Everyone has a favorite animals or two. I once heard of psychological tests which tell you something about your personality based upon your favorite animals. Native Americans used to take one's favorite animal very seriously, believing this was one's spirit animals and it spoke volumes about a person's nature and destiny. My favorite animal is birds, but coming up close behind it are mice. They are so little and cute and mischievous and determined, they are also very good parents, which I love. However, the mouse holds a special place for human destiny.
Mouse behavior is so complex that they can often be used to simulate psychological studies in humans, and their genetics and body chemistry makes them most useful in in studying human medicine. One of my favorite books of all times was housed in my lab's library and it was called something like "What is wrong with my knockout (genetically engineered) mouse". The book detailed behavioral abnormalities observed in genetically altered mice. My favorite were a set of mice who who were known to not form any hierarchies and so there was no violence or mutilation among them.
Most people know I am vegetarian/vegan and that I am dedicated to ending animal cruelty. But people also know that I have worked in science for much of my career, and so (unfortunately) I have worked with mice in a professional manner. I could not work with mice like this again, however I am happy to have had the experience. People may not realize this, but within the scientific community, mice are indeed tortured and horribly maimed for research, they are also bred with terrible genetic diseases and inserted with unnatural genes, but indeed under this cold exterior lays a deep pain for scientists, almost all have had to deeply search their soul to perform these tasks, only taking this road after they had come to terms with the fact that this is right now the only way to advance human existence. A boss of mine once said "it is us or them".
Every scientific manual I have ever read on mice always declares that the eventual goal is to reduce and eliminate the need for mice in research and the health and well being of the mice is often talked about, though it is obviously impossible to make these mice happy in life, still the scientific community tries. I remember one time I called mice "animals" in front of a researcher who used them for brain studies, implanting metal probes into their skulls. I remember gaining so much respect for her when she became so sad and angrily offended, she said "they are mice, you called them animals, that sounded cruel, they are precious and give us precious data". Mouse breeding facilities expect workers to have psychological issues with breeding and working with mice, and if you don't this is viewed as a very bad sign.
I have made it clear in certain protests that myself would like to abolish the pet industry because I believe it to be horribly exploitative and I don't believe we should breed animals for domestication, but I have had pets of my own, and the only pets I have ever loved and wanted outside of birds (for which I regret my past caging them) was mice. I loved to sit for hours and watch their interactions, learning their individual personalities and interactions. I remember one time feeling so guilty when I removed a father from the cage just as the mother was giving birth. I could not return the father back to the cage once the babies were born as he would not recognize them and would eat them. I felt so bad as I watched the mother work so hard to take care of her very large brood of babies, and would look upon her with pain as in the evenings I would come home to see her exhausted sleeping up against the wall of the cage, avoiding her mouse house so as to escape her babies' constant suckling. When my life became terribly unstable I had to abandon the mice in a park and I vowed never to own mice again.
However, there is a deeper tale, as it is eventually revealed that Ms. Brisby's deceased husband was no ordinary field mouse, but a laboratory mouse who had escaped. Eventually Ms. Brisby is brought into a secret world of genetically advanced mice and rats who were given extreme mental powers through experimentation, and that this made them so smart they were able to escape NIMH (the National Institute of Mental Health). The movie also bring up the moral question of animal research. A side story is that NIMH is hunting these genetically and mentally advanced rats and Ms. Brisby helps them escape after they use their technology to safely move her house to save her son.
After watching the Secret of NIMH several times, over and over again, I came to love mice and wonder just how smart they were. I remember feeling tickled when a Philosopher whom I had much respect for, Diogenes the Cynic was said to love mice as they were independent and lived simply. Diogenes was the son of a wealthy coin merchant who abandoned his life of wealth and status so as to live in virtue and kindness rather than in ill gotten money, he was thrown out of his home city for using his business inherited from his father to purposely devalue money, attempting to make it worthless. Diogenes preached living as one's self according to one's nature, ignoring all social customs and rules to be virtuous and true to oneself and others. Diogenes actually stated that when he died he wanted his body to be left outside the city wall to be eaten by animals, and his philosophy was associated with dogs for the following reasons:
In order to mimic a utopia, Calhoun set up a long string of cages and gave the mice constant food and water, he allowed them to mate as often as they wanted and with whomever they wanted. The hope was that the mouse population would eventually even out to fit the cage and the mice would live in a blissful utopia for all eternity, but this was not at all what happened. Rather than maintaining a moderate population, the mice continue to breed until they severely overcrowded the cages. But what was most relevant was the break down of the mouse society and the changes in their behavior. Males either became extremely violent, keeping large harems of females or attacking other mice, or they become extremely passive, failing to mate and avoiding all contact with other mice. Female mice either became sterile or abandoned their pups at birth. Eventually the mouse population imploded and collapsed and the planned utopia failed. This led to the belief that a mouse utopia was indeed impossible.
