[sciborg2]

Lab mice fear men but not women, and that's a big problem for science

A new study casts doubt on decades of research

The history of science is one chock-full of mice and men. Historically, biological and medical research has largely depended on rodents, which provide scientists with everything from cells and organs to behavioral data. That's why a new study in which researchers found that mice actually fear men, but not women, has the potential to be so disruptive. It might mean that a number of researchers have published mouse studies in which their results reflect this male-induced stress effect — and they know nothing about it....

If the new study ends up gaining ground via examination/replication, apparently it will be a question not only for psychologicy but biology as well:
 

Moreover, the effect probably isn't limited to behavioral studies, because the organs and cells that are used in medical research, such as in cancer studies, often originate in rodents. "If you're doing a liver cell study, the cells came from a rat that was sacrificed either by a man or a woman," Mogil says. As a result, "its stress levels would be in very different states." This, he says, could have an effect on the functioning of the liver cell in that later experiment.

And even if women did the research, it may not matter since males of other species produce the effects:

But pain wasn't the only indicator of stress in this study. Further experiments showed that the rodents also had increased body temperatures and levels of corticosterone, a stress hormone, in response to the smell of men. And the effect wasn't just prompted by human males, either. Rats and mice "are afraid of the smell of males of any species," Mogil says, because the mice in this study reacted to the smell of male dogs, guinea pigs, and cats as well.

[Aural]

The smell of men?

[Wilshire]

I saw this posted elsewhere as well. Pretty interesting idea. Makes me wonder how studies has been colored the the opinions of Mice for the last couple centuries. How many studies/experiments would/could yield completely different results?

Imagine, the world of science turned upside down by how mice think/feel.