News of the Week Part 3: The Research Lab at the End of the Universe

In the next issue of Nature there is going to be study discussing the ways in which smell triggers fear. In this study, Hitoshi Sakano, a neuroscientist at the University of Tokyo, genetically engineered mice to not have "olfactory neurons in their dorsal epithelium." Thus the mice did not fear leopard urine though they smelt it. They found that the mice could be taught to fear a certain smell (I do not want to know how they taught them this) showing the ways in which certain scents and emotions are intimately tied together both genetically and learned.

This study also shows the controlling power of genetic research. These mice are able to have certain fears removed at a genetic level. This is a sign of the next stage of domestication; genetically removing certain traits that are not beneficial for domestic animals such as fear, rage, depression, ect. This story made me think of Douglas Adams Restaurant at the End of the Universe and the genetically engineered cattle that not only wanted you to eat them but also expressed it vocally. How long is it before we have little white mouse expressing their desire to catch cancer and bunnies that love burning chemicals in their eyes?