ELi5: Rats seem to be the gold standard for behavioral lab experiments – why? Other than quantity, what makes rats good test subjects in relation to humans?

Question

ELi5: Rats seem to be the gold standard for behavioral lab experiments – why? Other than quantity, what makes rats good test subjects in relation to humans?

In: Biology

Answer 1

There’s so many good reasons to use rats/mice in foundational medical research. For one they are mammals, so many basic biology points are there, you got all a lot of similarities in organs, and blood circulation.

Then there’s the unique properties of the animal itself, the ease of changing or creating new strains of animal to fit certain medical needs, the high turnover as a mouse usually lives at max 2.5 years, the ease of maintenance, and the simplicity of enriching their lives (remember, poor procedures and poor hygiene/enrichment leads to poor scientific data).

Those who work in the field know the vital nature of empathy and compassion for the animals sacrificing their lives in the pursuit of better medical outcomes. It takes a special breed of person to become an animal technician, gotta love animals (and most likely somewhat anti-social) and must be ready for crazy circumstances.