This sounds very dangerous.
Gene editing gone wrong: Scientists accidentally create angry hamsters
- Of all rodents, hamsters have a social organization and stress response that is most human-like.
- To study aggression in hamsters, a team of scientists used gene editing to create what they thought would be a calmer rodent. Instead, the gene-edited rodents were angrier — chasing, biting, and pinning down other same-sex hamsters.
- The research underscores that the field of behavioral genetics has a long way to go.
[COLOR=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9)]Hamsters have a social organization and stress response that is more human-like than any other rodent. Thus, behavioral scientists have relied on hamsters to understand the forces that govern behavior. According to a recent study, however, these forces are less well-understood than previously thought. The researchers used gene-editing technology to delete a receptor thought to cause aggression in hamsters. Instead of becoming more cuddly, however, the hamsters got mean.[/COLOR]
A gene that regulates aggression
[COLOR=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9)]In 1984, a group of researchers set out to study the circadian rhythm by injecting small amounts of hormones into the brains of hamsters. One of the hormones, arginine vasopressin (AVP), had an immediate and surprising effect. It didn’t alter the hamsters’ sleep cycle, but it did induce a dramatic behavioral change. The hamsters began soaking their hips (where the scent glands are located) with saliva and rubbing themselves vigorously against the wall of the cage, a behavior indicative of aggressively claiming their territory. [/COLOR]
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Originally Posted by Abby08
