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Category: Neuroscience
Posted on: August 5, 2007 7:53 PM, by Mo
From Nature:
Catherine Dulac and her colleagues at Harvard University genetically engineered female mice to lack a gene called TRPC2. This gene is essential for the functioning of a pheromone-sensing organ in the nose called the vomeronasal organ.
Without the gene, female mice acted exactly like males - even towards male mice - complete with mounting, pelvic thrusts and the ultrasound calls that males use to attract a mate.
Watch the film clip below.
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Comments
Mo, your posts are so educational that we may have to pay you tuition.
Posted by: gerald spezio | August 5, 2007 10:22 PM
Bah...no corset, no crop, no strap-on...Google, you have failed me once again.
;)
Just kidding, interesting article. I would have suspected it would have been at least a little more complicated to trigger such behavior.
Posted by: SepticSkeptic | August 6, 2007 8:34 AM