評論
打印
Science and technology.
科技。
Animal testing.
動物實驗。
Be nice to mice.
善待小鼠。
and they may return the favour.
它們可能會知恩圖報。
Home, sweet home.
家，舒適的家。
ONLY one drug of every ten successfully tested in laboratory animals ends up working in people. One reason, of course, is that mice are not men. Another, though, might have to do with the fact that whereas human patients are afforded all manner of creature comforts, their animal proxies are not.
用實驗動物試驗成功的藥物最終只有十分之一對人體起效。原因之一當然是：老鼠畢竟不是人。但另一個原因可能是，患病的實驗動物無法像人類患者一樣能夠得到方方面面的呵護。
Although medical science's favourite critters relish temperatures of a little over 30°C, laboratories routinely keep them at five or ten degrees below that. This is not in order to torture the beasts but, rather, because when kept warm they are unmanageably aggressive. The downside is that they have to eat more than they otherwise would, in order to keep their bodies warm. That changes their physiology. And that in turn alters the way they metabolise drugs, with possibly confusing results.
雖然老鼠這種醫學實驗最喜歡使用的嚙齒動物偏愛呆在稍高于30攝氏度的環境里，但實驗室卻常被控制在比這低5到10攝氏度的溫度上。這并不是要存心虐待這些動物，而是因為當環境暖和了，它們會變得十分好斗，很難應付。而這樣做的弊端是動物們為了保持體溫，要比平常吃得更多。這樣動物的生理機能就會有所改變，因此會影響到藥物在動物體內的代謝，出來的實驗結果也可能會很費解。
Joseph Garner, of Stanford University, thinks the answer is to keep the labs cool, but let mice cope with the low temperatures as they do in their natural habitat: not by eating more but by building nests. So far, though, no one has a clear idea of how much nesting material is needed to keep mice happy. Dr Garner and his colleagues therefore decided to find out. They have just reported their results in the Public Library of Science.
斯坦福大學的約瑟?加納（Joseph Garner）認為，解決辦法就是令實驗室保持低溫，但讓老鼠們像在自然環境中一樣通過筑巢（而非吃得更多）來自行應對低溫。不過至今都沒有人清楚到底需要多少材料才能讓老鼠們筑一個舒適的窩。于是約瑟?加納博士及其同事決定要弄清這點，他們的實驗結果剛剛發表在《公共科學圖書館》上。
Dr Garner and his team let each of their mice, 36 males and as many females from three strains commonly used in trials, roam free in two cages connected by a narrow tube. One cage was kept constant at one of six temperatures between 20°C and 35°C. The other was maintained at 20°C but was stocked with up to ten grams of finely shredded paper, which the mice could use to weave a nest. The idea was to check whether the animals would rather build a nest in the cooler cage or move to the warmer one, possibly tugging nesting material along with them strand by strand.
約瑟?加納博士及其實驗小組讓所有老鼠（公鼠、母鼠各36只，屬于三個常用于實驗的品系）在兩個由一條窄通道相連的籠子里自由活動。其中一個籠子的溫度保持在20-35攝氏度之間（總共有六檔溫度）。另一個溫度保持在20攝氏度，但里面儲有多達十克撕得很碎的紙條，以供老鼠們用來筑窩。實驗目的是看看老鼠們是會在更冷的籠子里筑巢還是會移居到更暖的籠子里（可能還會將筑巢用的紙條一條條拖過去）。
The researchers found that the rodents' preferences varied slightly between strains, as well as between sexes (with females partial to higher temperatures, possibly because of their thinner protective layer of fat), confirming that there is no single set of conditions in which all mice feel cosy. In general, though, with little nesting material around, the animals laboriously carried strands of paper over to the warmer spot, one or two at a time. But leave at least six grams of paper in the chilly cage, and many mice will prefer instead to brave the cold and build a nest there. That seems a small price to pay for better drug trials.
研究者發現，老鼠們的偏好稍有差別，與性別和品系都有關（母鼠偏愛較暖和的環境，可能是由于其脂肪保護層比較?。@就證明沒有一個溫度能讓所有老鼠都感覺舒適。但通常在周圍沒什么筑窩的材料時，老鼠們會費力地將紙條拖至更暖的地方，每次一到兩條。不過如果在溫度較低的籠子里放至少六克紙條，那么會有很多老鼠寧愿忍受寒冷，在那里筑窩。用六克紙條就能讓藥物試驗有更好的效果，這個代價看來微不足道。
