Mouse
hide30 known species
A mouse (plural mice) is a small mammal belonging to the order of rodents. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse (Mus musculus). It is also a popular pet. The American white-footed mouse (Peromyscus leucopus) and the deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus) also sometimes live in houses. In some places, certain kinds of field mice are also common. This rodent is eaten by large birds such as hawks and eagles. They are known to invade homes for food and occasionally shelter.
Although mice may live up to two and a half years in captivity, the average mouse in the wild lives only about four months,[citation needed] primarily owing to heavy predation. Cats, wild dogs, foxes, birds of prey, snakes and even certain kinds of insects have been known to prey heavily upon mice. Nevertheless, because of its remarkable adaptability to almost any environment, and its ability to live commensally with humans, the mouse is regarded to be the second most successful mammalian genus living on Earth today, after humans.
Mice can at times be harmful rodents, damaging and eating crops and spreading diseases through their parasites and feces. In western North America, breathing dust that has come in contact with mouse feces has been linked to the deadly hantavirus.[citation needed]. The original motivation for the domestication of cats is thought to have been for their predation of mice and their relatives, the rats.[citation needed]
Primarily nocturnal animals, mice compensate for their poor eyesight with a keen sense of hearing, and rely especially on their sense of smell to locate food and avoid predators.
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News tagged with mice
Study strengthens link between sirtuins proteins and life extension
23 hours ago |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A new paper from MIT biology professor Leonard Guarente strengthens the link between longevity proteins called sirtuins and the lifespan-extending effects of calorie restriction.
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Discovery of new gene called Brd2 that regulates obesity and diabetes
6 hours ago |
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The chance discovery of a genetic mutation that makes mice enormously fat but protects them from diabetes has given researchers at Boston University School of Medicine, USA, new insights into the cellular mechanisms that ...
Septic shock: Nitric oxide beneficial after all
7 hours ago |
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Scientists at VIB and Ghent University in Flanders, Belgium have found an unexpected ally for the treatment of septic shock, the major cause of death in intensive care units. By inducing the release of nitric oxide (NO) gas ...
New suppressor of common liver cancer
8 hours ago |
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Tumor suppressor genes make proteins that help control cell growth. Mutations in these genes that generate nonfunctional proteins can contribute to tumor development and progression. One of the most well-known tumor suppressor ...
Researchers find reproductive germ cells survive and thrive in transplants, even among species
11 hours ago |
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Reproductive researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia have succeeded in isolating and transplanting pure populations of the immature cells that enable male ...
Scientists suggest certain genes boost chances for distributing variety of traits, drive evolution
Dec 14, 2009 |
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Genes that don't themselves directly affect the inherited characteristics of an organism but leave them increasingly open to variation may be a significant driving force of evolution, say two Johns Hopkins scientists.
Researchers tackle protein mechanisms behind limb regeneration
Dec 14, 2009 |
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The most comprehensive study to date of the proteins in a species of salamander that can regrow appendages may provide important clues to how similar regeneration could be induced in humans.
Study explores 'garbage disposal' role of VCP and implications for degenerative disease
Dec 14, 2009 |
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It's important to finish what you start, say Jeong-Sun Ju and researchers from Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis. In the December 14, 2009 issue of the Journal of Cell Biology, Ju et al. ...
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