Neuroscientists taught rats to drive tiny cars.

[LoreD]

Neuroscientists taught rats to drive tiny cars. They took them out on 'joy rides.'​

Neuroscientists taught rats to drive tiny cars. They took them out on 'joy rides.'

Scientists taught rats to drive to a certain destination, but the rodents took a detour, suggesting they enjoy both the journey and the rewarding destination.

www.yahoo.com

We crafted our first rodent car from a plastic cereal container. After trial and error, my colleagues and I found that rats could learn to drive forward by grasping a small wire that acted like a gas pedal. Before long, they were steering with surprising precision to reach a Froot Loop treat.

As expected, rats housed in enriched environments — complete with toys, space and companions – learned to drive faster than those in standard cages. This finding supported the idea that complex environments enhance neuroplasticity: the brain's ability to change across the lifespan in response to environmental demands.

After we published our research, the story of driving rats went viral in the media. The project continues in my lab with new, improved rat-operated vehicles, or ROVs, designed by robotics professor John McManus and his students. These upgraded electrical ROVs — featuring rat-proof wiring, indestructible tires and ergonomic driving levers — are akin to a rodent version of Tesla's Cybertruck.

 

[kmrobbins]

Such a cool study! Fascinating that they're not only capable of learning to drive, but of enjoying 'joy rides' just like humans do. Thanks for sharing!

 

[shyvas]

This is morally wrong to promote experiments on animals as the latter have rights. Bear in mind that animals used in experiments are often bred to be used in labs and they are simply exploited. What happens to them afterwards?

Vegans should not be promoting any kind of experiments using animals.

 

[Second Summer]

This is morally wrong to promote experiments on animals as the latter have rights. Bear in mind that animals used in experiments are often bred to be used in labs and they are simply exploited. What happens to them afterwards?

Vegans should not be promoting experiments using animals.

I had similar thoughts when reading that article.

It is nevertheless fascinating research, and one redeeming factor is that it adds further evidence to the fact that some animals - rats in this case - and humans are not so different at all, which in turn should make it harder for the unwashed masses to accept animal experiments in the future.

Since these rats have in a way become famous, it could be a good move for an animal rights organisation to demand the researchers reveal what happened to these rats after the experiment was over. The public might not take kindly to hearing that these very human-like rats were killed at the end of the experiment (if that is what happened).

 

[shyvas]

I had similar thoughts when reading that article.

It is nevertheless fascinating research, and one redeeming factor is that it adds further evidence to the fact that some animals - rats in this case - and humans are not so different at all, which in turn should make it harder for the unwashed masses to accept animal experiments in the future.

Since these rats have in a way become famous, it could be a good move for an animal rights organisation to demand the researchers reveal what happened to these rats after the experiment was over. The public might not take kindly to hearing that these very human-like rats were killed at the end of the experiment (if that is what happened).

If you read more about animals used in experiments, you will learn the grim truth. Not only are they treated as commodities but very often these experiments only benefit or not, humans. Moreover, they do not consent and have not been given the choice.

Animals are not ours to be used and abused. Using animals for human gain is simply not acceptable.

One of the most famous ones that died (in the name of what?) in the most horrendous manner, was Laika. She was simply a pup; a stray found on the streets of Moscow, when the Soviets sent her into space.

Not only was she starved but suffocated due to a lack of oxygen. Her final hours all alone, must have been unbearable.





RIP Laika.

The Sad, Sad Story of Laika, the Space Dog, and Her One-Way Trip Into Orbit

A stray Moscow pup traveled into orbit in 1957 with one meal and only a seven-day oxygen supply

www.smithsonianmag.com

 

[shyvas]

Home - Animal Free Research UK

Animal Free Research UK is creating a world where human diseases are cured faster with animal-free human-specific technologies.

www.animalfreeresearchuk.org

 

[LoreD]

I thought that this was an experiment to show that rats are sentient beings. These experiments showed why we shouldn't be using animals in any form of research.

The rats showed that they are capable of learning and using tools. They are far more intelligent than we thought.

I don't think that teaching animals to drive cute little cars would be considered animal abuse.

 

[shyvas]

I thought that this was an experiment to show that rats are sentient beings.

If an animal has a brain it is capable of sensing or feeling. Do we really have to carry out experiments to prove this fact ?

Why do we have to prove a degree of sentience. Humans also do not all have the same degree of intelligence, abilities or pain tolerance.

I don't think that teaching animals to drive cute little cars would be considered animal abuse.

In my opinion the 'cute little cars' do not qualify these experiments as ethical or as 'rat friendly'. It's the very fact that the animal cannot consent to the experiment and moreover as previously stated, do we know what happens to these rats after the experiments have been completed? Do you really think that these poor rats are only used to drive 'cute cars'? Do we really know what happens behind closed doors in these labs?

Any form or promotion of animals experiments are not ethical and are cruel. A vast majority of people do not care, especially when using rats.

I would hope that vegans do care as each and every life is unique and precious.