This research made me even more fascinated by mice, and I began taking out every book in the library on these sorts of subject. One day I came across and passage which spoke deeply to me personally. The passage spoke of animal care technicians who bred several strains of genetically altered mice. Even though all the different strains looked the same, eventually the researcher would learn to "feel" their strains so well that a mouse could be put into the palm of their hand and the technician would be able to tell exactly which strain it was, they became connected to the mouses's genetics. I became determined to experience this phenomena, and I did.
I began to apply for jobs as a mouse technician and eventually got 20 weeks of training in a facility that bred genetically engineered mice for research. I was in charge of selectively breeding and maintaining several colonies of genetically engineered mice. I loved that part of our training involved learning our mice strain's behaviors and odd genetic anomalies. A fun aspect of this job was that I got to learn how to breed different colors of mice and how to align their genetics in certain patterns by selectively breeding them in complex breeding programs over several generations, it was like genetic planning and their was even an entire department devoted to developing these breeding plans.
Eventually, yes, I did gain the ability to hold one of my mouse strains in my hands and tell which strain it was without ever being told. I also came to notice the small behavior differences between these mice and came to expect to either be met with hostility or passivity or even friendliness. The facility took animal care and safety very seriously and we were given strict guidelines as to how we were to treat and handle and ship the mice. However, as you probably could have guessed, their was a very dark side to this work, as the mice were kept in small cages, 4-5 in a cage. I hated to watch as some mice would slowly go insane, jumping back and forth in the same direction continually all day and there was of course unnecessary violence and suffering, also it was sad to hold the mice who were bred with genetic deformities as it was obvious they were unhappy. It was especially painful to handle strains that were highly aware as one could almost relate to them, in the end I had to leave as I could no longer take the psychological toll.
Even though I would never work with mice again in a scientific capacity, I am still happy I got to have this experience as it gave me an almost special power... I almost feel now as though I can feel the genetics of humans, plants and animals around me and that I can almost predict their behaviors and indentify their idiosyncrasies and perhaps even destinies. I remember there were two magic spells which were spoken by the rats of NIMH in the movie that struck me very deeply and which now make total sense to me, as if they had prepared me for this sort of feeling. The first was "courage of the heart is very rare, the [magic] stone has a power when it's there". But the second was even more relevant and I don't believe I have to explain: "you can open any door, as long as you have the key". Mice helped me open the door to many special things, and for that I will always be eternally grateful and hope and pray and will work for the day when mice have given us so much knowledge we no longer need to use them so cruelly, they are certainly one of the most precious beings on earth.
After watching the Secret of NIMH several times, over and over again, I came to love mice and wonder just how smart they were. I remember feeling tickled when a Philosopher whom I had much respect for, Diogenes the Cynic was said to love mice as they were independent and lived simply. Diogenes was the son of a wealthy coin merchant who abandoned his life of wealth and status so as to live in virtue and kindness rather than in ill gotten money, he was thrown out of his home city for using his business inherited from his father to purposely devalue money, attempting to make it worthless. Diogenes preached living as one's self according to one's nature, ignoring all social customs and rules to be virtuous and true to oneself and others. Diogenes actually stated that when he died he wanted his body to be left outside the city wall to be eaten by animals, and his philosophy was associated with dogs for the following reasons:
"There are four reasons why the Cynics are so named. First because of the indifference of their way of life, for they make a cult of indifference and, like dogs, eat and make love in public, go barefoot, and sleep in tubs and at crossroads. The second reason is that the dog is a shameless animal, and they make a cult of shamelessness, not as being beneath modesty, but as superior to it. The third reason is that the dog is a good guard, and they guard the tenets of their philosophy. The fourth reason is that the dog is a discriminating animal which can distinguish between its friends and enemies. So do they recognize as friends those who are suited to philosophy, and receive them kindly, while those unfitted they drive away, like dogs, by barking at them" - WikipediaGetting back to the "Secret of NIMH", this was more than just the title of the movie, it actually revealed a real life secret which I was soon to discover in my travels through science. You would not believe this, but the "Secret of NIMH" was actually based upon a real life experiment conducted by researcher John. B. Calhoun at the real NIMH (National Institute of Mental Health). Calhoun used mice to develop his theory of "behavioral sink" which is analogous to the rise and then abrupt crash of urban civilization. The project was called the "Universe 25" experiment as it was Calhoun's 25th failed attempt to create a mouse utopia.
