But, as the laws of Gregor Mendel were being rediscovered, the mouse began nosing its way into the scientific sphere. Before 1900, mice had been used for comparative anatomy and air quality experiments, but later, scientists chose them to test Mendel's theories because of their small size, quick breeding, and easily discernable variation. The mouse was on the way to helping reinvent biological science—and become reinvented as well.
Tens of millions of mice are bred each year to, among other things, mimic human diseases and screen the effects of drugs and toxins. Ninety percent of research mammals are mice, which are now the focus of the second biggest public genome project. The mouse has marked its place in basic research, even more in the past two decades, as new techniques emerged to genetically manipulate them to model diseases more precisely. But it's still a little early to get from mouse ...
