Knock out mice

Based on past trends, I should be discussing Ampere's Law. But lets face it, it was a shutout, he lost, and no tears were shed. The Nobel prize for Medicine/Physiology was recently awarded for the creation of knock out mice; we will be discussing this instead.

What are they you ask, good question. Despite the name, they have nothing to do with boxing. Knock out is used more like in the phrase here from UrbanDictionary.com "Svetlana knew how to dress to perfectly complement her tall, athletic frame. By virtue of her bright eyes, silky long hair, and a smile that could stop a revolution, people widely regard her as a knock out."

The scientists found ways to remove certain genes from the mouse embryos. This allows them to research what the genes do by observing what happens whey they are no longer expressed. The technology can be used to create mice prone to cancer, long life, immune disorders and advanced maze running abilities as well as knockout mice by removing the 'ugly genes.'

Knock out mice are used as a non lethal form of mouse population control. For example, in a cage of 10 normal male mice, 9 normal female mice, and one female knock out mouse, the male mice will strive to mate exclusively with the knock out (unless their water bottle is spiked with ethanol, at which point the ugly mice can "get lucky"). By neutering, or is it spaying, the knock out prior to release into the wild there is no subsequent generation of mice. Luckily there is also no real chance of this effect wiping out the entire mouse population, which could be bad for animals which eat mice. This is due to what is called the "King Kong Corollary." King Kong had a thing for that hot chick, and many of the animals, such as owls, have the same inclinations for the knockout mice and will selectively remove them from the breeding pool. This effect is exasperated by the fact that, in mice at least, the same genes which code for ugly also code for smarts, leaving the mice to stupid to escape from their captors and return to causing discord in the mouse colony. It is presently unknown if the traits are tied in humans as well, although anecdotal evidence from Hollywood starlets and many blonds would definately support the claim.

So, give it up for the knockout mouse, and all the genetic prowess that led to its creation.