Tag: Rats

ScienceDaily (Feb. 11, 2011) Ancient stone faces carved into the walls of a well-known limestone cave in East Timor have been discovered by a team searching for fossils of extinct giant rats.


The team of archaeologists and palaeontologists were working in Lene Hara Cave on the northeast tip of East Timor.

"Looking up from the cave floor at a colleague sitting on a ledge, my head torch shone on what seemed to be a weathered carving," CSIRO's Dr Ken Aplin said.

ScienceDaily (Nov. 10, 2009) The first human embryonic stem cell treatment approved by the FDA for human testing has been shown to restore limb function in rats with neck spinal cord injuries -- a finding that could expand the clinical trial to include people with cervical damage.

In January, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration gave Geron Corp. of Menlo Park, Calif., permission to test the UC Irvine treatment in individuals with thoracic spinal cord injuries, which occur below the neck. However, trying it in those with cervical damage wasn't approved because preclinical testing with rats hadn't been completed.

To determine whether there are rats in your house, you can look for the telltale signs. Rats love to gnaw on wood, so you may discover gnaw marks on baseboards or door frames. They will also chew through food packaging - people and pet food alike. Droppings are a surefire sign that your house is inhabited by rodents; small and dark, they tend to show up in drawers and cabinets. If you have a keen ear, you may also hear them rustling in food sacks or scurrying back and forth behind walls.