Lab Mice Seen Giving First Aid to Unconscious Mates

Lab Mice Seen Giving First Aid to Unconscious Mates

In new lab experiments, scientists at the University of Southern California showed that when mice encountered a familiar social partner in a state of unconsciousness caused by anesthesia, they displayed distinct and consistent behaviors toward the partner, escalating from sniffing and grooming to more forceful actions such as biting the partner’s mouth or tongue and pulling its tongue out.

Mice have their own form of ‘first aid’ practices to help other mice in need. Image credit: Sun et al., doi: 10.1126/science.adq2677.

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