Study Finds Mice Show Pain

A new study published by the journal Nature Methods found that mice express pain through facial expressions in a way similar to humans. The highly controversial and widely debated study subjected mice to a series of painful experiments, from which researchers developed a “Mouse Grimace Scale,” measuring how the mice displayed pain. Critics of the study called it “cruel and unusual,” as it brought light to the use of animals in scientific experiments. Mice are not currently protected under the Animal Welfare Act, one of the few laws in place regarding animal experimentation. Recently the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) held a conference called “Animals, Research, and Alternatives” to explore and advocate alternatives to animal research.