Why do mice have tails? The answer to this is not as simple as you might think. New research from the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) has shown that there’s more to the humble ...

Previously, the role of mice tails in maintaining balance was poorly understood and often overlooked in experiments. "While mice are crucial in neuroscience because of their likeness to us, our ...

Imagine losing a limb and growing it back like nothing ever happened. Sounds like science fiction? Not for many animals in ...

Just what that function might be wasn't immediately apparent, however, due to yet another peculiar attribute of spiny mice: Their tails are uncharacteristically detachable.

The team scanned the tails of newborn spiny mice up to those that were 6 weeks old. Bony plates form first near the base of the tail and then as the mouse ages, grow down the tail to its tip.

Humans’ closest primate relatives lost their tails about 25 million years ago, but exactly how has remained a mystery. A breakthrough in genetic research may finally offer answers.

Researchers just discovered that the spiny mouse was concealing bony plates beneath the skin over its tail. By Asher Elbein At first it looks like a slightly more hairy rodent. But the spiny mouse ...