Scientific research can be even harder than I thought:<\/p>\n
Laboratory mice tend to be more stressed when they can smell men, making them behave differently in experiments depending on whether they are handled by a man or a woman. The finding raises important questions about past research using mice, since animal studies generally don\u2019t control for an experimenter\u2019s sex.<\/p>\n
Todd Gould<\/a>\u00a0at the University of Maryland began investigating this issue after his team couldn\u2019t replicate a simple lab result. The experiment involved a \u201cforced swim test\u201d, in which researchers place mice in a tank of water and see how long they keep trying to swim for. When they stop swimming, the researchers take them out, unharmed.<\/p>\n
In previous tests with male experimenters, mice tried to stay afloat for longer if they were given ketamine, an antidepressant. But when Polymnia Georgiou, a female researcher who was working in Gould\u2019s team, carried out the test, the mice gave up quickly regardless of whether they were given ketamine. [“<\/em>The sex of the researcher can influence results of mouse experiments<\/a>,” Jonathan Moens, <\/em>NewScientist<\/strong> (17 September 2022, paywall)]<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
In retrospect, it makes sense. But I still insist on being flabbergasted.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Scientific research can be even harder than I thought: Laboratory mice tend to be more stressed when they can smell men, making them behave differently in experiments depending on whether they are handled by a man or a woman. The finding raises important questions about past research using mice, since \u2026 Continue reading