A dirty mouse in the lab: unwanted vermin about to contaminate a colony, or a welcome change of pace? Recently, some immunologists have been thinking the latter, with experiments running the gamut from “rewilding” lab mice in the fields of New Jersey to comparing clean animals and their pet shop relatives to simply paying closer attention to what pathogens are and aren't found behind health barriers. The idea is that ceding control and introducing more natural variability could make findings more robust and translatable to humans, but using “dirty” mice can be complicated. Researchers must re-think how to design and control their experiments and staff in animal facilities have the health of all their animals to consider. Read more about the promise and the challenges of breaking mice out of the clean room in a new Technology Feature.
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