Wendy Urquhart
Appearances
Global News Podcast
Trump halts military aid to Ukraine
Putting mice back in their cages is something that researchers do every day. But when they put an unconscious mouse back in its cage after an operation, something very different happened. Its companion immediately started sniffing and biting the unresponsive mouse. Dr. Huizhong Witte, who is the lead author of the study, says they had to act fast to record what was happening.
Global News Podcast
Trump halts military aid to Ukraine
Researchers at several laboratories have since carried out a series of tests and they found that after licking the eyes and biting the mouth of an unconscious mouse, in more than 50% of cases, the mice appeared to pull out the tongue of their companion to try to clear its airways.
Global News Podcast
Trump halts military aid to Ukraine
They also tried other tests, such as placing a non-toxic plastic ball in the mouth of the unconscious mouse and found that 80% of the time the companion mouse removed it. Experts say the reason it's taken so long to discover the caring side of mice is because they're not usually returned to their cages until they're awake.