In order to mimic a utopia, Calhoun set up a long string of cages and gave the mice constant food and water, he allowed them to mate as often as they wanted and with whomever they wanted. The hope was that the mouse population would eventually even out to fit the cage and the mice would live in a blissful utopia for all eternity, but this was not at all what happened. Rather than maintaining a moderate population, the mice continue to breed until they severely overcrowded the cages. But what was most relevant was the break down of the mouse society and the changes in their behavior. Males either became extremely violent, keeping large harems of females or attacking other mice, or they become extremely passive, failing to mate and avoiding all contact with other mice. Female mice either became sterile or abandoned their pups at birth. Eventually the mouse population imploded and collapsed and the planned utopia failed. This led to the belief that a mouse utopia was indeed impossible.
This research made me even more fascinated by mice, and I began taking out every book in the library on these sorts of subject. One day I came across and passage which spoke deeply to me personally. The passage spoke of animal care technicians who bred several strains of genetically altered mice. Even though all the different strains looked the same, eventually the researcher would learn to "feel" their strains so well that a mouse could be put into the palm of their hand and the technician would be able to tell exactly which strain it was, they became connected to the mouses's genetics. I became determined to experience this phenomena, and I did.
I began to apply for jobs as a mouse technician and eventually got 20 weeks of training in a facility that bred genetically engineered mice for research. I was in charge of selectively breeding and maintaining several colonies of genetically engineered mice. I loved that part of our training involved learning our mice strain's behaviors and odd genetic anomalies. A fun aspect of this job was that I got to learn how to breed different colors of mice and how to align their genetics in certain patterns by selectively breeding them in complex breeding programs over several generations, it was like genetic planning and their was even an entire department devoted to developing these breeding plans.
Eventually, yes, I did gain the ability to hold one of my mouse strains in my hands and tell which strain it was without ever being told. I also came to notice the small behavior differences between these mice and came to expect to either be met with hostility or passivity or even friendliness. The facility took animal care and safety very seriously and we were given strict guidelines as to how we were to treat and handle and ship the mice. However, as you probably could have guessed, their was a very dark side to this work, as the mice were kept in small cages, 4-5 in a cage. I hated to watch as some mice would slowly go insane, jumping back and forth in the same direction continually all day and there was of course unnecessary violence and suffering, also it was sad to hold the mice who were bred with genetic deformities as it was obvious they were unhappy. It was especially painful to handle strains that were highly aware as one could almost relate to them, in the end I had to leave as I could no longer take the psychological toll.
Even though I would never work with mice again in a scientific capacity, I am still happy I got to have this experience as it gave me an almost special power... I almost feel now as though I can feel the genetics of humans, plants and animals around me and that I can almost predict their behaviors and indentify their idiosyncrasies and perhaps even destinies. I remember there were two magic spells which were spoken by the rats of NIMH in the movie that struck me very deeply and which now make total sense to me, as if they had prepared me for this sort of feeling. The first was "courage of the heart is very rare, the [magic] stone has a power when it's there". But the second was even more relevant and I don't believe I have to explain: "you can open any door, as long as you have the key". Mice helped me open the door to many special things, and for that I will always be eternally grateful and hope and pray and will work for the day when mice have given us so much knowledge we no longer need to use them so cruelly, they are certainly one of the most precious beings on earth.
No comments:
Post a Comment