Off by a whisker

摘要

Much of what we know about cancer comes from studying mice, and potential therapies are tested in the animals. But the differences between the species can scupper the best laid plans of researchers and drug companies, reports Carina Dennis. It was in1991 that Bob Weinberg first realized he had a problem with mice. He and his postdoc Tyler Jacks were trying to develop a mouse model for retinoblastoma, a childhood cancer of the retina. It results from the loss of a gene called Rb, so the team genetically engineered mice to lack the same gene. But the mice didn't get retinoblastoma. Instead, they developed tumours in their pituitary glands. The finding shocked Weinberg. "Up until then, I had always believed that all mammals were biologically equivalent," he says. "This planted the seeds of doubt in my mind."