Seven Little Piggies Make History
Tuesday, December 9, 2008 - 18:07
in Health & Medicine
This Little Piggie: The piglets rest after their delivery. Henning Bagger/ ScanPixIn the search for disease treatments, the next best thing to human guinea pigs is, well, actual pigs. Believe it or not, their skin and cardiovascular, digestive, urinary and central nervous systems are all very similar to ours. That’s why, in recent decades, scientists have established swine models for osteoporosis, heart disease, diabetes, kidney disease and urinary-tract disorders. Mini-pigs, in particular, which weigh about 70 pounds, are easy to examine using hospital scanners and can undergo the same surgical procedures as we do. read more