Lab mice are too clean
Published April 28, 2020
When it comes to testing vaccines, a new study out of the universities of Iowa and Minnesota found that lab mice may simply not be dirty enough. Humans have been exposed to a lot of bacteria, after all, so maybe the lab mice should be too.Scientists commonly use “clean” mice — which are raised in conditions that are free of certain bacteria and viruses […] However, the immune response of a clean mouse may not translate well to humans, whose immune systems are constantly exposed to various illnesses.
