# Transhumanism or Transmousism?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/transhumanism-or-transmousism/458419>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [July 31, 2008, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/transhumanism-or-transmousism/458419 "2008-07-31T22:01:47Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![alterego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6bbea6/32.png) [@alterego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alterego)\
**Post date:** [July 31, 2008, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/transhumanism-or-transmousism/458419/1 "2008-07-31T22:01:47Z")

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What kinds of freaky things has science done to mice in an effort to engineer the next generation of humans?

[ul]  
[li]Grown a [human ear on a mouse](http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=human+ear+mouse)[/li][li]Nearly [doubled the mouse lifespan](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methuselah_Mouse_Prize).[/li][li] Created mice that are “[metabolically similar to Lance Armstrong biking up the Pyrenees](http://blog.case.edu/case-news/2007/11/02/mightymouse). […] These genetically engineered mice also eat 60 percent more than controls, but remain fitter, trimmer and live and breed longer than wild mice in a control group. Some female PEPCK-Cmus mice have had offspring at 2.5 years of age, an amazing feat considering most mice do not reproduce after they are one year old.” :eek: You _have_ to [click through to the video](http://blog.case.edu/case-news/2007/10/26/mouse.mov).[/li][li] Increased mouse endurance by 50% [without exercise](http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/01/science/01muscle.html?hp). [/li][li] [“Cured” cancer](http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080628155300.htm) in mice[/li][/ul]

Other examples?

At what point do these mice escape, offsetting the global food chain, breed exponentially, evolve beyond humans and welcome us to our transmouse future?

:smack: 😉 :smack:

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**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\
**Post date:** [July 31, 2008, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/transhumanism-or-transmousism/458419/2 "2008-07-31T22:29:05Z")

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[QUOTE=alterego]  
At what point do these mice escape, offsetting the global food chain, breed exponentially, evolve beyond humans and welcome us to our transmouse future?  
[/QUOTE]

The Secret of NIMH wasn’t written in a vacuum…!

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**Author:** ![Mindfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindfield/32/19759_2.png) [@Mindfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mindfield)\
**Post date:** [August 1, 2008, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/transhumanism-or-transmousism/458419/3 "2008-08-01T00:25:38Z")

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This is a job for Mouse\_Maven! Where’s she gotten to anyway? I haven’t seen her around in a while.

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**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\
**Post date:** [August 1, 2008, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/transhumanism-or-transmousism/458419/4 "2008-08-01T00:32:21Z")

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[QUOTE=Mindfield]  
This is a job for Mouse\_Maven! Where’s she gotten to anyway? I haven’t seen her around in a while.  
[/QUOTE]  
That worries me. Either she’s defected or they’ve captured her to wring her secrets from her in terrifying cheesy doom.

At any rate, we need some better mousetraps–titanium ones, possibly–_stat!_