Mouse passes mirror test, joining elite club of ‘self-aware’ animals
Joining the likes of killer whales (Orcinus orca) and bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), plus a number of primates, a common dark-furred mouse has passed what’s known as the mirror test, backed up by gene mapping, that suggests it may possess well-developed self-recognition.Researchers from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (UTSMC) have used observational and neural analysis to gauge whether the common lab-bred C57BL/6 mouse (Mus musculus) could notice a change in its appearance – here, a spot of…