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Published by Michaelangelica  11-03-2007
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#2
By
Michaelangelica
on
11-03-2007
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 Re: Genetically engineered super mouse stuns scientists Quote:
Read "Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH" | |
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#4
By
Michaelangelica
on
11-04-2007
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| Re: Genetically engineered super mouse stuns scientists YES Book results for Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH book The Newbery Companion - by John Thomas Gillespie, Corinne J. Naden - 465 pages 100 Best Books for Children - by Anita Silvey - 224 pages The Librarian's Complete Guide to Involving ... Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C O'Brien: book review This is one of the best books i've ever read!!! Read all 209 comments about Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C O'Brien ... Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C O'Brien: book review - 12k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this |
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#5
By
CraigD
on
11-04-2007
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 Super mice, Rats of NIMH, Brin's uplifted species, and the black squirrels of my yard The genetic modification involved in the articles “mighty/super mice” is to a single gene, PEPCK-C, a gene that codes for the expression of an important enzyme involved in metabolism, PEPCK. I’m not familiar with this line of research, and haven’t found much good detailed information in the many news articles about it, but from what I’ve read, these genetically altered mice are not more intelligent than unaltered ones, only more metabolically efficient. I suspect the primary goal of this research involved the treatment of diabetes, a disease involving the same metabolic systems as the PEPCK-C gene. Unlike these super mice, O’Brien’s fictional Rats of NIMH have artificially enhanced intelligence. Though the article mentions that the super mice are unusually aggressive, I suspect this is a natural behavior due to their greater strength and stamina, not any neurological change due to their gene therapy. Although I couldn’t confirm it, these real super mice appear to share one trait with O’Brien’s rats: their modification breed true, ie: they are germ cell modifications. So, if any were to escape into the wild population, and their modified PEPCK-C gene prove at least somewhat dominant, we might expect to eventually see it throughout wild communities. Unlike the Rats of NIMH, however, these mice would just be more active and aggressive, not wear tiny clothing and make tiny furniture, electric lights, etc  It’s a good, I think, to distinguish primarily morally allegorical fiction with science fictional elements (ie: a technological explanation for how its extraordinary events occurred), such as O’Brien’s, from true speculative science fiction, such as David Brin’s somewhat similarly themed “uplift” novel series. O’Brien’s rat characters are, IMHO, foils to explore human moral issues like courage and loyalty, not a serious exploration of genetic engineering. As an aside, the actual National Institute of Mental Health campus is in Bethesda, MD, in my greater neighborhood. Many place the setting of the story in Bethesda, MD, or a nearby Montgomery county suburban/semi-rural neighborhood. I’ve noted a minor local family of urban myths involving escaped research animals (although NIMH actually does almost no animal research at its Bethesda campus) – in particular, some of my neighbors have expressed the belief that our local black-furred squirrel population are escapees from a gene-engineering experiment. They’re not – they’re Canadian squirrels escaped from the National Zoo in nearby Northwest Washington DC, in the late 1950s or early 60s, if I recall correctly. |
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