A mouse that cured A new ally against cancer Dr. Megan Sykes, a medical researcher, has a mouse with a human immune system her own. She calls it "Mini-Me." There are also mice containing a part of 9 year old Michael Feeney-a cancerous tumor extracted from his lungs. Researches have tasted various drugs on the mice, hoping to find the treatment that would work best for Michael. In what could be the ultimate in personalized medicine, animals bearing your disease, or part of your anatomy, can serve as your personal guinea pig, so to speak. Some researches call them avatars, like the virtual characters in movies and online games. "The mice allow you the opportunity to test drugs to find out which ones will be efficacious without exposing the patient to toxity," said Colin Collins, a professor at the University of British Columbia. Experiments on mice have been done for decades, including implanting people's tumors into the animals. But the techniques have improved in the past few years and interest is growing. The National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, held workshop on personalized animal models which are mainly being used for research. Companies are beginning to commercialize them for use in drug development and medical treatment as well. Experts caution that it has not been proved that the use of avatars will prolong! the lives of cancer patients. And it costs tens of thousands of dollars, which insurer will not cover, to create and test a colony of the animals. "It's an act of faith to say this is a superior way of proceeding." said Dr. Edward Sausville, a professor of medicine at the University of Maryland. Why did the research use mice? Because ...

Question

A mouse that cured

A new ally against cancer

Dr. Megan Sykes, a medical researcher, has a mouse with a human immune system her own. She calls it "Mini-Me."

There are also mice containing a part of 9 year old Michael Feeney-a cancerous tumor extracted from his lungs. Researches have tasted various drugs on the mice, hoping to find the treatment that would work best for Michael.

In what could be the ultimate in personalized medicine, animals bearing your disease, or part of your anatomy, can serve as your personal guinea pig, so to speak. Some researches call them avatars, like the virtual characters in movies and online games.

"The mice allow you the opportunity to test drugs to find out which ones will be efficacious without exposing the patient to toxity," said Colin Collins, a professor at the University of British Columbia.

Experiments on mice have been done for decades, including implanting people's tumors into the animals. But the techniques have improved in the past few years and interest is growing. The National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, held workshop on personalized animal models which are mainly being used for research. Companies are beginning to commercialize them for use in drug development and medical treatment as well.

Experts caution that it has not been proved that the use of avatars will prolong! the lives of cancer patients. And it costs tens of thousands of dollars, which insurer will not cover, to create and test a colony of the animals.

"It's an act of faith to say this is a superior way of proceeding." said Dr. Edward Sausville, a professor of medicine at the University of Maryland.

Why did the research use mice? Because ...