Which Rats Are the Most Accurate?
When comparing RATs, it’s important to consider the sensitivity and specificity rates. Sensitivity refers to the proportion of positive results that a RAT is able to detect. Specificity, on the other hand, measures the percentage of negative cases it is able to detect. The best RATs are very high-sensitive, which means that they pick up 95% or more of positive cases.
The conditional knockout rat, for example, is a genetic research model. It is very similar to the knockout mouse, and is often used in rodent DNA experiments. This helps scientists pinpoint genetic diseases and physiological disorders. These rats are also great for studying physiology. As with mice, they can measure their body temperature and detect the presence of hormones.
The size of the incisors is another method of determining age. This method is very accurate and can be used to detect premature births. The researchers found that incisor size and weight correlated to age. The results of this study were reported in the journal Nature Communications. The results were surprising.