The secret life of the mouse.

25 million laboratory mice per year are used in medical research. This film is accompanied by a 'mouse' voiceover describing the areas of research in which the animals are used and requesting greater acknowledgement of the importance of these mice. They are preferred to rats because they are better breeders; 99.9% of their genes are similar to the human pattern. They are used in osteoporosis, cancer and heart disease research. They are given human brain stem cells for stem cell research. They are genetically engineered to have Down's Syndrome as mice in the wild do not have this condition. They are made fluorescent and have ears grown on their backs. There seems to be no end to the way mice can be used for biomedical research. Ethical questions are raised: is it right to breed animals to know no other life than the laboratory? And if a mouse is given human brain cells, does this make it more than a mouse? The film shows all kinds of laboratory mice at the Medical Research Council (MRC) laboratories, Harwell, and at Jacksons Laboratory, US., a huge mouse farm. Scientists contributing to the programme include Prof. Steve Brown (Director, MRC, Harwell), Dr. Jo Peters (mouse geneticist, MRC, Harwell) and Prof. Sam Berry (zoologist, University College London).