Nice Rats, Nasty Rats: Maybe It’s All in the Genes

NY Times ^ | July 25, 2006 | NICHOLAS WADE

[Pharmboy]

Jan-Peter Boening for The New York Times
Studying the genetics of domestication, Dmitri K. Belyaev developed colonies of silver foxes, river
otters and minks, as well as rats, starting in 1959.

On an animal-breeding farm in Siberia are cages housing two colonies of rats. In one colony, the rats have been bred for tameness in the hope of mimicking the mysterious process by which Neolithic farmers first domesticated an animal still kept today. When a visitor enters the room where the tame rats are kept, they poke their snouts through the bars to be petted.

The other colony of rats has been bred from exactly the same stock, but for aggressiveness instead. These animals are ferocious. When a visitor appears, the rats hurl themselves screaming toward their bars.

“Imagine the most evil supervillain and the nicest, sweetest cartoon animal, and that’s what these two strains of rat are like,” said Tecumseh Fitch, an animal behavior expert at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland who several years ago visited the rats at the farm, about six miles from Akademgorodok, near the Siberian city of Novosibirsk. snip...

“The ferocious rats cannot be handled,” Mr. Albert said. “They will not tolerate it. They go totally crazy if you try to pick them up.”

When the aggressive rats have to be moved, Mr. Albert places two cages side by side with the doors open and lets the rats change cages by themselves. He is taking care that they do not escape to the sewers of Leipzig, he said.

The two strains of rat are part of a remarkable experiment started in 1959 by Dmitri K. Belyaev. Belyaev and his brother were geneticists who believed in Mendelian theory despite the domination of Soviet science by Trofim Lysenko, who rejected Mendelian genetics.

[Pharmboy]

Ya mean genes have something to do with behavior?? Who woulda thunk it...

[Pharmboy]

Yeah...I thought it was about Democrats also. ( :-D

Domestication is just directed evolution--"artificial" selection rather than "natural."

[Izzy Dunne]

Nice Rats, Nasty Rats:

[ClearCase_guy]

He is taking care that they do not escape to the sewers of Leipzig, he said.

But the clumsy lab assistant didn't follow the procedure! Now, Leipzig is overrun!

Blockbuster summer release 2008!

[skinkinthegrass]

....and the Liberals ('RATs), Are descended from what? ...be nice. :D

[CholeraJoe]

These animals are ferocious. When a visitor appears, the rats hurl themselves screaming toward their bars.

Yeah, right, gerbils. Lemme go put on my steel-toed boots and get muh dawg and we'll see who's more ferocious.

[skinkinthegrass]

Nice Rats, Nasty Rats:

YIKES!....Where's Helen Thomas' pic....sorry, don't do it! :D

[BadAndy]

I thought this was going to be a story about Joe Leiberman and James Carville.

[Little Ray]

ALL rats are nasty. Some rats are just nastier than others...

[skinkinthegrass]

ALL rats are nasty. Some rats are just nastier than others...
These animals are ferocious. When a visitor appears, the rats hurl themselves screaming toward their bars.

true, ..that explains, the Liberals ....@ least the Rodenta (class of animals), are honest and show (their true nature) how they "feel" towards humans.

[RightWingAtheist]

Don't tell Nancy Hopkins. She might go into a coma.

[Pharmboy]

...or get the vapors.

[TexasTransplant]

Male rats and Female rats?

[Mr. Jeeves]

When a visitor enters the room where the tame rats are kept, they poke their snouts through the bars to be petted.

Democrat voters.

The other colony of rats has been bred from exactly the same stock, but for aggressiveness instead. These animals are ferocious. When a visitor appears, the rats hurl themselves screaming toward their bars.

Democrat politicians and MSM pundits. ;)

[Fairview]

Why are the Russians being so tight-fisted about their foxes? I would give a great deal to have a sweet affectionate fox. They could make a lot of money by breeding and selling these things.

[Pharmboy]

We have a great looking red fox that occasionally runs through the back yard. Beautiful animal...and fast. I always wonderd why I never see a rabbit in my area. Now I know...

[Fairview]

There's a family of red foxes near my house. There is absolutely nothing as adorable as seeing the babies and mom playing together while Dad Fox watches. Their tails flop around loosely while they gambol. Early in the spring one of the babies came trotting up to me out of curiosity, because he didn't know yet that I was one of those dangerous human creatures. His father yipped at him to Get back here this minute! and ushered the family off into the bushes. It was very touching and lovely.

[Beagle8U]

"Why are the Russians being so tight-fisted about their foxes? I would give a great deal to have a sweet affectionate fox. They could make a lot of money by breeding and selling these things."

If you live in farm country, you know when you see a barn cat that looks like it was run through a corn-sheller it likely tangled with a fox.

Some things make poor pets, fox are one of those.

[Maelstorm]

Domestication is interesting in that assumed primitive people were able to produce advanced examples of domestication.

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