rats

Most potential Alzheimer's drugs are tested on mice. But rats may be a better choice because they seem to have a type of memory that's more like ours, and also are highly vulnerable to Alzheimer's.

Chicago has a bad rat problem, and it gets worse when old buildings are demolished. Residents of a Chicago neighborhood decided to counter the rat invasion with natural enemies — feral cats.

The 8-inch insect nearly went extinct when hungry rats overran its island. But Melbourne scientists found a few in 2001 and started a thriving colony. Now the San Diego Zoo is hatching them, too.

An estimated 4 to 6 million land mines are scattered throughout Cambodia, one of the world's worst-affected places. Rats possessing an exceptional sense of smell are being trained to detect the mines.

The regenerated forelimb, made from living rat cells, may be the first step toward creating functional, bioartificial limbs. The scientists were thrilled to see the muscle fibers twitch.

Rats have had a bad reputation ever since they were blamed for spreading bubonic plague. But perhaps the blame was misplaced. NPR's Scott Simon reflects on the roles of rodents.

Shifts in climate in the Middle Ages likely drove bubonic plague bacteria from gerbils in Asia to people in Europe, research now suggests. Rats don't deserve all the blame.