The value of inserting human genes suspected of causing Alzheimer disease into mice is to?
Bobby Saggy
a) make mice act more human
b) make antibodies, which can be injected into suffering patients
c) develop mice that an serve as models for study of this condition
d) use the mice for production of a vaccine for the disease
e) all of these
The answer is C – “develop mice that an serve as models for study of this condition”
Animal Model refers to a non-human animal with a disease or injury that is similar to a human condition. These test conditions are often termed as animal models of disease. The use of animal models allows researchers to investigate disease states in ways which would be inaccessible in a human patient, performing procedures on the non-human animal that imply a level of harm that would not be considered ethical to inflict on a human.
In order to serve as a useful model, a modeled disease must be similar in etiology (mechanism of cause) and function to the human equivalent. Animal models are used to learn more about a disease, its diagnosis and its treatment. For instance, behavioral analogues of anxiety or pain in laboratory animals can be used to screen and test new drugs for the treatment of these conditions in humans.