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.
For more information about Mouse, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with mice
Why females live longer than males: is it due to the father's sperm?
12 hours ago |
4.4 / 5 (8) |
3
Researchers in Japan have found that female mice produced by using genetic material from two mothers but no father live significantly longer than mice with the normal mix of maternal and paternal genes. Their findings provide ...
To make memories, new neurons must erase older ones
Nov 12, 2009 |
4.4 / 5 (8) |
0
Short-term memory may depend in a surprising way on the ability of newly formed neurons to erase older connections. That's the conclusion of a report in the November 13th issue of the journal Cell that provid ...
Early life stress has effects at the molecular level
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Nov 12, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (12) |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- A new study of mice suggests that stress and trauma in early life can have an impact on the genes and result in behavioral problems later in life.
Dessert on your mind? Your muscles may be getting the message
19 hours ago |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
Even the anticipation of sweets may cause our muscles to start taking up more blood sugar, say researchers reporting in the December issue of Cell Metabolism. That message is delivered via neurons in the brain's hypothalamus contai ...
Rat pack: Scientists warming up to African rodent
Nov 28, 2009 |
5 / 5 (10) |
0
(AP) -- Naked mole rats don't get cancer. They shrug off brushes with acid and age so well, some are older than the college-aged researchers handling them.
On the trail of a vaccine for Lyme disease: Researchers target tick saliva
Nov 19, 2009 |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
A protein found in the saliva of ticks helps protect mice from developing Lyme disease, Yale researchers have discovered. The findings, published in the November 19 issue of Cell Host & Microbe, may spur d ...
New Down syndrome treatment suggested by study in mice
Nov 18, 2009 |
4.6 / 5 (5) |
1
At birth, children with Down syndrome aren't developmentally delayed. But as they age, these kids fall behind. Memory deficits inherent in Down syndrome hinder learning, making it hard for the brain to collect experiences ...
Microbial menagerie: Junk food binge alters community of microbes in the gut in less than a day
Nov 11, 2009 |
4 / 5 (7) |
4
(PhysOrg.com) -- Switching from a low-fat, plant-based diet to one high in fat and sugar alters the collection of microbes living in the gut in less than a day, with obesity-linked microbes suddenly thriving, according to ...
Novel mouse gene reduces major pathologies associated with Alzheimer's disease
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Nov 11, 2009 |
3.8 / 5 (4) |
0
A new study reveals that a previously undiscovered mouse gene reduces the two major pathological perturbations commonly associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD). The research, published by Cell Press in the November 12 issue ...
Drug shrinks lung cancer tumors in mice
Nov 10, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (6) |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- A potential new drug for lung cancer has eliminated tumours in 50% of mice in a new study published today in the journal Cancer Research. In the animals, the drug also stopped lung cancer ...
Squeak, squeak -- can you hear me now?
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Nov 09, 2009 |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
What do you get when you cross a mouse with poor hearing and a mouse with even worse hearing? Ironically, a new strain of mice with "golden ears" - mice that have outstanding hearing as they age.
Researchers have immune cells running in circles
Nov 02, 2009 |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine researchers have identified the important role a protein plays in the body's first line of defense in directing immune cells called neutrophils toward ...
Bone Marrow Stem Cells May Prevent Chronic Lung Disease
13 hours ago |
not rated yet |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at Children's Hospital Boston have discovered a possible way to protect the fragile lungs of premature babies by using stem cells harvested from bone marrow. In experiments on laboratory mice, ...
Can cleft palate be healed before birth?
16 hours ago |
not rated yet |
0
In a study newly published in the journal Development, investigators at the USC School of Dentistry describe how to non-surgically reverse the onset of cleft palate in fetal mice - potentially one step in the journey to a b ...
Researchers create first transgenic prairie voles
18 hours ago |
3 / 5 (1) |
0
Researchers at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, have successfully generated the first transgenic prairie voles, an important step toward unlocking the genetic secrets of pair bonding. The future ...
