Rats taught to drive tiny cars to lower their stress levels
Learning to drive small cars helps rats feel less stressed, scientists found.
Researchers at the University of Richmond in the US taught a group of 17 rats how to drive little plastic cars, in exchange for bits of cereal.
Study lead Dr Kelly Lambert said the rats felt more relaxed during the task, a finding that could help with the development of non-pharmaceutical treatments for mental illness.
The rats were not required to take a driving test at the end of the study.
Also at CNN, New Scientist, The Verge, and Boing Boing.
Enriched Environment Exposure Accelerates Rodent Driving Skills[$] (DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2019.112309) (DX)
Related Stories
Reseachers training 'hero rats' to locate earthquake survivors - National:
When Donna Kean moved from Scotland to Tanzania, she had more than just the culture shock to deal with.
[...] "With the rats, I was very surprised at just how intelligent they are and how trainable and how quickly they can learn, it was amazing."
For the past year she has been working with the NGO APOPO, training rats to become invaluable members of earthquake search and rescue teams.
[...] The rats will wear a special little backpack containing a camera, a location transmitter and a two-way radio, allowing rescuers to communicate with the person who is trapped.
Rats are trained to activate a switch on their backpack when they find a person in the rubble, transmitting a precise location back to rescuers.
[...] Researchers at APOPO have taken into account that injured and traumatized earthquake survivors may not exactly welcome a rat scratching around beside them.
"One thing that we've been considering is that [the rats] might play a message like an audio recording that says something like, 'I am a rescue rat, I'm well trained. I'm here to help you,'" said Kean.
"Something along those lines, we'll think of the ideal message to put people at ease."
[...] Kean says the rats would not put any rescue dogs out of work, but would complement human and canine teams.
Rats. Why does it have to be rats?
Related:
After Years Of Detecting Land Mines, A Heroic Rat is Hanging Up His Sniffer
Rats Taught to Drive Tiny Cars
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 25 2019, @03:00AM (5 children)
This is what you asked for folks.
(Score: 4, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 25 2019, @03:13AM (3 children)
Just another rat race.
(Score: 4, Funny) by deimtee on Friday October 25 2019, @05:18AM (2 children)
You joke, but there could be big money involved if they can get the rats to race.
Much more eco-friendly than NASCAR or Formula 1, and probably more interesting really.
One job constant is that good employers have low turnover, so opportunities to join good employers are relatively rare.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 25 2019, @03:38PM (1 child)
nascar? go straight. turn left. turn left some more. go straight. turn left. turn left some more.
yup, i think rats are up to the task.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 25 2019, @11:08PM
Ratcar?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 25 2019, @04:28PM
We're going to need better mouse traps.
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 25 2019, @03:16AM
Self Replicating.
(Score: 1) by anubi on Friday October 25 2019, @03:17AM
Here's the CPU!
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 25 2019, @03:45AM (3 children)
If liberals can learn to drive, why can't rats?
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Friday October 25 2019, @03:57AM (2 children)
Because rats are conservative!
(large grin - I have no skin in the game, 'twas you who asked for it!)
https://www.youtube.com/@ProfSteveKeen https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 25 2019, @04:36AM (1 child)
Un-possible sir, because it's all in their name, DemocRats. ;-)
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Friday October 25 2019, @04:46AM
Ummm... minor point, I know, but the OP reberred to liferals or somethin like that.
https://www.youtube.com/@ProfSteveKeen https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 25 2019, @03:47AM
The front runner for this years ig noble
https://www.improbable.com/ig-about/winners/ [improbable.com]
(Score: 2) by Hartree on Friday October 25 2019, @04:01AM (1 child)
I saw that movie.
I wonder if they'll get sued for plagiarizing Stuart Little?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 25 2019, @04:32AM
Try this movie. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067991/ [imdb.com]
(Score: 2) by MostCynical on Friday October 25 2019, @04:03AM (1 child)
likely to be no worse than most drivers out there
"I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 25 2019, @11:31AM
Wonder how bad Chinese rat drivers will be. Or worse yet, female Chinese rat drivers in BMWs.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 25 2019, @04:35AM
but what would their stress levels become when the number of rat mobiles and traffic increases?
(Score: 2) by legont on Friday October 25 2019, @05:39AM (2 children)
Can I get a rat driver for my tesla? Only fully insured will be considered.
"Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.
(Score: 3, Funny) by c0lo on Friday October 25 2019, @07:04AM (1 child)
IDK. But it bet Uber would be ecstatic.
https://www.youtube.com/@ProfSteveKeen https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by barbara hudson on Friday October 25 2019, @10:35PM
SoylentNews is social media. Says so right in the slogan. Soylentnews is people, not tech.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by istartedi on Friday October 25 2019, @06:03AM (1 child)
Of course it reduces stress *now*. There are just a few rat-cars on the road. Call me 50 years from now when there's a 10 rat-car pileup on the expressway to the cheese, and you're late for the maze experiment.
Appended to the end of comments you post. Max: 120 chars.
(Score: 3, Funny) by krishnoid on Friday October 25 2019, @08:42PM
+1, Under-rat-ed.
(Score: 2) by maxwell demon on Friday October 25 2019, @06:46AM
So in future the health insurance might pay your car?
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 25 2019, @09:15AM (1 child)
If you read the article it says that the rats had heightened levels of anti-stress hormones in their feces after the task which actually suggests their stress levels are elevated. The body produces anti-stress hormones in response to stress.
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Friday October 25 2019, @10:38AM
Everyone gets a little stressed in traffic.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 25 2019, @12:16PM
Am I the only one that read the title as:
"Rats Thought to Drive Tiny Cars"
and though, really, some crackpot thinks that rats drive tiny cars and now I have to hear about it?
Maybe I just need more caffeine this morning.
(Score: 2) by krishnoid on Friday October 25 2019, @08:46PM (1 child)
I'm waiting to see how things change once the soccer mom rats start carpooling their kittens/pups to the playing field and have a little wine with the other dams during the game.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 26 2019, @12:50PM
We should screen Joker (2019) to the rats and see which ones start murdering and cannibalizing each other.