease, and that mice were the ideal subjects for his experiments.
Other animals were, and still are, used to study disease. Cats and dogs are popular, as well as chimpanzees. Of course, ethical (伦理的) considerations get more complicated the further up the food chain you go. And mice are in sufficient numbers for researchers to conduct thousands of trials. Add to that the problem of cost: A standard lab mouse costs about $20---far cheaper than a healthy cat or dog. So their importance in scientific research has become well-established.
We share more than 97 percent of our working DNA with mice, a consequence of a shared ancestor 75 million years ago. This similarity has been both a blessing and a curse. While we share many basic biological processes, it is the three percent of the genes which set us apart from mice that can have a big influence on how our bodies work.
Mice may not always be the perfect model for understanding our own bodies, but they do hold real value to researchers. Their usefulness will only increase as scientists work out better ways to modify (修改) their genes to compensate for their shortcomings. The difficult part of the issue may be that researchers need to be more critical as they evaluate the type of model that is best for their experiment.
In the end, the story of scientists’ relationship with lab mice will possibly be one of gradual advances to improve an imperfect system. This is exactly how most scientific research progresses — by critically examining what we know to expand our knowledge of what we do not.
12. What does the underlined word “they” in the first paragraph refer to?
A. American geneticists B. cats and dogs
C. lab mice D. breakthroughs in medicine
13. Paragraph 4 mainly answers the question “________?”
A. Why do drugs that work in mice fail when tried in humans
B. Why are mice the ideal subjects for medical research
C. Why do we and mice share more than 97% of our working DNA
D. How can we understand our own bodies by studying lab mice
14. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
A. Mice are in sufficient numbers because they are at the lower part of the food chain.
B. Many scientist are considering stopping the use of lab mice.
C. More genetically modified mice will be used in medical research in the near future.
D. It will become easier for researchers to choose the proper type of lab mice.
15. What is the author’s attitude to the use of lab mice?
A. Disappointed B. Supportive
C. Indifferent D. disapproving
【答案】
苏19057182-3号