January 7, 2009
psychedelic hanta mice
Scientists dusted deer mice with colorful powders to track the spread of hantavirus.
For two nights during the spring and fall, toothbrushes were used to apply colored powders to five mice at each of the 12 sites, resulting in each site having five different colored mice: pink, blue, green, yellow and orange.
The next day, the researchers viewed mice captured in animal traps under an ultraviolet light (black light), looking for fluorescent powder on each mouse’s head, ears, mouth, feet and tail.
“If mice were in contact with a powdered mouse, you’d see the colored bite mark on their ear or tail, or color on their genitals,” said Denise Dearing, a biologist at the University of Utah and lead author of the study published online Jan. 7 in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
Mice having the most contacts with other mice (and therefore most likely to spread the virus) were 11 percent heavier than the rest of the mouse population.
The researchers say that bigger mice likely have the largest foraging range since such mice need to snag more food. In addition, the heavier mice could be territorial, and so would be defending a nest or food resource. And bigger mice are older, meaning they have more experience defending territory than do younger mice.
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