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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: rats

rats stories: 19 news summaries

 Paralyzed Rats Run in 
 Breakthrough Experiment 

Application for humans with spinal injuries not far off

Sep 21, 09 1:19 AM CDT
(Newser) - Scientists have made paralyzed rats run again by using a new technique that could one day have wheelchair-bound people walking, reports AFP. Rats, whose spinal cords had been severed, ran when scientists applied electrical charges and drugs. "In some cases they actually walked with more consistent locomotive patterns than... More »

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rats • experiments • spine • paralyze • paralysis • spinal cord • wheelchair • treadmill

 Giant Rat 
 Found in 
 'Lost Volcano' 

Fanged toads, mini 'Ewoks' among species discovered in New Guinea jungle

Sep 7, 09 11:01 AM CDT
(Newser) - A new species of giant rat with no fear of humans has been discovered in a volcanic crater deep in the jungles of Papua New Guinea. It's the same kind of rat "you find in city sewers"—except it's 32 inches long, said a scientist traveling with a... More »

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BBC • Papua New Guinea • rats • scientists • species • volcano • exotic animals • BBC Films • international • scientific expedition • Bosavi

Rodent Rights Activists Face Uphill Climb

Animal campaigners seek a better quality
of life for lab rats

May 16, 09 11:24 AM CDT
(Newser) - Activists have managed to improve the lives of many animals in recent years, but they've met indifference when it comes to getting a better deal for rodents, the Wall Street Journal reports. Rats and mice make up 90% of the animals used in research in the US, say advocates, but... More »

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mice • rats • animal rights • animal testing • scientific research • lab mice

(Newser) - Britain's surging rat population is becoming immune to common poisons, spurring public heath concerns and calls for stronger pesticides, reports the Guardian. Rodents in at least two towns are impervious to normal control methods. In addition, years of mild winters and wet summers have boosted vermin populations by 66% in... More »

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rats • poison • Britain • pests • pesticide • pest control

German Politician: Let the Poor Catch Rats

Advocates for poor squeal about Dickensian plan

Dec 17, 08 7:04 AM CST
(Newser) - One German politician has a solution to help Berlin's poor: let them catch the rats that are plaguing the city. "People who collect bottles could get one euro [$1.40] for every dead rat," he cheerfully explained. But the Dickensian plan, which may be officially introduced today, wasn't... More »

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Germany • Berlin • rats • poor • rodents

(Newser) - Move over, Rover: Man has a new best friend that is helping to combat two scourges plaguing the developing world. Rats, normally reviled as filthy vermin, are sniffing out land mines and detecting tuberculosis bacteria. "Rats are usually considered pests or enemies of humanity,” said one Mozambican handler,... More »

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Africa • United Nations • Mozambique • Tanzania • rats • land mines • tuberculosis • dog

 Rats Plague Pied Piper City 

Infestation threatens to spoil anniversary

Nov 20, 08 1:52 AM CST
(Newser) - The 725th anniversary of the Pied Piper's legendary removal of rats from the German town of Hamelin could be spoiled by—wait for it—rats. The rodents have infested an empty lot the size of a soccer field close to the picturesque medieval town. Rather than hire another piper, authorities... More »

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Germany • children • rats • legend • fairy tales • Hamelin • Pied Piper

 Stress Pushes 
 Animals to Binge, Too 

House pets feel human worries; lab animals turn to high-fat treats

Oct 17, 08 6:35 PM CDT
(Newser) - Animals get stressed out just like humans, and they even cope anthropomorphically, binging on sweet, fatty foods, LiveScience reports. What’s more, animals can read our misgivings and take on that stress themselves. “The more intelligent an animal is, the more psychological stress it can undergo,” one veterinarian... More »

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rats • stress • monkey • human • sympathy • scientific study • scientific research • animal • brain chemistry

(AP) - More than 6 years before Sarah Palin visited ground zero as the Republican VP nominee, her parents were there as part of the response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks—trapping rats. Chuck and Sally Heath have been part-time Department of Agriculture wildlife specialists for 15 years, trapping or killing... More »

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terrorism • World Trade Center • rats • September 11 • McCain 2008 • Election 2008 • Sarah Palin • exterminators • 9/11 attacks • McCain-Palin • Chuck Heath • Sally Heath

 Cambodia's
 Food Crisis
 Fix? Eat Rats

And they think more of the world should too

Aug 27, 08 9:45 AM CDT
(Newser) - Food prices have rocketed so high in Cambodia that even the humblest of foods has seen its price quadruple this year. That humblest of foods is rat meat, and it’s going up precisely because so many Cambodians can’t afford any other meat, the Guardian reports. Rats have... More »

