Brain chemical may aid mouse mothering. (mutant mice lacking dopamine beta-hydroxylase had impaired mothering behavior)(Brief Article)

From: Science News | Date: December 6, 1997| Author: Travis, John | Copyright information

The maternal instinct is one of the strongest directives animals possess, making scientists all the more puzzled by a strain of mutant mice in which mothers apparently neglect their offspring.

A research team led by Richard D. Palmiter of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at the University of Washington in Seattle created the mouse strain several years ago by disabling the gene that encodes an enzyme called dopamine beta-hydroxylase.

This enzyme makes nor...

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