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food • rats • Cambodia • rodents • global food crisis

 Indian State 
 Recommends Eating Rats 

Adding rodents to menu pushed as solution to food crisis

Aug 18, 08 12:47 PM CDT
(Newser) - Faced with high food prices and ebbing grain reserves, officials in the Indian state of Bihar have endorsed the consumption of rats, Reuters reports. The state government sees the strategy as a way to reduce the pest population as well as curb the demand for grain, and has even proposed... More »

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food • India • hunger • famine • rats • food prices • grain

Botox May
Move from
Face to Brain

Anti-wrinkle toxin traveled to rats' central nervous system

Apr 3, 08 10:23 AM CDT
(Newser) - Botox can spread from the face to the brain, scientists who injected rats with the anti-wrinkle treatment say. Traces of the toxin turned up in the rats' brain stems three days after it was injected into their whisker muscles, Bloomberg reports. A dermatologist says the findings call for further investigation,... More »

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rats • wrinkles • brain • toxin • Botox • cosmetic treatments • scientific research

 Dead Rats Stink Up 
 Orlando Airport 

Persistent rodent problem leaves officials and passengers feeling ill

Mar 21, 08 6:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - Dead rats are stinking up a portion of Orlando International Airport, and the smell has workers crying foul. Construction crews renovating gates earlier this month scared the rodents into the airport, the Orlando Sentinel reports; exterminators followed, and after rats died in walls and ceilings the stench sent workers and... More »

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Florida • rats • Orlando • airport • airport security • rodents • Walt Disney World

LAPD Gets Cats to Scare Rats

Feral felines spook rodents that were running over desks, digging into bags

Dec 29, 07 1:28 PM CST
(Newser) - The LAPD is using six feral felines to shoo away pesky rats and mice from its lots, the Los Angeles Times reports. The mangy, homeless creatures can't be broken in as house pets, so an animal rescue group placed them with the city’s finest to control its rodent... More »

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Los Angeles • mice • rats • animal rights • LAPD • feral cats • Voice for the Animals • Working Cats

NYC Fines for Rat-Hunting Cats

Inspectors charge $300 and up for feline guardians

Dec 22, 07 2:32 PM CST
(Newser) - New York food shops and delis have a way to deal with rats, but health inspectors aren’t purring: Many NYC stores have a cat around to keep out rodents, the New York Times reports. Unfortunately, health inspectors frown on cats and rats with equal fervor. “Any animal... More »

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New York City • rats • restaurant • rodents • grocery stores • cat

Eek! A Giant New Rat

Papua New Guinea's 'lost world' yields more wonder

Dec 18, 07 2:25 PM CST
(Newser) - Amid the lush paradise of a so-called lost world, researchers ran into a little reminder of the developed world's sewers: A heretofore undiscovered giant rat five times the size of gutter-variety rodents. The group also came across a new pygmy possum and various rare birds in the remote area of... More »

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conservation • Papua New Guinea • rats • Foja Mountains • Mallomys giant rat

Study Finds Rats Are Winning the Rat Race

New York rated most vulnerable to boom in rodent population

Oct 4, 07 1:15 PM CDT
(Newser) - Rodent experts labeled New York the US city most open to large-scale rat infestation today, after conducting a nationwide survey that took into account climate, waste management, population density, and age of infrastructure, Reuters reports. New York's appearance atop comes months after a KFC/Taco Bell restaurant was overrun by rats... More »

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New York City • public health • rats • infestation

Rats! Humans, Rodents Have Lots in Common

Much-maligned animals laugh, dream, look forward to sex

Jul 24, 07 5:48 PM CDT
(Newser) - Rats may be repulsive to some, but scientists are finding that they're a lot like humans. A recent crop of behavioral studies shows that rats are astonishingly self-aware, Natalie Angier reports in today's Times. They laugh when tickled and dream in epic narratives. There are even rat optimists and rat... More »

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rats • lab rat • human behavior • animal behavior • animal testing

Mice Plague Chinese Countryside

Floods bring massive rodent problem

Jul 16, 07 8:13 PM CDT
(Newser) - Flooding in central and southern China—the worst in 50 years—is displacing more than thousands of residents: Billions of mice, washed out of their burrows, have swarmed across acres of Chinese farmland, destroying crops and posing serious health hazards to residents. Pest control efforts have been largely ineffective so... More »

MORE ABOUT:
China • agriculture • epidemic • rats • flooding

19 Stories


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